Prague was a stop on my mid-2022 Doris-rebuilt-the-engine trip — flew over to Europe while she was getting the work done in Auckland and ended up doing six European cities in three weeks. Prague was the third one and easily the prettiest. Honestly low-key one of the most photogenic cities I've ever been in, and somehow still genuinely affordable compared to Western Europe.
[IMAGE: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1541849546-216549ae216d?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop | Prague's Old Town Square at golden hour, with the Týn Church spires behind the astronomical clock tower and the colourful baroque facades catching the late light]
The shape of the city
Prague (Praha to locals) sits on the Vltava River in the centre of the Czech Republic. Population around 1.3 million. The historic centre — basically untouched by WWII bombing, unlike most central European capitals — is split by the river into:
- Staré Město (Old Town) — the medieval heart, the Old Town Square, the astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter
- Malá Strana (Lesser Town) — across the Charles Bridge, baroque palaces, cobbled lanes climbing up to the castle
- Hradčany — the castle district at the top of the hill
- Nové Město (New Town — though "new" here means 14th century) — Wenceslas Square, the National Museum, the modern shopping streets
- Žižkov, Vinohrady, Karlín — the residential neighbourhoods further out, quieter, way more local
The whole UNESCO-protected core is walkable in maybe 40 minutes end to end. The metro is fast and cheap if your feet give up.
Getting around
Prague has the easiest public transport of any European city I've used. Three metro lines, extensive tram network, all integrated under one ticket. A 24-hour pass is 120 koruna (~5 USD), 72-hour is 330 koruna (~14 USD). Buy at any metro station vending machine. Validate the ticket in the yellow box when you board (don't forget — they do random checks and the fines are nasty).
The trams in Prague are brilliant. Old Soviet-era ones still in service alongside modern ones. Tram 22 runs through the most picturesque parts of the city and is essentially a sightseeing tour for the price of a public-transport ticket.
From the airport, take bus 119 to Nádraží Veleslavín metro station, then the green metro line A to the centre. About 45 minutes total, costs the regular ticket. Or grab a Bolt (the Estonian Uber competitor that dominates Prague) for around 600 koruna (~25 USD).
What to actually do
The hits, with how to do them right:
Charles Bridge at dawn. Prague's signature view. By 9am the bridge is unwalkable for the crowds. Get up at 5:30 (yeah, painful) and walk it at first light when it's empty except for a couple of dawn photographers. Light is unbelievable. About 30 minutes round trip from the Old Town side. Then go back to bed.
Old Town Square + Astronomical Clock. The clock does its hourly chime show — twelve apostles file past — every hour from 9am to 11pm. Two minutes long, slightly underwhelming when you actually see it, but you have to do it once. The square itself is the photograph everyone takes — the pastel-painted facades, the Týn Church spires looming behind. Sit at one of the cafe tables for 30 minutes with a coffee. Best people-watching in central Europe.
Prague Castle. Largest ancient castle in the world by area. About 15-20 minutes' walk uphill from Charles Bridge. Free to enter the grounds, paid for the buildings inside (250 koruna for the basic circuit, around 11 USD). The St Vitus Cathedral is the headline — gothic spires, Mucha-designed stained glass windows in the nave, Bohemian crown jewels stored here. Allow 3 hours.
Old Jewish Quarter (Josefov). The most intact medieval Jewish quarter in Europe — by horrible historical accident, Hitler ordered it preserved as a future "Museum of an Extinct Race", which is why so much of the architecture survived when so many other Jewish quarters across Europe were destroyed. The Old-New Synagogue (still active, 13th century) and the Old Jewish Cemetery (12,000 stacked tombstones, layered because new burials happened on top of old when space ran out) are extraordinary. Combined entry around 500 koruna.
John Lennon Wall. Small graffitied wall in Malá Strana. Started in 1980 after Lennon's death as a tribute and became a symbol of resistance against the Communist regime. Touristy now but still has a kind of energy. Free.
Walk across the river to Petřín Hill. Funicular up (or 30 minutes' walk through gardens), Petřín Lookout Tower at the top (Prague's mini-Eiffel — same architect's apprentices). The view from the top across the whole city is the postcard.
Vyšehrad Fortress (south of the city, 15 minutes by tram). The other castle — older, smaller, way fewer tourists, and the cemetery here has many of the great Czech composers (Dvořák, Smetana). My favourite of the city's outdoor walks. Free.
Eating and drinking
Czech food is heavy. You're going to eat pork. You're going to eat dumplings. Embrace it.
Svíčková na smetaně. The national dish — slow-cooked beef in a creamy root-vegetable sauce, served with bread dumplings and cranberry. About 250-350 koruna ($11-15). Lokál Dlouhááá in the Old Town is the canonical place.
Goulash with bread dumplings. Simpler, cheaper, equally good. Available at every traditional Czech kitchen.
Trdelník. The famous spit-roasted dough cone you'll see everywhere in tourist areas. Honestly? Not actually a Czech tradition — it's a Slovak/Hungarian invention rebranded for tourists. Worth eating once for the photo, but it's not the local thing.
Pivo. Czech beer. The country invented Pilsner. Cheaper than water in any pub. Served in 0.5L glasses. The Pilsner Urquell tank-fresh stuff is unreal — you can't get it like this anywhere outside Czechia. Around 50-80 koruna ($2-3.50) per glass at proper pubs, more at tourist-area places.
Where to drink it: U Zlatého tygra is the legendary Old Town pub, was Václav Havel and Bill Clinton's drinking spot in 1994. Locals only. Tiny. Show up early. Lokál (multiple branches) is the modern reliable Czech-pub chain. Vinohradský pivovar is a brewpub making proper craft beer in Vinohrady — way less touristy.
Where to stay
Old Town is the obvious play if you want to walk to everything but also the most expensive and the noisiest. Around $130-200 a night for a decent boutique room in Old Town. The boutique pousadas around Náměstí Republiky station are good.
Better: stay in Vinohrady or Žižkov. Both are 10 minutes by tram into the centre, way more local, cheaper (around $80-130 a night for a similar room), and the bar/restaurant scene in Vinohrady especially is genuinely better than the Old Town tourist circuit.
I stayed at a small hotel on Korunní in Vinohrady — quiet, proper bakery downstairs, walkable to the food I actually wanted to eat.
When to go
May, September, and October are the goldilocks. Mild weather, blue skies, manageable crowds. June-August is peak season — hot, crowded, every Old Town restaurant doubles its prices.
December has the Christmas markets which are a thing — magical at night, freezing cold, mulled wine helps. January-February are bitter cold but cheap and quiet; the Old Town in snow is unreasonably pretty.
I went in late September. Was perfect.
Combining the trip
Prague pairs naturally with the rest of Central Europe — Vienna is 4 hours by train, Berlin 4.5 hours, Budapest 7 hours. The night trains across this region are still excellent and a great way to add destinations without losing days. The Czech regional towns of Český Krumlov (the toy-town World Heritage site, 3 hours south) and Karlovy Vary (the spa town, 2 hours west) make great overnight or day trips.
The Europe category collects more from across the region. For tours in Czechia, most start in Prague itself.
Practical bits
Czechia is in the EU but not the eurozone. Currency is the koruna (CZK). Cards work almost everywhere; Apple Pay too. Carry a small amount of cash for the smaller places.
English is widely spoken in tourist areas, less so in the residential neighbourhoods. Learning "Dobrý den" (good day) and "Děkuji" (thank you) gets you noticeably warmer service.
Tipping: round up at restaurants or add 10% for good service. Not the 15-20% American level. Pubs don't tip.
ATMs: stick to the bank ATMs (ČSOB, KB, Česká spořitelna). The orange "Euronet" ones in tourist areas charge predatory exchange rates and fees. Same for the currency exchange shops in the Old Town — basically all of them are scams. Use an ATM from a real bank or pay by card.
Official sources
Prague.eu, the official city tourism site, has practical visitor info, current opening hours, and the Czech Tourism authority's Visit Czechia covers wider routes.
Last word
Mean, Prague's the kind of place that makes you understand why people get obsessed with European cities. Every street is a postcard, the beer is the cheapest in Europe, the food is filling, the public transport is dreamy, and the city has this layered history — Jewish, Bohemian, Catholic, Soviet — that you keep tripping over in unexpected places. Five days minimum. Stay outside Old Town. Walk the Charles Bridge at dawn. Drink the Pilsner. That's the trip. Doris would have hated the cobbles though, low-key.