The Wandering Hart

Three days in Prague honestly didn’t feel like enough. This has been one of those cities that surprised me with how impressive and wonderful it was and I hope to go back someday! Fortunately I was able to cover a lot of the highlights on this short trip, though.

Sites & Itinerary

For the first day in Prague we checked out the core sights in Old City starting from the Charles Bridge. The bridge is one of the most impressive historical sites – it was completed in the 15th century and is dotted with religious statues all the way across. Nowadays it also has a number of artists and street vendors as well as very nice views. You can go up into the towers but we opted to skip this knowing we would have other opportunities to see Prague from above. On the other side of the bridge we took a quick stop at the Lemon Wall and then headed back into Old Town After and walked to the Astronomical Clock where we waited to see the clock chime and the figures of the Twelve Apostles to emerge above the clock. It was extremely hot outside so we saved other sights for other days but many more things are close together and could be grouped into one day if needed!

The second day we were in town was also unfortunately hotter than hell so we opted for a day at the National Museum, which is air conditioned. We spent hours in this museum browsing Prague history as well as natural history and barely scratched the surface of what they display! It’s also a beautiful building and you can go up into the cupola to see the domed mural ceiling from above and some views of the city. On the way back to the AirBnB we also managed to see the Prasna Brana, which was one of the original city gates.

Our last day it finally cooled off and we were able to focus on Prague’s biggest attraction: Prague Castle. We started the day wandering a little around the Jewish Quarter. You can pay to visit the cemetery and the oldest active synagogue in Europe, but unfortunately we knew we wouldn’t have time to make it worth our while. Instead we took the hill up to Prague Castle and (after a quick prosecco break at the top) entered the castle complex. The complex itself is free to enter but if you’d like to fully explore sites like St. Vitus Cathedral or the interior of the palace you’ll want to buy one of the route tickets at the entrance or an information desk. We unfortunately went too late in the day to fit in everything – it’s key to know that, even though the complex is open until 10pm, most of the attractions inside close at 5pm! We did get to go up the tower of St. Vitus and see the interior of the cathedral which was beautiful and well worth it. We also got to browse the stops and stroll the adorable Golden Lane and saw the changing of the guard at the main entrance. The whole complex was really impressive and was a great cap to our Prague visit!

Recommended Restaurants

We were lucky enough to get some amazing restaurant recommendations from friends and tour guides. I’d highly recommend the below for anyone interested planning a trip! In addition, definitely get an ice cream in a chimney cone from one of the millions of stands – they’re delicious.

U Fleku: This historic Czech restaurant is beautiful and has a fun atmosphere. We especially enjoyed getting beers and even a couple shots from the waiters that came around offering light or dark beer and honey liquor or becherovka shots. We ate in their beer garden but have heard from a friend that the inside is really cool.

Pasta Fresca: One of our tour guides listed this as his favorite Italian restaurant in Prague and I understand why! All the dishes were delicious and they had a good selection of drinks.

Medieval Tavern: Okay, I know this might look kind of hokey, but this was honestly one of the highlights of our trip! The kids with us especially loved it. This is a medieval themed tavern where you see a series of performances including jugglers, mock sword fights, and a fire breather. If you get the all inclusive it includes a 3 course meal and unlimited beer and they really kept the beer coming! It was a surprisingly great experience.

Garden’s Restaurant: This upscale restaurant not far from Old City center has delicious food and a cute garden seating area. Plus, if you come for lunch (which we unfortunately didn’t) you can get a discounted three course meal with a drink!

The Alchemist Bar: My husband and I went here for drinks to celebrate our wedding anniversary after a friend recommended it. The drinks were delicious and the servers were really helpful in recommending things to us. Plus the whole atmosphere of the place, which is a small bar on the second floor of a building, is very cool.