Sights of Prague

Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, covering almost 70,000 m² — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the official residence of the Czech President since 1918, having served as the seat of Bohemian kings, Holy Roman Emperors, and Czechoslovak presidents before that. Founded around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Přemyslid dynasty, it has developed continuously for over eleven centuries, with architectural layers spanning Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and 20th-century Neoclassical. The complex encompasses St. Vitus Cathedral — the coronation church of Bohemian kings and burial place of Czech patron saints and Holy Roman Emperors — the Old Royal Palace with the vast Gothic Vladislav Hall, St. George's Basilica (Prague's best-preserved Romanesque interior), Golden Lane, the Royal Garden, the Stag Moat, and numerous galleries and exhibition spaces. Allow a full half-day minimum; a comprehensive visit with all interiors takes 4–6 hours. The courtyards and the south-facing terrace with panoramic views over the city are among the finest free sights in Prague.

Charles Bridge (Karlův most) is Prague's oldest surviving bridge, built between 1357 and 1402 under Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV to connect the Old Town and Lesser Town across the Vltava River. Stretching 516 metres on 16 Gothic arches, it served as the city's only river crossing for nearly 500 years — a position that made Prague a key hub on Europe's east–west trade routes. The bridge is lined with 30 Baroque statues of saints added from the late 17th century onward, flanked by three medieval towers, and has been pedestrian-only since the 1970s. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Prague and remains the most photographed spot in the city, best visited at dawn to avoid crowds.

Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) is Prague's historic heart, founded in the 12th century as a central marketplace at the crossroads of European trade routes and surrounded by nearly a thousand years of architecture in one place. The square is anchored by three landmarks: the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn with its 80-metre twin spires, the Jan Hus Monument marking the site of 27 executions in 1621, and the medieval Astronomical Clock (Orloj) — installed in 1410, it is the oldest working astronomical clock in the world. The square is free to enter at any hour and serves as the natural starting point for exploring Prague's Old Town, with Charles Bridge a 10-minute walk away.

The Prague Astronomical Clock (Pražský orloj), mounted on the south wall of the Old Town Hall since 1410, is the oldest working astronomical clock in the world. Built by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň, it simultaneously displays four different time systems, the positions of the sun and moon in the zodiac, and the current phase of the moon — all through a single medieval mechanism. Every hour from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM, the clock performs its famous Apostles procession: twelve wooden figures parade through two opening windows while animated allegorical figures of Death, Vanity, Greed, and a Turk move on either side of the dial. Viewing the show from the square is free; climbing the adjacent tower offers panoramic views over the Old Town.

The National Theatre (Národní divadlo) is the Czech Republic's most important cultural institution, a neo-Renaissance building on the Vltava embankment funded entirely by public donations and first opened in 1881. Just weeks after its inauguration, it burned down in a fire — and was rebuilt within two years purely through a new wave of national fundraising, reopening in 1883 with the opera Libuše by Bedřich Smetana. Its lavishly gilded interior is decorated with masterworks by leading 19th-century Czech artists, making the building itself as significant as the performances it hosts. Today the theatre stages opera, ballet, and drama; attending a performance here is the most direct way to experience the building's interior, and tickets are reasonably priced by European standards.

The Rudolfinum is a neo-Renaissance building on the Vltava embankment, completed in 1885 and home to two of Prague's most important cultural institutions: the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Galerie Rudolfinum. The Dvořák Hall — where Antonín Dvořák himself conducted the Czech Philharmonic's inaugural concert in 1896 — is considered one of the finest concert halls in Central Europe and hosts the Prague Spring International Music Festival every May. The gallery wing operates on the Kunsthalle principle with no permanent collection, presenting major temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. The building's rooftop terrace, lined with 32 statues of composers, offers an exceptional view of Charles Bridge and the Old Town just 200 metres away.

The Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is Prague's former Jewish ghetto, one of the oldest and most significant Jewish heritage sites in Europe, and part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Prague since 1992. Jews have lived in this area since the 10th century; confined to a walled ghetto from the 13th century, the community survived pogroms, expulsions, and the Holocaust, of which fewer than 10,000 of Prague's 56,000 pre-war Jewish residents survived. Today the quarter is administered by the Jewish Museum in Prague, which encompasses six historic synagogues — including the Old-New Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in Europe, built around 1270 — and the Old Jewish Cemetery, where up to 100,000 people are buried in as many as 12 layers due to the shortage of space. The quarter is also the birthplace of Franz Kafka, and a bronze monument to him stands near the Spanish Synagogue.

The Dancing House (Tančící dům) is Prague's most iconic example of modern architecture — a deconstructivist building completed in 1996 on the Vltava embankment, designed by Frank Gehry and Czech architect Vlado Milunić. Its distinctive silhouette of a curving glass tower paired with a solid stone one was inspired by the dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, earning it the nickname "Fred and Ginger." Built on a site bombed by the US Air Force in 1945, the project was championed by President Václav Havel as a symbol of post-communist openness — and remains Prague's most significant architectural statement of the 1990s. The rooftop Glass Bar offers one of the best panoramic views of the city, taking in Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and the Vltava in a single sweep.

St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála sv. Víta) is the largest and most important church in the Czech Republic, a Gothic masterpiece rising 102 metres above Prague Castle that took nearly 600 years to complete — construction began under Charles IV in 1344 and was only finished in 1929. The cathedral served as the coronation church of Bohemian kings and remains the burial place of Czech rulers including Charles IV and Wenceslas IV, as well as the home of the Bohemian Crown Jewels, stored in a chamber secured by seven keys held by seven different officials. Its interior is renowned for the St. Wenceslas Chapel — walls encrusted with over 1,300 semi-precious stones — and the Art Nouveau stained-glass window designed by Alfons Mucha in 1931, one of the most celebrated works in the building.

Strahov Monastery (Strahovský klášter) is a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143, situated between Prague Castle and Petřín Hill, and still home to an active community of monks today. Its main draw is the Strahov Library — one of the best-preserved Baroque libraries in the world, comprising two magnificent halls: the Theological Hall (1679), decorated with ornate stucco and frescoes, and the Philosophical Hall (1783–1785), with a sweeping ceiling fresco by Anton Maulbertsch and over 42,000 volumes lining its two-storey walnut shelves. The library holds more than 200,000 volumes in total, including 3,000 manuscripts and 1,500 incunabula. Visitors view the halls from the doorway rather than entering directly, to preserve the microclimate that protects the books. The monastery also houses a gallery with one of the most significant collections of pre-Baroque paintings in Central Europe, a basilica where Mozart once played the organ, and a working brewery dating back to the 13th century.

Lesser Town (Malá Strana) is one of Prague's oldest and best-preserved historic districts, founded in 1257 by King Ottokar II on the left bank of the Vltava directly below Prague Castle. Unlike the busier Old Town, Malá Strana retains the feel of a lived-in neighbourhood — a layered maze of Baroque palaces, cobblestone lanes, hidden gardens, and embassy residences that has changed little in three centuries. Its centrepiece is Lesser Town Square (Malostranské náměstí), dominated by the Church of St. Nicholas, the largest Baroque church in Prague. The district also contains the John Lennon Wall, Kampa Island, the Wallenstein Palace and Gardens (seat of the Czech Senate), and Nerudova Street — the steep, sign-lined lane that connects Charles Bridge to Prague Castle along the historic Royal Route.

The John Lennon Wall (Lennonova zeď) is a continuously evolving open-air mural on Grand Priory Square in Malá Strana, owned by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. After Lennon's assassination in 1980, Czech youth began painting his portrait and Beatles lyrics on the wall as a quiet act of defiance against the communist regime — authorities repeatedly whitewashed it, and it was repeatedly repainted. The wall became a gathering point for the freedom movement and in 1988 sparked direct clashes between students and secret police. Following the Velvet Revolution it evolved into a global symbol of peace and free expression; in 2019 it was redesigned by over 30 artists from five countries, with a world map bearing the word "FREEDOM" in 30 languages as its centrepiece. It is a 5-minute walk from Charles Bridge.

The Old Town Hall (Staroměstská radnice) is a complex of five medieval buildings on Old Town Square, established in 1338 as the seat of Prague's Old Town administration — the first town hall ever built in Bohemia. Its 70-metre Gothic tower, completed in 1364, houses the Astronomical Clock (Orloj) and an observation deck with panoramic views over the Old Town, and is the only fully wheelchair-accessible medieval tower in Prague. The interior includes a 14th-century Gothic chapel, a council hall preserved in its 15th-century form, an Art Nouveau council chamber, and a Romanesque cellar from the 12th century that once served as a city dungeon. The eastern Neo-Gothic wing was destroyed during the Prague Uprising on 8 May 1945 and was never rebuilt — the gap in the building's footprint is still visible today.

Bohemian Switzerland National Park (Národní park České Švýcarsko) is the youngest and smallest of the Czech Republic's four national parks, established in 2000 across 79 km² of sandstone landscape in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains along the German border. Its defining feature is Pravčická brána — at 16 metres high and 26 metres wide, it is the largest natural sandstone arch in Europe and the symbol of the entire park. The park's terrain is shaped by deep gorges, rock towers, and canyon rivers, with the Kamenice Gorge — navigable by flat-bottomed boat — as one of its most visited attractions. From Prague, the park is reached in approximately 1.5–2 hours by train to Děčín followed by bus 434 toward Hřensko, or around 1.5 hours by car.

The Old-New Synagogue (Staronová synagoga) is the oldest active synagogue in Europe, completed around 1270 and in continuous use for over 750 years — with the sole exception of the Nazi occupation from 1942 to 1945. It is one of the earliest Gothic buildings in Prague and the only synagogue in Josefov administered directly by the Prague Jewish Community rather than the Jewish Museum. Unlike most historic synagogues, it was never destroyed — surviving multiple ghetto fires, pogroms, and World War II — and retains its original Early Gothic interior: ribbed vaults, a wrought-iron Gothic grille around the bimah, and antique bronze chandeliers. Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel — the legendary creator of the Golem — served here in the 16th century, and his seat beside the Torah ark has been left empty since his death in 1609 as a mark of respect.

St. Nicholas Church (Kostel sv. Mikuláše) in Malá Strana is the finest example of High Baroque architecture in Prague and one of the most important Baroque buildings north of the Alps. Built between 1703 and 1755 by three generations of the Dientzenhofer family — father Kryštof, son Kilián Ignác, and son-in-law Anselmo Lurago — it took nearly a century to complete for the Jesuit order. Its interior is dominated by one of the largest ceiling frescoes in Central Europe: the Apotheosis of St. Nicholas by Johann Lukas Kracker, covering 1,500 m² of the nave vault. The copper-clad dome rises 57 metres — the tallest interior in Prague — and the 4,000-pipe organ, built in 1745, was played by Mozart during his visits to the city. The 65-metre bell tower served as a secret surveillance post for the communist secret police, monitoring Western embassies in the surrounding streets, and is open to visitors for panoramic views over Malá Strana.

The Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý židovský hřbitov) in Josefov is one of the most remarkable burial grounds in Europe, in active use from 1439 to 1787 as the only permitted resting place for Prague's Jewish community. Because Jewish law prohibits disturbing graves and the ghetto could not expand, bodies were buried in layers directly on top of one another — up to 12 layers deep — creating the cemetery's distinctive uneven terrain and dense clustering of some 12,000 tombstones. Estimates suggest over 100,000 people are interred here. Among the most visited graves is that of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1512–1609), the legendary creator of the Golem, whose ornate Renaissance tumba draws visitors who leave handwritten wishes tucked into its stonework. The cemetery is entered through the Pinkas Synagogue — itself a Holocaust memorial bearing the names of nearly 80,000 Czech Jewish victims — and exited through the Klausen Synagogue.

The Maisel Synagogue (Maiselova synagoga) was built in 1592 by Mordecai Maisel — the mayor of Prague's Jewish Town and one of the wealthiest men in the city under Emperor Rudolf II — as the grandest private synagogue in the ghetto. Originally a Renaissance temple with three naves, it was destroyed in the great ghetto fire of 1689, rebuilt twice, and given its current Neo-Gothic form by architect Alfred Grotte between 1893 and 1905. Today it functions as a museum rather than an active synagogue, housing the permanent exhibition Jews in the Bohemian Lands, 10th–18th Century — the ideal starting point for understanding the history of Prague's Jewish community before visiting the other Josefov sites. The exhibition includes rare Judaica, interactive touchscreens with Hebrew manuscripts, and an animated visualization of Langweil's famous model showing the Jewish Quarter as it looked before its near-total demolition in the 1890s.

The Powder Tower (Prašná brána) is a 65-metre Late Gothic city gate built from 1475 on the site of one of the original 13 medieval entrances to Prague's Old Town. Construction stalled in 1488 when the royal court moved to Prague Castle, leaving the tower unfinished for nearly four centuries; its current ornate Neo-Gothic appearance dates from a restoration by architect Josef Mocker between 1875 and 1886. The tower marks the eastern start of the Royal Route — the ceremonial coronation path taken by Bohemian kings through Old Town to Prague Castle — and its facade is decorated with carved statues of rulers and the coats of arms of the lands they governed. Climbing 186 steps reaches a viewing gallery at 44 metres with a direct view down Celetná Street into the heart of the Old Town. The tower stands directly beside the Municipal House, one of Prague's finest Art Nouveau buildings, creating one of the most dramatic architectural contrasts in the city.

The Petřín Lookout Tower (Petřínská rozhledna) is a 63.5-metre steel observation tower built in 1891 on Petřín Hill, directly inspired by the Eiffel Tower — which Czech tourists had seen at the 1889 Paris World's Fair — and constructed at a ratio of roughly 1:5 to the original. Though far shorter than its Parisian model, its position atop the hill places the observation deck at 324 metres above sea level, offering one of the widest panoramic views in Prague, taking in the Old Town, Prague Castle, and on clear days the Bohemian countryside beyond. The tower was built in just four months using 175 tonnes of iron, and today features a double-helix staircase of 299 steps as well as a lift. On the same hill sit the Mirror Maze, Štefánik Observatory, and several historic gardens — making Petřín one of the most rewarding and crowd-free alternatives to the busier city centre viewpoints.

The Church of Our Lady before Týn (Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem) is the defining Gothic landmark of Old Town Square, its pair of 80-metre twin towers — named Adam and Eve, with the southern tower slightly taller than the northern — rising above the surrounding rooftops and serving as Prague's most recognisable skyline silhouette. Construction began around 1360 under the influence of Peter Parler's workshop and was not completed until the early 16th century; the church then served as the main Hussite church in Prague until the re-Catholicisation after 1620. Its interior houses the oldest pipe organ in Prague (1673), the oldest baptismal font in the city (tin, 1414), Baroque altarpieces by Karel Škréta, and the marble tomb of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe — who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II and died in Prague in 1601.

The National Museum (Národní muzeum) is the Czech Republic's largest and most significant museum, occupying a monumental Neo-Renaissance building at the top of Wenceslas Square since 1891 and declared a national cultural monument in 1962. The Historical Building was closed for eight years of reconstruction and reopened on 28 October 2018 — the centenary of Czechoslovakia's founding — revealing restored ceremonial halls, a pantheon of notable Czech figures, and permanent collections spanning natural history, palaeontology, mineralogy, and Czech and world history. It is connected by an underground tunnel to the New Building, the former Federal Assembly and later Radio Free Europe headquarters, which hosts major temporary exhibitions. In front of the museum's steps are memorials to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, the students who self-immolated in 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation.

The Spanish Synagogue (Španělská synagoga) is the most recently built and most visually spectacular of Prague's six surviving Josefov synagogues, completed in 1868 on the site of the city's oldest house of prayer — the Altschul, which dated to at least the 12th century. Built for Prague's Reform Jewish community by architects Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann and Josef Niklas, it takes its name not from a Sephardic congregation but from its extraordinary Moorish Revival interior, modelled on the Alhambra in Granada: every surface is covered in gilded stucco arabesques, geometric ornament, and richly coloured stained glass, creating one of the most lavishly decorated interiors in Prague. Today it houses the permanent exhibition Jews in the Bohemian Lands, 19th–20th Centuries — covering emancipation, the Czech-Jewish movement, the Holocaust, and figures such as Franz Kafka, Gustav Mahler, and Sigmund Freud — and is a celebrated venue for classical concerts thanks to its exceptional acoustics.

The Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova synagoga) is the second oldest surviving synagogue in Prague, built in 1535 in the Late Gothic style by Aharon Meshulam Horowitz for his family as a private house of prayer. Today it functions primarily as the most powerful Holocaust memorial in the Czech Republic: the names of 80,000 Bohemian and Moravian Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide are hand-lettered directly onto the synagogue's interior walls, arranged by their home communities and accompanied by dates of birth and death. The inscription project was carried out between 1992 and 1996 by painters Václav Boštík and Jiří John; it was originally completed in the 1950s but was erased by the communist authorities after 1968 and had to be painstakingly restored. On the upper floor, a permanent exhibition displays around 4,500 drawings made by children held in the Terezín (Theresienstadt) ghetto — the work of lessons led by the Bauhaus-trained artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, who was later murdered in Auschwitz along with most of her young students.

The Prague Metronome (Pražský metronom) is a 23-metre kinetic sculpture standing on a massive concrete plinth in Letná Park, overlooking the Vltava River and the historic centre. The plinth itself carries as much historical weight as the artwork: it is the same platform that once held the world's largest monument to Joseph Stalin — a 15-metre-tall group sculpture unveiled in 1955 and demolished just seven years later after Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation. The metronome was installed in 1991, designed by Vratislav Novák and officially titled Time Machine, with a plaque reading "In time, all things pass." Today the site is a popular gathering point for skaters and locals, and the terrace offers one of the widest panoramic views of Prague — taking in the Charles Bridge, Old Town, and the entire Vltava bend — with easier access and fewer tourists than most official viewpoints in the city.

The Old Royal Palace (Starý královský palác) is the oldest surviving part of Prague Castle and the seat of Bohemian rulers from the 10th century onward. The building is a composite of architectural layers spanning a thousand years: Romanesque cellars from the 12th century lie beneath Gothic halls built by Charles IV, which in turn sit below the palace's defining space — Vladislav Hall, completed by Benedikt Ried between 1487 and 1500. At 62 metres long and 16 metres wide, Vladislav Hall is the largest secular vaulted space in medieval Central Europe, its ceiling covered in an extraordinary late-Gothic ribbed vault that transitions seamlessly into early Renaissance window tracery. The hall has hosted coronation banquets, knightly jousting tournaments, and presidential elections, and still serves as the venue for the inauguration of Czech presidents today. Also inside is the Defenestration Window — through which two royal governors were thrown in 1618, sparking the Thirty Years' War.

Vyšehrad is a historic fortified citadel on a high rocky promontory on the right bank of the Vltava, about 3 km south of Prague Castle and part of the UNESCO-listed Prague Heritage Reserve. According to Czech legend it was the original seat of the Přemyslid dynasty and the birthplace of the city, predating Prague Castle itself; archaeologically, significant fortifications here date to the 10th century. The complex contains the neo-Gothic Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Romanesque St. Martin's Rotunda (11th century — one of the oldest surviving buildings in Prague), the Vyšehrad Casemates with the cavernous Gorlice Hall — which today houses six of the original Baroque statues from Charles Bridge — and the Slavín Cemetery, the national pantheon where over 600 distinguished Czech figures are buried, including composer Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, and writer Karel Čapek. Unlike the crowded historic centre, Vyšehrad offers sweeping views of the Vltava valley and a noticeably quieter atmosphere.

Terezín (German: Theresienstadt) is an 18th-century fortress town 60 km north of Prague, built in 1780 by Emperor Joseph II. During World War II it was converted by the Nazis into a Jewish ghetto and transit camp: between 1941 and 1945 more than 150,000 Jews were held there — including 15,000 children — before deportation to Auschwitz and other extermination camps. Around 33,000 people died in the ghetto itself from overcrowding, starvation, and disease. The Nazis also used Terezín as a propaganda showpiece, staging a Red Cross visit in 1944 to conceal the true nature of the camp. Today the Terezín Memorial comprises the Small Fortress (the Gestapo prison), the Ghetto Museum in the former boys' home, the Magdeburg Barracks housing an exhibition on cultural life in the ghetto, and the National Cemetery. The children's drawings preserved from Terezín — the same body of work partly displayed at the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague — were produced here under the supervision of Bauhaus-trained artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis.

The Loreto (Loreta) is a Baroque pilgrimage complex on Loretánské Square in the Hradčany district, founded in 1626 by the noblewoman Benigna Kateřina of Lobkowicz as a replica of the Santa Casa — the legendary house of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth, believed to have been transported by angels to the Italian town of Loreto. At the complex's heart stands the ornately stuccoed Holy House, surrounded by two-storey cloisters with chapels and ceiling frescoes. The Baroque Church of the Nativity of Our Lord, designed by Kilian Ignác Dientzenhofer, contains an 18th-century nativity scene with 48 life-size figures still displayed every Christmas. The clock tower houses Europe's largest historical carillon — 30 bells installed in 1694, playing the Loretan hymn We Greet Thee a Thousand Times every hour. The treasury on the upper floor is one of the finest collections of Baroque goldsmithing in Central Europe, centred on the "Prague Sun" — a 90-cm-tall monstrance set with 6,222 diamonds, made in Vienna in 1699.

The Municipal House (Obecní dům) is Prague's most lavish Art Nouveau building, completed in 1912 on the site of the former Royal Court — the residence of Bohemian kings from the 14th century. Designed by architects Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka, every room was decorated by the leading Czech artists of the era, including Alfons Mucha, who designed the Mayor's Hall entirely on his own. The building's centrepiece is Smetana Hall, Prague's largest concert hall, crowned by a glass dome and housing artwork by Mucha, Jan Preisler, and Max Švabinský; it is the main venue for the Prague Spring International Music Festival every May. The building also carries enormous historical significance: on 28 October 1918, Czechoslovak independence was proclaimed here in the Smetana Hall. Directly adjacent to the Gothic Powder Tower, the Municipal House represents one of the most dramatic architectural juxtapositions in Europe — and its ground-floor café is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau interiors in Central Europe.

Lobkowicz Palace (Lobkowický palác) is the only privately owned building within the Prague Castle complex, built in the mid-16th century and in the hands of the Lobkowicz family since 1623. The palace was confiscated twice in the 20th century — by the Nazis in 1939 and by the Communist regime in 1948 — and returned to the family only in 2002 after a decade-long restitution process; it opened as a public museum in 2007. Spread across 22 galleries, the Lobkowicz Collections constitute the oldest and largest private art collection in the Czech Republic, with highlights including The Hay Harvest (1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, panoramic views of London by Canaletto, portraits by Velázquez, and — in the music gallery — Beethoven's hand-annotated scores for the Eroica, 4th, and 5th Symphonies, and Mozart's reworking of Handel's Messiah. The audio guide is narrated by members of the Lobkowicz family themselves, giving the visit an unusually personal dimension for a museum of this calibre.

The IAM Illusion Art Museum (Illusion Art Museum Prague) is the Czech Republic's first — and Europe's only — museum dedicated exclusively to illusion and trick art, opened in 2018 in a neo-Renaissance former municipal savings bank in the heart of Old Town. Spread across three floors, the museum features anamorphic installations, lenticular paintings, spatial illusions, stereoscopic photography, and interactive 3D works by Czech and international artists. A recurring theme is Czech history: visitors encounter illusory depictions of figures including Franz Kafka, Bedřich Smetana, Nikola Tesla, and Václav Havel, as well as interactive recreations of historical events such as the Defenestration of Prague and the Swedish siege of the city. Most exhibits are designed to be photographed, and ground markers indicate the precise spots from which optical effects work best. Allow around 45–60 minutes; a companion app in 13 languages animates exhibits in augmented reality in real time.

Karlštejn Castle (Hrad Karlštejn) is the most visited castle in the Czech Republic after Prague Castle, founded in 1348 by Charles IV specifically to safeguard the Imperial Crown Jewels, the Bohemian coronation regalia, and his vast collection of holy relics. The castle's most remarkable feature is its unique vertical layout: rather than spreading across a hillside, the complex ascends the ridge in four stepped tiers — the Imperial Palace, the Marian Tower, and finally the Great Tower at the summit — with access to each level strictly controlled, so that only the emperor and designated clergy could reach the holiest spaces. The jewel of the castle is the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower, completed in 1365: its lower walls are encrusted with polished semi-precious stones, its ceiling is gilded with gold leaf and set with Venetian glass stars, and its walls bear 129 panel paintings by Master Theodoric — the oldest surviving cycle of this type in Central Europe. Photography inside the chapel is prohibited and group sizes are limited to 12.

St. George's Basilica (Bazilika sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle and the best-preserved Romanesque church in Prague, founded around 920 AD by Prince Vratislav I — the father of St. Wenceslas. Its striking rust-red façade is Baroque, added in the late 17th century, but the interior is strikingly austere and Romanesque: plain limestone walls, simple columns, and a three-nave layout restored after a devastating fire in 1142. The basilica served as the burial church of the Přemyslid dynasty until 1055, and the tombs of Prince Vratislav and several other early Bohemian rulers remain in the nave. Its two distinctive white marl towers — the taller Adam to the south and the slightly tilted, narrower Eve to the north — are among the most recognisable silhouettes on the Prague Castle skyline. The adjacent St. George's Convent, founded in 973, is the oldest convent in Bohemia.

The Old Town Bridge Tower (Staroměstská mostecká věž) is widely regarded as one of the finest Gothic city gates in Europe, designed by Petr Parléř — the same architect responsible for St. Vitus Cathedral and much of Charles Bridge — and built from 1357 onward under Charles IV. Unlike most medieval towers built primarily for defence, this one was conceived from the outset as a ceremonial triumphal arch: Czech kings passed beneath it on their coronation processions from the Old Town up to Prague Castle along the Royal Route. Its eastern facade is covered in elaborate sculptural decoration, including statues of Charles IV, his son Wenceslas IV, and St. Vitus; the western side was damaged by Swedish cannon fire at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and left undecorated. Climbing 138 steps to the viewing gallery at 47 metres offers one of the most photogenic views in Prague — looking directly down the length of Charles Bridge toward Prague Castle on one side, and back into the Old Town roofscape on the other.

Petřín Hill (Petřínský vrch) is a 327-metre wooded hill on the left bank of the Vltava, forming the largest green space in central Prague and one of the city's most popular escapes from the busy historic centre. The hill encompasses several distinct gardens — the Rose Garden, Seminary Garden, Strahov Garden, and Kinský Garden — and is crossed by the Hunger Wall, a 14th-century fortification built by Charles IV. Its summit is anchored by the Petřín Lookout Tower (a 1:5 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower built in 1891), the Mirror Maze, and the Štefánik Observatory. The hill also features the Memorial to the Victims of Communism at its foot — a haunting bronze sculptural group on the steps near Újezd — and walking paths that connect directly to Strahov Monastery and, from there, to Prague Castle. In spring the hill is covered in cherry blossom and considered one of the most romantic spots in Prague.

The Clementinum (Klementinum) is the second largest architectural complex in Prague after Prague Castle, covering over 20,000 m² in the Old Town just steps from Charles Bridge. Built by the Jesuits between 1556 and 1726 on the site of a Dominican monastery, it now houses the National Library of the Czech Republic — one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe with over six million documents. The complex is visited for three exceptional spaces: the Baroque Library Hall (1722), a breathtaking two-storey room with ceiling frescoes by Jan Hiebl, ornate globes, and 20,000 historical volumes; the Meridian Hall, used to determine noon by a shaft of sunlight until the 20th century; and the 68-metre Astronomical Tower, where continuous meteorological measurements have been recorded since 1775 — the longest unbroken climate record in Central Europe. The Mirror Chapel, decorated with mirrors and 18th-century frescoes, serves as a celebrated venue for classical concerts and was famously played on by Mozart during his Prague visits.

The Museum of Czech Cubism occupies the House of the Black Madonna (Dům U Černé Matky Boží) — the first Cubist building ever constructed, completed in 1912 by architect Josef Gočár at age 31. The building is itself the most significant exhibit: its reinforced-concrete skeleton, geometric façade, angular staircase balustrade, and wrought-iron entrance grille are all executed in pure Cubist idiom, making it a National Cultural Monument. The permanent exhibition, administered by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, covers Czech Cubism from 1911 to 1919 — a period unique in art history, when Czech architects and designers applied the Cubist aesthetic not just to painting and sculpture but to architecture, furniture, ceramics, glass, and metalwork. Highlights include furniture by Gočár and Pavel Janák, sculptures by Otto Gutfreund, paintings by Emil Filla and Josef Čapek, and an interactive zone where visitors can sit in replica Cubist chairs. The ground-floor Grand Café Orient, a faithful reconstruction of Gočár's original 1912 café interior, is open to all visitors without a museum ticket.

The Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague occupies the House at the Donkey by the Cradle (Dům U Osla v Kolébce) in Malá Strana — the documented residence and laboratory of Edward Kelley, one of the most famous alchemists at the court of Emperor Rudolf II in the late 16th century. Prague under Rudolf II was the alchemy capital of Europe: the emperor's obsession with the occult sciences drew dozens of alchemists, astrologers, and scholars to the city, including the English occultist Kelley and his partner John Dee. The museum takes visitors through three atmospheric spaces: an introductory exhibition on alchemy and its historical figures, a recreation of the Faust's House chamber, and — up one of the oldest wooden spiral staircases in Prague, reportedly built by Kelley himself — an authentic attic laboratory with period instruments set between the original 16th-century roof beams. The Kellyxír alchemical pub on the same premises serves drinks inspired by historical alchemical recipes.

The Štefánik Observatory (Štefánikova hvězdárna) is an active public astronomical observatory on Petřín Hill, founded in 1928 by the Czech Astronomical Society and named after Milan Rastislav Štefánik — Slovak astronomer, general, and co-founder of Czechoslovakia. Its centrepiece is a 1905 Zeiss double refractor weighing 5.5 tonnes, purchased with a contribution from President Tomáš Masaryk and still in use today following a renovation completed in 2024. The observatory has three domes housing different telescopes and an observation house with a retractable roof; on clear days visitors can observe the Sun and its sunspots through guided telescope sessions, and in the evenings the Moon, planets, star clusters, and galaxies. Unlike most observatories, no booking is required — visitors simply arrive during opening hours and are guided by staff astronomers. A permanent exhibition on astronomy and a themed Astrobistro café are also on site.

Konopiště (Zámek Konopiště) is a four-winged château about 44 km southeast of Prague, founded as a Gothic fortress around 1294 and converted into a Baroque and later historicist residence over the centuries. It is best known as the last private residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who bought the castle in 1887 and spent the following decades transforming it into a lavish home filled with his personal collections. Just weeks after hosting Kaiser Wilhelm II in the rose gardens here in June 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo — the event that triggered World War I. The castle preserves his apartments largely as he left them, along with the Este Armoury (one of the three largest arms collections in Europe), thousands of mounted hunting trophies, and the room containing over 1,000 portraits of St. George. The bullet that killed him is displayed in the castle's museum. The surrounding 225-hectare English landscape park, with its rose garden and Italian Renaissance statues, is open year-round and free to explore.

The Cathedral of SS. Cyril and Methodius (Katedrální chrám sv. Cyrila a Metoděje) is a Baroque church in Prague's New Town, built in 1736 by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, originally Catholic, transferred to the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church in 1921 and today serving as its principal cathedral. It is best known as the site of the final act of Operation Anthropoid — the only successful government-sponsored assassination of a senior Nazi official during World War II. On 27 May 1942, Czechoslovak paratroopers trained in Britain fatally wounded Reinhard Heydrich, the Deputy Reich Protector and one of the architects of the Holocaust. Seven paratroopers then took refuge in the cathedral's crypt, sheltered by Bishop Gorazd, until betrayed three weeks later. On 18 June 1942, SS and Gestapo forces besieged the church; the paratroopers fought until their last bullets, using them on themselves to avoid capture. The bishop and church leadership were executed. The crypt today houses the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror, with a permanent exhibition (Czech/English), original artifacts, and seven bronze busts of the paratroopers. Bullet holes and shrapnel scars remain visible on the crypt walls. The exterior window on Resslova — through which the Germans fired and forced in fire hoses — is still riddled with bullet marks and serves as an informal street memorial, accessible at any hour.

Aquapalace Praha is the largest indoor water park in Central Europe, located in the commercial zone of Čestlice, 15 km southeast of Prague. It features 21 water slides up to 250 metres long, artificial wave pools, jacuzzis, relaxation terraces, a 450-metre wild river, a pirate shipwreck area for children, and both indoor and outdoor zones. The Sauna World offers 14 types of saunas, and the complex also includes a spa and wellness centre, fitness facilities, and several restaurants. Opened in 2008, the water area is divided into three themed palaces plus an outdoor section. A unique feature is an 8-metre deep diving pit with lessons available under instructor supervision (advance reservation required), as well as aquariums with fish and sharks built into the pool walls. The attached 4-star Aquapalace Hotel Prague allows guests to combine an overnight stay with direct park access.

The Mirror Chapel is a High Baroque concert hall inside the Klementinum — Prague's former Jesuit college and the second largest building complex in the city after Prague Castle. Built by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer in 1724–25, it takes its name from the extensive use of mirrors in the wall decoration, combined with marble, gilded stucco, and ceiling frescoes. Two Baroque organs occupy the space — the original from 1732 on the choir loft, and a second installed in the 1950s — and an over-life-size bust of Mozart stands in the antechamber, marking his visits here in 1787. Since 1936 the chapel has served exclusively as a venue for concerts and cultural events. It is one of the finest and most intimate classical music venues in Prague, with exceptional acoustics.

The museum is housed in the Baroque building of the Military Order of the Crusaders of the Red Star, established by Saint Agnes of Bohemia in 1252, at the eastern end of Charles Bridge. The building originally served as the Křižovník hospital, built in the mid-13th century at the foot of the earlier Judith Bridge — the predecessor to Charles Bridge. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to St. Agnes of Bohemia, its founder. Other sections cover the history of Charles Bridge, its construction and decoration across the centuries, with craft tools, paintings, and illustrative 3D building models — including scale reconstructions of Prague around the year 1000 and of the Judith and Charles Bridges under construction. The museum also features a scale model with several hundred figurines of medieval workers and dozens of models of construction machinery. A compact museum best visited before or after crossing the bridge itself.

Hard Rock Cafe Prague is Europe's largest Hard Rock Cafe, situated in the four-storey V. J. Rott building with a neo-Renaissance façade and historic frescoes, in the heart of Old Town. The 1,900 m² venue spans three levels and a basement, with three bars, a Rock Shop, and a curated selection of rock memorabilia from Hard Rock's world-famous collection. Its most distinctive feature is a custom-made guitar-shaped chandelier, 5 metres wide, hanging in the centre of the atrium. Opened in 2009, the cafe houses rare music memorabilia including guitars, costumes, and Eric Clapton's blue velvet jacket. The menu is standard Hard Rock American fare — burgers, ribs, wings, and cocktails. Happy hour runs Mon–Thu 17:00–19:00 and 21:00–22:00; DJ nights on Fridays and Saturdays. As a global chain venue in a prime tourist location, prices run higher than the Prague average.

The State Opera was built in the late 1880s by the German community in Prague as a response to the recently constructed Czech National Theatre, and also out of necessity for a larger venue — the German Estates Theatre was a century old and no longer met staging requirements. The Neo-Renaissance building with Neo-Rococo interior was designed by Vienna-based architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer; it had a larger stage and higher seating capacity than any other theatre in Prague — which still holds true today. It opened on 5 January 1888 with Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In 1910, the world premiere of Richard Strauss's Elektra was staged here. The theatre is now part of the National Theatre group and hosts opera and ballet throughout the season. It is considered one of the most beautiful opera house interiors in Europe, and tickets are significantly more affordable than comparable venues in Vienna or London.

The Jewish Museum in Prague is not a single building but a complex of six historic monuments in Josefov, Prague's Jewish Quarter: the Maisel, Pinkas, Spanish, Old-New, and Klausen Synagogues, plus the Old Jewish Cemetery — one of the world's oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds, with ~12,000 visible gravestones layered above an estimated 100,000 actual graves. The Pinkas Synagogue doubles as one of Europe's most powerful Holocaust memorials: its walls bear the inscribed names of approximately 80,000 Czechoslovak Jewish victims. In a grim historical irony, the museum's core collection was assembled on Hitler's orders — he intended the preserved artifacts to serve as a "museum of an extinct race." Allow 2–3 hours for the full circuit.

Hradčanské náměstí is the broad cobblestone square immediately in front of Prague Castle's western gate — the formal forecourt to the largest castle complex in Europe. Originally lined with modest homes, most of the square was destroyed in a great fire in 1541, after which wealthy nobles bought the land and built grand palaces. The square is framed by the Baroque Archbishop's Palace (seat of the Archbishop of Prague since the 1660s), the Renaissance Schwarzenberg Palace (now housing the National Gallery's Baroque art collection), the Neoclassical Salm Palace, and the Tuscany Palace. At its centre stands the Marian Plague Column by Maxmilián Brokof, erected on the spot where open-air prayers were held during the plague of 1713–14. The south side of the square opens onto a terrace with sweeping views over Lesser Town, the Old Town rooftops, and the Vltava. A bronze statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first Czechoslovak president, stands near the Salm Palace. The square has served as backdrop for major national events — including Václav Havel's funeral procession in 2011 and Barack Obama's 2009 address to Prague.

The Royal Garden is the most historically significant of all Prague Castle's gardens, founded in 1534 by Ferdinand I of Habsburg on the site of medieval vineyards north of the castle, separated from it by the Stag Moat. Originally inspired by Italian Renaissance design, it became famous for rare botanical specimens and exotic plants. The current layout follows an English landscape park style introduced in the mid-19th century, with surviving Renaissance and Baroque elements. The garden's two architectural highlights are the Royal Summer Palace (Belvedere) — a pure Renaissance loggia considered the finest Renaissance building north of the Alps — and the Ball Game Hall, both built for the entertainment of the Habsburg court. The Singing Fountain in front of the Summer Palace is one of the finest Renaissance fountains in Europe. The Orangery, the garden's youngest structure, was designed in 1999 by Czech architect Eva Jiřičná at the initiative of Olga Havlová — a 90-metre glass-and-steel tubular greenhouse that provides a striking contrast to the surrounding historic buildings.

The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square, depicting victorious Hussite warriors, Protestants forced into exile after the Battle of the White Mountain, and a young mother symbolising national rebirth. It was the lifework of sculptor Ladislav Šaloun, an autodidact inspired by Rodin, who began work in 1903; the monument was funded entirely by public donations and unveiled on 6 July 1915 — the 500th anniversary of Hus's burning at the stake. As Prague was under Habsburg rule at the time, the authorities refused to acknowledge the inauguration; in quiet protest, residents blanketed the new monument in flowers. Jan Hus — a Czech theologian who a century before Luther challenged the corruption of the Catholic Church — was condemned as a heretic and burned at the Council of Constance in 1415 despite an imperial safe-conduct guarantee. Under Communist rule, sitting at the feet of the memorial became a form of quiet political dissent. July 6 is a national holiday in the Czech Republic in his memory. 

Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička) is a narrow row of eleven tiny, brightly coloured houses built into the arches of Prague Castle's northern fortification wall during the reign of Rudolf II in the late 16th century, originally to house castle guards and servants. Later the houses were rented to goldsmiths — the likely origin of the name — though a popular legend associates the lane with alchemists at Rudolf's court searching for the philosopher's stone. The houses were inhabited continuously until World War II; the street was renovated in 1955 and again in 2010–11. Today the interiors contain period exhibitions covering daily life, medieval armour and weaponry, and a reconstructed alchemist's chamber. House No. 22 is the most visited — Franz Kafka rented it from his sister between 1916 and 1917 and used it as a writing studio. At the eastern end of the lane stands the Daliborka Tower, a round prison tower named after its most famous inmate, the knight Dalibor of Kozojedy, whose legend — he allegedly played the violin in his cell — inspired Smetana's opera Dalibor.

The Loreto Sanctuary is a Baroque pilgrimage complex in Hradčany, built from 1626 at the initiative of Countess Kateřina Benigna of Lobkowicz and administered to this day by Capuchin monks. Its centrepiece is the Santa Casa — a replica of the Holy House of the Virgin Mary from Nazareth, placed at the centre of a courtyard surrounded by arcaded cloisters and six chapels. The façade and tower were completed by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer in 1724. The tower holds a 27-bell carillon cast by Amsterdam bell-maker Claud Fremy in 1683–91, connected to a clock mechanism in 1895; it plays a Marian melody every hour on the hour from 10:00 to 17:00 — audible across the whole of Hradčany. The highlight of the complex is the Loreto Treasury, a collection of liturgical objects from the 16th–18th centuries; its showpiece is the Diamond Monstrance known as the "Prague Sun" — a Baroque goldsmith masterpiece nearly 90 cm tall, decorated with 6,222 diamonds. The Church of the Nativity contains the wax-masked skeletons of two Spanish saints dressed in aristocratic robes, and one chapel displays a painting of the bearded female martyr St. Wilgefortis (Starosta). A quieter and less visited alternative to Prague Castle, typically without queues.

Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) is a protected landscape area of 181 km² and a UNESCO Global Geopark of 833 km² — the only UNESCO Geopark in the Czech Republic — designated as the country's first protected landscape area in 1955 and awarded UNESCO status in 2015. The region combines dramatic sandstone rock formations, deep pine forests, medieval castle ruins, and scenic valleys between the towns of Jičín, Turnov, Mnichovo Hradiště, and Železný Brod. Key highlights: the Prachov Rocks — a labyrinth of sandstone pinnacles up to 60 m tall near Jičín, with trails threading through narrow crevices and viewpoints; the Hrubá Skála rock town, with a château perched on a sandstone platform dating to the 14th century; and Trosky Castle — the most recognisable landmark in the region, a 14th-century ruin built atop two basalt volcanic plugs, with twin towers nicknamed "Granny" and "Virgin" visible from across the entire area. Over 400 km of marked hiking trails cross the protected area, including the 119 km Golden Trail connecting the region's main attractions. Best visited April–October; late May and September offer the fewest crowds.

The Antonín Dvořák Museum has been housed since 1932 in the Baroque summer villa "Amerika" in Prague's New Town — built in 1717–20 by Count Jan Václav Michna of Vacínov to a design by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, and surrounded by a garden with sculptures from the workshop of Matyáš Bernard Braun. The building itself has no direct connection to Dvořák; it was chosen for its architectural prestige. The first-floor great hall features ceiling frescoes by Johann Ferdinand Schor depicting scenes from classical mythology. The permanent exhibition traces Dvořák's life journey — from his beginnings in Prague through his European career and his celebrated years in America (1892–95), where he composed the New World Symphony. The collection includes Dvořák's personal viola and piano, his Cambridge gown, original manuscript scores, correspondence, period photographs, and furniture from his study. A compact museum best suited to classical music enthusiasts; allow 1–1.5 hours. Concerts are held regularly in the first-floor hall.

The Petřín Lookout Tower was built in 1891 for the Jubilee Exhibition celebrating 100 years since the first Czech industrial exhibition, inspired by the Eiffel Tower at a scale of 1:5, using 175 tonnes of iron. It stands 58.7 metres tall, with 299 steps to the top; its peak sits at the same absolute altitude as the observation deck of the real Eiffel Tower, thanks to Petřín Hill's elevation. The tower offers the best panoramic view in Prague — on clear days visibility extends up to 150 km. Also on the hill: the Mirror Maze (Zrcadlové bludiště) with a diorama of the 1648 Battle of Prague; the Štefánik Observatory; a rose garden; and the Hunger Wall (Hladová zeď), a 14th-century fortification built by Charles IV said to have employed the city's poor during a famine. The hill is one of Prague's finest green spaces and worth visiting independently of the tower.

Karlštejn Castle was founded by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, in 1348 to safeguard the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire and the royal treasures of the Bohemian kingdom. The castle is built in a stepped layout on a wooded hilltop above the Berounka River, with the most important structures positioned highest — the Imperial Palace at the base, the Marian Tower above it, and the Great Tower at the summit. The exterior, as seen from the village below, is one of the most photographed castle silhouettes in Central Europe. The crown jewel of the complex is the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower — its walls inlaid with over 2,000 precious and semiprecious stones, covered with 129 panel paintings by Master Theodoric, one of the finest examples of Bohemian Gothic art. Also notable is the Chapel of St. Catherine, Charles IV's private oratory decorated with Venetian glass and semiprecious stones. The castle was heavily restored in neo-Gothic style in the 19th century. The village street from the station to the castle gates, lined with restaurants and craft shops, is part of the experience.

The Wallenstein Garden is Prague's first and finest early Baroque palace garden, built 1623–30 for Albrecht von Wallenstein — imperial generalissimo and the wealthiest man in the Habsburg Empire — on the site of 26 demolished houses. The centrepiece is the Sala Terrena, a triple-arched open pavilion decorated with frescoes of the Trojan War by Baccio Bianco. Next to it stands an artificial grotto of lime-stucco stalactites, and an aviary. The garden's bronze statues by Dutch Mannerist sculptor Adriaen de Vries were looted by the Swedish army in 1648 and still stand at Drottningholm Palace — the figures seen today are early 20th-century copies. White peacocks roam freely. The palace itself now houses the Czech Senate. In summer the garden hosts open-air concerts and theatre performances.

The Liechtenstein Palace on Lesser Town Square is one of Prague's first large Baroque buildings, constructed in the 16th century for Karel of Liechtenstein. Karel — known as the "Bloody Liechtenstein" — sentenced and executed 27 leaders of the Bohemian Estates uprising here in 1621, an event commemorated by 27 cast-iron heads on stone pillars in front of the palace. The palace later served variously as a post office, military headquarters, and Communist Party venue. Today it houses the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (HAMU) and contains the Bohuslav Martinů Hall — a concert hall with a new organ — alongside an exhibition hall, recording studio, and summer garden. The Martinů Hall hosts regular classical concerts featuring works by Mozart, Dvořák, Smetana, Vivaldi and others, performed by student ensembles and professional groups alike. One of the more intimate and affordable classical music venues in Prague.

The New City Hall (Nová radnice) on Mariánské náměstí is the current seat of Prague City Hall, built 1908–11 in Art Nouveau style to a design by Osvald Polívka, decorated with allegorical sculptures by Josef Mařatka and Stanislav Sucharda and folkloric figures including Rabbi Loew and the Iron Knight. The building is best known among visitors for its paternoster elevator — a continuously moving chain of open cabins with no doors that operates without stopping, one of the last functioning paternosters accessible to the public in Prague. The organised after-hours tour is the only way to ride it, as the lift is normally reserved for staff. The façade on Mariánské náměstí also features a notable sculpture of the Iron Knight and a figure of Rabbi Loew — whose legend is connected to the nearby Jewish Quarter — making it a visually rich stop even without entering.

The Clam-Gallas Palace is one of the finest Baroque palaces in Prague, built in 1713–30 for Count Jan Václav Gallas to a design by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach — the leading Baroque architect of the Habsburg world, also responsible for the Karlskirche in Vienna. The entrance portal on Husova Street is flanked by two colossal Hercules figures by Matthias Bernard Braun, one of the most striking Baroque doorways in Central Europe. The ceremonial interiors on the piano nobile feature ceiling and wall frescoes by the Italian painter Carlo Carlone depicting mythological themes. Over the centuries the palace hosted concerts by Mozart and Beethoven and served variously as a military headquarters and post office. Today the City of Prague owns the building, which houses the Prague City Archives. Its 99 rooms underwent extensive renovation in 2018–22, restoring the façade, courtyard, and interiors. One of the most architecturally significant and least-crowded Baroque interiors accessible to visitors in the Old Town.

The Great Strahov Stadium (Velký strahovský stadion) is the largest stadium ever built, with a capacity of 250,000 spectators (56,000 seated) — surpassing any current or former sports venue in the world. Construction began in 1926 to a design by architect Alois Dryák for the Sokol movement's mass gymnastics displays (slets), with major enlargements in 1932, 1948, and 1975. The field is three times the length and width of a standard football pitch. During the Nazi occupation it was used for military parades and as a staging ground before Jewish deportations. Under Communism it hosted the Spartakiad — the regime's mass gymnastics propaganda events with up to 180,000 performers. In 1990 The Rolling Stones performed here before 100,000 people, with President Václav Havel in attendance; in 1995 Pope John Paul II held a public mass on its field. Since 2019 it has hosted no competitive events. The concrete stands are in partial disrepair, and its long-term future — demolition, redevelopment, or preservation — remains unresolved. The view from the upper terrace over Prague is exceptional and completely free.

Karlovy Lázně is the largest nightclub in Central Europe, spread across five floors in a historic building dating to the turn of the 15th century, located 100 metres from Charles Bridge. The original mosaic-tiled hallways and walls, and the partially preserved spa pools in the style of Roman baths — now drained and used as dance floors — combine with modern sound and lighting to create the venue's distinctive atmosphere. Each floor plays a different genre: Silent Disco (floor -1), dance and electronic (floor 1, with robotic bar), oldies and retro 50s–70s (floor 2, with a DJ booth in a vintage Cadillac), mainstream hits (floor 3), and R&B and hip-hop (floor 4). The building previously housed public baths, a café, and the editorial offices of journalist Karel Havlíček Borovský. After decades of abandonment and decay, it was converted into a club in the late 1990s. Prague's best-known tourist-oriented nightlife venue — popular with stag parties and interrail travellers; locals tend to prefer smaller venues.

The Jewish Town Hall (Židovská radnice) was built in 1577 in Renaissance style under the patronage of Mordechai Maisel — the wealthy mayor of the Jewish Quarter and one of the most influential figures in 16th-century Prague. After a fire in 1755 it was rebuilt in Late Baroque style; what visitors see today is its Rococo façade. The building is best known for its two clocks on the tower: the upper one with standard Roman numerals, and the lower one with Hebrew numerals whose hands move counterclockwise — reflecting that Hebrew is read from right to left. Today the building is the headquarters of the Prague Jewish Community (Kehila). A notable exterior landmark in Josefov, worth a close look when visiting the nearby Old-New Synagogue — but do not expect interior access.

The Klausen Synagogue is the largest surviving synagogue of Prague's former Jewish ghetto and its only preserved example of Baroque synagogue architecture. The name comes from the German "Klaus" (small building): in the 1570s Mordechai Maisel built a complex of three small structures on this site — a yeshiva (Talmudic school) founded by the famous Rabbi Loew, a prayer room, and a ritual bath. After the great ghetto fire of 1689 destroyed them all, a new single synagogue was completed in 1694 in early Baroque style. In 1696 a monumental three-tiered Torah Ark was added, funded by Samuel Oppenheimer, one of the most influential Jewish financiers of the Habsburg monarchy. The synagogue served as the community's second main house of prayer and the synagogue of the Prague Burial Society. It was reconstructed in 1883–84 by architect Bedřich Münzberger. Since 1984 it has been part of the Jewish Museum in Prague, housing the permanent exhibition on Jewish customs and traditions — now being replaced with a new exhibition on the treasures of Czech, Moravian, and Silesian Jewish communities, due when the synagogue reopens after reconstruction.

Note: The Klausen Synagogue has been closed since July 2024 for major renovation. Reopening is planned for 2028 at the earliest. Verify current status at jewishmuseum.cz before visiting.

The Lesser Town Bridge Towers are two architecturally distinct towers connected by a gate, forming the entrance to Malá Strana from Charles Bridge. The shorter tower — also called Judith's Tower — is Romanesque at its core, dating to the 12th century as part of the original Judith Bridge, Prague's first stone bridge, destroyed by floods in 1342; its current Renaissance appearance dates to 1591. The taller Late Gothic tower was built after 1464 at the expense of King George of Poděbrady, modelled on Petr Parléř's Old Town Bridge Tower; it stands 43.5 metres high with a viewing gallery at 26 metres. Wall niches were prepared for monumental sculptures that were never installed. If you look closely at the lower parts of the tower walls, you can see indentations worn into the stone by gatekeepers sharpening their swords during guard duty. The tower houses a small exhibition on the history of Charles Bridge. The viewing gallery offers a direct, low-angle view down the length of the bridge towards the Old Town — different from and arguably more intimate than the view from the Old Town Bridge Tower.

The Basilica of St. James the Greater is the most beautiful Baroque church in Prague and the longest after St. Vitus Cathedral, founded by Franciscan monks in the 13th century and rebuilt in its current form after a fire in 1689. The interior features 21 altars, ceiling frescoes, and exceptional Baroque decoration. The church contains the elaborate tomb of Count Vratislav of Mitrovice, Bohemian Chancellor, designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and completed in 1714 — one of the finest Baroque funerary monuments in Central Europe. Legend holds that when the tomb was later opened, the count's body was found outside the coffin, suggesting he had been buried alive. The organ, dating from 1705, is the largest in Prague and used regularly for services and concerts. The church's most unsettling feature: just inside the entrance on the right, suspended from a meat hook, hangs a mummified human forearm — over 400 years old. According to legend, a thief tried to steal jewels from the statue of the Virgin Mary on the high altar; the statue grabbed his arm and held him until the Prague Butchers' Guild, which worshipped here, amputated it. Most visitors walk past it without noticing.

Wallenstein Palace is the first monumental early Baroque secular building in Prague, built 1624–30 for Albrecht von Wallenstein — imperial generalissimo and the most powerful nobleman of the post-White Mountain period — on the site of 26 demolished houses, 6 gardens, and 2 brickworks. Wallenstein's ambition was explicit: the palace was designed to rival Prague Castle itself. The ceremonial interiors feature frescoed ceilings depicting mythological scenes, including a fresco of Wallenstein himself as a victorious charioteer. Wallenstein was assassinated on Emperor Ferdinand II's orders in 1634, having become too powerful; the property remained in the family until 1945, after which it became state property. Today it is the seat of the Czech Senate. The adjacent Riding Hall — originally built for 37 horses with marble fittings and individual painted portraits above each stall — later served as a Laurin & Klement car repair workshop and is now a Senate conference hall and exhibition space.

The Franz Kafka Museum occupies the former Herget Brickworks, a repurposed industrial building on the Lesser Town bank of the Vltava, looking across at the Old Town where Kafka was born and spent his working life. The permanent exhibition was originally conceived in 1999 as a travelling show, displayed first in Barcelona and then at the Jewish Museum in New York in 2002–03, before finding a permanent home in Prague in 2005. It is divided into two sections: "Existential Space" — tracing how Prague shaped Kafka's life through manuscripts, letters, diaries, photographs, and audiovisual installations — and "Imaginary Topography", which maps how the physical reality of Prague was transformed into the metaphoric landscape of his novels. The collection includes first editions of most of Kafka's works and correspondence and drawings never previously displayed. In the courtyard stands David Černý's provocative sculpture of two urinating figures — a Prague landmark in its own right. Kafka (1883–1924) wrote in German, worked as an insurance official, published almost nothing in his lifetime, and asked his friend Max Brod to burn his manuscripts after his death. Brod did not comply. Allow 1–1.5 hours.

Břevnov Monastery is the oldest male monastery in Bohemia, founded in 993 AD by Bishop Adalbert (Vojtěch) and Duke Boleslav II on the site of a spring in what is now Prague's Břevnov district. The current Baroque complex was built 1708–45 by the father-and-son architects Kryštof and Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, and includes the Basilica of St. Margaret — the first church in Prague to receive the title of Basilica Minor (1948) — a Romanesque crypt from around 1040 surviving beneath the current church, and the magnificent Theresian Hall in the prelature, named after Empress Maria Theresa's visit in 1753. The monastery was seized by the Communist government in 1950 and its abbot, Anastáz Opasek, imprisoned; returned to the Benedictines after 1989 and elevated to an Archabbey by Pope John Paul II during his 1997 visit. The monastery brews its own Klášter beer, a tradition documented since the 13th century, which can be tasted at the on-site taproom in the historic Baroque granary. One of Prague's finest hidden gems — almost entirely free of tourist crowds.

The Sedlec Ossuary — known as the "Bone Church" — is a small Gothic chapel beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints, whose interior is decorated entirely with the remains of approximately 40,000 people. The story begins in 1278, when the abbot of the Sedlec Cistercian monastery returned from Jerusalem with soil said to be from Golgotha and scattered it over the cemetery, making it one of the most sought-after burial sites in Central Europe. After the Black Death and Hussite Wars added thousands more burials, exhumed bones were stacked in the crypt. In the 1870s, woodcarver František Rint was commissioned to arrange the bones artistically: the result is a chandelier incorporating every bone in the human body, garlands of skulls and femurs strung across the vaulted ceiling, four pyramidal bone heaps in the corners, and the Schwarzenberg coat of arms rendered in bones. The ossuary is part of the Kutná Hora UNESCO World Heritage Site and is best combined with a visit to St. Barbara's Cathedral in the town centre. Allow half a day for the full trip from Prague.