10 Things You Must Do in Prague

It’s said that the city of Prague was spared by Hitler during WWII because of its beauty. I don’t know if that’s true. But I do know that Prague is up there with one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to. Here’s my list of 10 things you must do in Prague.

Prague, the Czech Republic’s capital, is a stunning medieval city in Central Europe. It’s course yet graceful and full of unique gothic charm.

I spent 3 days in Prague and whilst 3 days isn’t enough to really get to know a city, I packed in loads.  If you’re visiting the Czech Republic’s Capital but are restricted by time, read on for 10 things you really should do whilst you’re there.

1 Climb Petrin Hill

Petrin Hill is slap bang in the centre of Prague on the banks of the Vltava River. You can take a funicular to the top, but I preferred to walk. It’s a steep hike along a wooded path and there’s a few benches along the way to rest up for a few minutes and enjoy the view.

2 Petrin Hill Observation Tower

By far the best thing to do at the top of Petrin Hill is to climb the observation tower. It looks just like the Eiffel Tower, but it’s quite a bit smaller. Nonetheless, if you climb the 299 winding steps to the top, you’ll be rewarded with stunning views over the City.

3. Try Trdelník

Hungary has goulash. France has crepes. Italy has pasta. But Prague has trdelník. Trdelník is a sweet pastry made from rolled dough. It’s wrapped around a stick, grilled, sprinkled with sugar and filled with ice cream or Nutella. Bakers and street vendors all over Prague sell different versions and varieties of Trdelník. You should try it.

4 Visit the KGB Museum

What can I say about this slightly bizarre but amazing find? The KGB museum is one of Prague’s quirkier museums and was without doubt a surprising highlight of my visit to Prague. My friend and I didn’t stop talking about it or impersonating the guide for the rest of our trip through Europe.

The KGB Museum is one mans personal and well maintained collection of KGB memorabilia. His huge assortment of artifacts includes spy cameras, scary weapons and interrogation equipment.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so passionate. His obsession with the KGB, together with his strange viewpoint and collection of weird and wonderful paraphernalia is a little frightening. But his eccentricity, enthusiasm and method acting make this an interesting and hilarious (although I’m not sure it’s meant to be funny) insight into Russia’s feared secret service. Well as told from this one man’s point of view anyway.

5 Drink Hot Rum (or any other hot alcoholic beverage)

The hot alcoholic beverage options in Prague are plentiful to say the least. Whether you want to warm up on a cold day or if you just fancy trying something a bit different, rum tea, hot cider, beer grog, hot absinthe and hot becherovka are some of the favourites.

6 Take an underground tour

Like many European cities, Prague has an underground city that dates back to the 13th century. Much of the underground city is still in tact to this day and can be accessed via a plethora of organised tours.

If you want to learn about, see, and feel the history of Prague, you should definitely take an underground tour. But if the history doesn’t interest you, maybe just being a bit creeped out exploring the eerie, dark, damp underground vaults and tunnels will be enough to tempt you.

7 Walk over Charles Bridge

The iconic Charles Bridge is the first stop for many on the Prague tourist trail.

The Charles Bridge is a stone gothic bridge that was commissioned by the then Czech King, Charles IV, in 1357. It connects Prague’s Old Town and Mala Strana across the Vltava River.

The bridge, now fully pedestrianised, is 516 metres long and around 10 metres wide with bridge towers at each end which you can climb.

It’s decorated with around 30 statues, most notably the statue of St John Nepomuk, a Czech martyr saint who was executed by being thrown into the Vltava River during the reign of Wenceslas IV. Again, I’m not sure if it works, but touching the statue is supposed to bring you good luck.

As expected, the bridge is a popular tourist spot, so during the day it’s packed with tourists, musicians and souvenir vendors. so if you want the bridge all to yourself you should go very early in the morning, or late at night.

8 Visit Old Town Square

“Old Town” or “Market” Square is the focal point of Prague’s old town. Since the 11th century it’s been Prague’s main market area. Now it’s also a bustling tourist hub.

The Square is surrounded by historical buildings like Old Town City Hall, Tyn Cathedral and St Nicholas Church.

Then there’s the Astronomical Clock. Every hour tourists gather to hear the clock chime and see the four figures that surround the clock begin their ‘dance’. The figures represent vanity, greed, death and lust.

9 Explore Mala Strana

Cross the Charles Bridge from the old town to Mala Strana, Czech for ‘Little Side (of the river)”. It looks and feels like a completely different city with its cobbled streets. The 15th Century Stone Arch Gate at the Mala Strana side of Charles Bridge creates a somewhat dramatic entrance to what is known as Prague’s ‘lesser town’.

And it’s here you’ll find Prague Castle towering above the district, St Vitus Cathedral and the John Lennon Wall.

The John Lennon wall is really just a wall that, over the years has been graffiti’d with Beatles lyrics, drawings and messages, but it’s still pretty cool.

10 Drink Beer

I don’t mean drink beer to get wasted and drive through the streets on a 6 person bicycle bar. I mean taste the beer.

Prague is famous for its beer, and it’s also cheap. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening after a day of sightseeing.

Most bars in Prague have beer samplers. You can choose your own beers to sample, or opt for a surprise. Not being much of a beer connoisseur, I opted for a surprise. My personal favourite was a sweet cherry porter. But there are so many you could be there sampling beers for hours, days even!

So there you have it. My 10 must dos in Prague.

Who’s been to Prague? Did I miss anything off my list?