Prague has been my first stop in my 8 month journey around the world and it was a fantastic place to start out! I feel like I am learning what it is like to truly travel on my own. So let me share my adventures and mistakes with you!
Day 1:
Prague is an amazing city but it can be a bit confusing. The streets aren’t always well-marked and they twist and turn and dead-end randomly. Part of the fun of Prague is wandering around and getting lost. Everyone that I met during my time in Prague said the same thing. You get lost but you have to embrace it as part of the adventure.
Free Walking Tour: So I highly recommend starting your trip by taking a three hour Free Walking tour to get a basic orientation of the city. The only thing you pay is whatever you deem an appropriate tip at the end of the tour. This is a great way to get to know the city and learn a bit about the culture. It helped that my guide had a good sense of humor as well. If you are traveling solo, it can be a great way to meet people. I kept running into the people I met on my tour throughout my four days in Prague. I plan on taking a Free Walking Tour in most of the European cities that I visit. I love free and it helps with the budget too! There are several companies offering Free Walking Tours but I went with Sandemans New Prague Tours. They have tours at 10, 11, 12, 2, and 4pm. They start out in the Old Town Square and also visited the Jewish Quarter.
Old Town Square: My tour ended a couple of blocks back from Old Town Square and I would suggest heading back there. The square is full of street performers as well as musicians of all ages playing a wide variety of songs. It can be a great place to find a seat on a bench and just sit and soak it in. Not to mention it is great people watching to see people interacting with the street performers. That could be just as entertaining as the street performers themselves! You could easily spend an hour just hanging out in the Square.
St Nicholas Church, Tyn Church: Once you are ready to start walking around again, I would take a quick look at St. Nicholas Church, it has a large beautiful chandelier that is worth a peak. Tyn Church is also located in the Square and it was another stunning church. Both are free and will only take 5 to 10 minutes to see.
Astronomical Clock: Unfortunately it was under construction while I was visiting, so I didn’t get to see much but apparently it goes off every hour so you may want to check it out. I have heard it is a little hokey but worth seeing once.
Wander and Get Lost: After that, I would spend some time walking the streets around Old Town Square and getting lost. You could walk for hours in that area exploring the different shops.
Prague Castle at Night: If you aren’t jet-lagged or exhausted like I was, then I would walk along the river once it gets dark to see views of Prague Castle. It looks magical at night!
Day 2:
Go visit Prague Castle: If you can, take tram 22 to the Castle. It will drop you right outside the entrance to the castle. If you go to the Metro stop, Malostranska, you will have a very steep 10 to 15 minute walk up. Do yourself a favor, take tram 22. They have several options for Guided Tours for 2.5 hours but I choose to just wander around by myself. It cost me 350 Kc (~$16*) for the Circuit A ticket. I spent about 3.5 hours leisurely wandering around. My favorite part of the day was touring St. Vitus’s Cathedral. I especially loved all of the stained glass windows. My second favorite exhibit was the Golden Lane Exhibit. They showcased all of the old weaponry and armor.
My favorite part of the day was touring St. Vitus’s Cathedral. I especially loved all of the stained glass windows. My second favorite exhibit was the Golden Lane Exhibit. They showcased all of the old weaponry and armor.
Prague Boats River Cruise: After being on your feet for hours touring the Castle, I suggest relaxing by joining one of the 1 hour boat tours on the river with Prague Boats. The ticket cost me 325Kc (~$15.15).
They also have options that include lunch or dinner. I asked about the 2 hour trip but the guy selling the ticket told me that it gets a bit boring so I would stick to the one hour trip. It was a nice leisurely ride along the river and a different view of the city.
Prague Catacombs: I took a 30 minute tour with Speculum Alchemiae for 200Kc (~ $9.12*). It was a really cool to see one of the oldest houses in Prague being around 1000 years old and the Catacombs below. There are also some options for Night Catacombs tours through other companies that looked interesting but I didn’t get around doing this until the last day of my trip.
Day 3:
Petrin Park and Petrin Tower: Head to Petrin Park and go up to Petrin Tower for great views of the City.
So I was an idiot and gave up on finding the funicular to take up to the Tower. I decided I would just walk up to the Tower. Big mistake!! I was lost several times in my journey up and took what seemed like the longest way possible. It is a long climb up even if you don’t get lost. I ran into tons of people at the top that had similar issues. So be smart and take the funicular! The easiest way to find it is to cross over most Legii Bridge and straight to the park. Then turn right and walk 1 to 2 blocks in the park. If you don’t see it, just ask since you are really close. The funicular is included in a 1 day transportation pass or is 24Kc (~$1.08)to ride up.
Once you get to the top, you can pay 150 Kc (~$6.75*) to climb the 299 stairs to the top of Petrin Tower. The Tower looks like a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower.
Museum Kampa: After you get done looking at the beautiful views of the city, why not go look at beautiful art? You can back down the funicular and the Museum Kampa is very close by. I didn’t get a chance to see it but I heard wonderful things.
Lennon Wall: Once you finish up there, head to the Lenin Wall which is very close by. It was a tribute to John Lennon and filled with pictures and lyrics from his Beattles songs. But now the graffiti wall is constantly changing and who knows what you will see.
If you haven’t already wandered over the Famous Charles Bridge, I would take a stroll on it. It has several statues along it and dozens of various vendors to look at along your walk.
Day 4: Day Trip to Kutna Hora
Kutna Hora is located an hour by express train outside of the city. Trains leave about every two hours in each direction. I would check for the latest schedule since the one I was given was several minutes off. Be careful as there are both express trains taking 1 hour and slow trains taking two hours.
Bone Church: The main point of interest in Kutna Hora is the famous Bone Church. It is a 10 minute walk from the train station. This Church is decorated with the remains of 60,000 people. It was one of the most unusual things that I have seen.
Food to try:
Main Course:
Goulash: I am sucker for any food in a pretty presentation. This Goulash Soup delivered in a cute bread bowl. I found it to be a little spicier then what I have had in the past but it was great! It is one of their traditional dishes and I highly recommend it.
Old Prague Ham: Right around Old Town Square, you will see them cooking pigs in these glass containers or over an open wood pit. The place I went called it Old Prague Ham. It was some of the best ham that I have ever had.
For Desert:
Trdelnik/Trdlo: At some point you have to try Trdelnik (Trdlo for short). You will see it all over the city. The closest thing I could compare it to is a Churro. It is dough with sugar and cinnamon of the outside. It is cooked over an open flame around a stick so both sides are open. You can have it with whipped cream, chocolate, caramel, or ice cream inside. Yummy!
Other things to note:
Daily Public Transportation tickets can be purchased for 110Kc (~$5) per day. One ride for 30 minutes will cost you 24Kc (~1.08). I did a ton of walking as most of Prague is pretty close together so I would only ride public transportation 1 to 2 times per day so I just bought individual tickets.
Other Places of Interest:
Letna Park – Great views of the City
Prague Beer Tour – People in Prague love their beer! Go take a beer tour and explore the different types of beer they offer.
Original Beer Spa Prague: You basically bathe in beer while being able to pour yourself unlimited beer during your hour bath. they have multiple baths in a room so you can be in the same room as your friends. It looks like most people wear their bathing suit in. It looks like a fun, unique experience. I really wanted to do this but didn’t think it would be nearly as much fun solo plus I was trying to detox for a few days.
Riegrovy Sandy Beer Garden: Try out a Prague Beer Garden and it is supposed to be a great place to see the sunset
My Costs:
Food and Drinks: $65.72
Transportation: $19.11
Admission Tickets: $50.83
Misc. (Wifi, bathroom, etc): $44.34
Total: $180
* Costs were based on the Exchange Rate in September 2018
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