PRAGUE · CZECH REPUBLIC
Red rooftops, gothic spires, and the river through it all.
Prague Castle and the Old Town, of course. But also sunset on the Vltava, Mozart by candlelight, the medieval lanes after dark, beer halls older than most countries, and the fairy-tale towns a short ride out into Bohemia.
Only in Prague
Three things Prague does like nowhere else.
Castles, boat rides and string quartets turn up all over Europe. A castle this size, beer this good, and this much Mozart do not.
The world’s thirstiest nation
Beer as a Way of Life
Czechs drink more beer per head than anyone on the planet, and have done for generations. Pilsner was invented an hour west of here, the pubs pour tank lager so fresh it never sees a bottle, and at the city’s beer spas you soak in a warm tub of dark malt with a glass in hand. Nowhere takes its beer more seriously, or more cheerfully.
- 1 Prague: Entry ticket to Ice Pub Prague with Nightclub Option
- 2 Prague: Bernard Beer Spa with Beer and Massage Option
- 3 Prague: Pilsner Urquell Experience & Beer Tasting
The largest castle on earth
A Castle the Size of a Town
Prague Castle is less a building than a walled quarter, the largest coherent castle complex in the world by the record books and nine centuries in the making. Inside its gates rise the Gothic spires of St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, the tiny painted houses of the Golden Lane and a changing of the guard on the hour.
- 1 Prague: Skip-the-line Castle Ticket and Optional AudioGuide
- 2 Prague: Castle Tour with Local Guide and Entry Ticket
- 3 Prague Castle 2.5-Hour Tour Including Admission Ticket
Mozart’s other city
Where Don Giovanni Was Born
Mozart loved Prague and Prague loved him back; he premiered Don Giovanni here in 1787 and the city has barely paused for breath since. Most evenings you can hear Vivaldi, Dvorak and Smetana by candlelight in a baroque church, a mirrored salon or the gilded Municipal House, often for the price of a good dinner.
- 1 Prague: Entry Ticket Classical Concert at the Mirror Chapel
- 2 Prague: Concert at Reduta Jazz Club
- 3 Prague: A. Vivaldi Four Seasons at St. Salvator Church
The one everyone books
The experience more visitors book than any other.
More people book this than anything else on the site. If you only lock in one thing before you arrive, this is the safe bet.
The classics
Prague's Most Popular Tours & Tickets
River cruises, castle tickets, beer tours and the Old Town walks. The experiences most visitors book first.
Where to begin
The handful of things a Prague trip is built around.
The Castle, the river, the Old Town, the beer halls, the concerts and the legends. The categories most Prague trips are planned around, and the best of each.
The big question
How to see the city.
Prague rewards every pace. Wander the Old Town on foot, slide past the skyline on the Vltava, or cover real ground by bike. Here is how the three stack up, and who each one suits.
The Vltava
The whole skyline, from the water.
The Vltava bends straight through the heart of Prague, so the city lines up from the deck of a boat the way it never quite does from the street: the arches of Charles Bridge, the castle on its hill, the National Theatre and a long row of red roofs. Take a one-hour sightseeing loop in the afternoon, a slow lunch sailing, or a candlelit dinner cruise with the bridges lit gold above you.
See all Vltava river cruises →The thirstiest city
Tank lager, beer halls and beer spas.
Beer here is older than half of Europe’s borders and cheaper than water. A guided crawl gets you behind the famous halls and the vaulted cellars, pouring tank Pilsner Urquell so fresh it never sees a bottle and dark Czech lager you will not find at home. Or trade the pint for a soak: at the city’s beer spas you bathe in a warm tub of hops and malt, a glass within reach the whole time.
See the beer & pub tours →The Castle
The largest castle complex on earth.
Nine hundred years of building, all behind one set of gates: the soaring Gothic nave of St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, the little painted cottages of the Golden Lane and a basilica older than the country itself. Time it for the changing of the guard at noon, and give it a morning before the tour groups arrive.
Browse Prague Castle tickets & tours →Mozart’s city
An evening of music, by candlelight.
This is the city that gave Don Giovanni its premiere, and the music never stopped. Most nights you can hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Mozart and Dvorak in a baroque church, a mirror-lined chapel or the gilded Smetana Hall of the Municipal House. An hour of strings under a frescoed ceiling, often for less than dinner.
- 1 Prague: Entry Ticket Classical Concert at the Mirror Chapel
- 2 Prague: Concert at Reduta Jazz Club
- 3 Prague: A. Vivaldi Four Seasons at St. Salvator Church
After dark
The city tells its best stories at night.
When the day-trippers leave, Prague turns medieval again. A lantern-lit walk threads the empty lanes with tales of the Golem of the Jewish Quarter, the mad alchemists Rudolf II kept at the castle, and the executions on the Old Town Square. Some tours drop you into the genuine dungeons and underground beneath the streets. Theatrical, a little spooky, and pure Prague.
See all 10 ghost & legend tours →Where to wander
From the Old Town to the edge of Bohemia.
The medieval core and its square. The Castle quarter up on the hill. The old Jewish town and its cemetery. Then out of the city, to fairy-tale Cesky Krumlov, the bone church at Kutna Hora, and the sandstone gorges of Bohemian Switzerland.
By activity
Pick how to spend the day.
A walking tour to learn the lanes. A river cruise for the skyline. A beer hall for the evening. Plus candlelit concerts, bike rides, food tours, ghost walks and the museums for when it rains.
Plan it
Three perfect days.
First time in Prague? A long weekend that takes in the old city, the river and one trip out into the Bohemian countryside.
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