City guide · Czech Republic
Prague
Gothic spires, tank-fresh Pilsner, thousand-year castle views
April–June & September–October (December for Christmas markets)
Czech koruna (CZK)
Czech (English common in the centre)
Europe
The guides
The best of Prague, by category
Prague escaped the 20th century's bombs, so its Gothic, baroque and Art Nouveau layers survive intact from Charles Bridge to the castle crowning the skyline. It is also the world's most serious beer city — Czechs drink more per head than anyone — and the tank-fresh Pilsner often costs less than bottled water.
The shortlist
If you only have time for the best
The single highest-rated picks across every category in Prague.
Hotels
See all 6- 1
Four Seasons Hotel Prague
Staré Město (Old Town riverbank)
4.7★1,500+ reviews - 2
Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel
Malá Strana
4.7★1,500+ reviews - 3
Hotel Paris Prague
Staré Město (by the Municipal House)
4.6★1,500+ reviews
Restaurants
See all 6- 1
Lokál Dlouhá
Staré Město (Dlouhá)
4.5★10,000+ reviews - 2
Café Louvre
Nové Město (Národní)
4.5★10,000+ reviews - 3
La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise
Staré Město (Haštalská)
4.7★1,000+ reviews
Bars
See all 6- 1
Hemingway Bar
Staré Město (Karolíny Světlé)
4.7★3,000+ reviews - 2
Black Angel's Bar
Staré Město (Old Town Square)
4.6★1,500+ reviews - 3
U Zlatého tygra
Staré Město (Husova)
4.5★5,000+ reviews
Attractions
See all 6- 1
Charles Bridge
Staré Město–Malá Strana
4.8★100,000+ reviews
- 2
Prague Castle
Hradčany
4.7★100,000+ reviews - 3
Old Town Square & Astronomical Clock
Staré Město
4.7★75,000+ reviews
Where to base yourself
Prague neighborhoods, decoded
Pick your area first — it shapes everything else about the trip.
Staré Město (Old Town)
Gothic theatre, tourist ground zeroThe medieval core around Old Town Square delivers the Orloj, the Týn spires and lane-maze wandering — along with the densest crowds and the worst exchange rates. Duck two streets off the Royal Route and it quiets instantly.
Malá Strana
Baroque lanes beneath the castleThe 'Lesser Town' of embassy palaces, hidden terraced gardens and the Kampa riverside, draped between Charles Bridge and the castle steps. Evenings here, after the day-trippers leave, are magical.
Vinohrady
Elegant, leafy, café-saturated residentialArt Nouveau apartment blocks around Riegrovy sady and Náměstí Míru hold the city's best café and bistro density. Its beer-garden sunset over the skyline is a local institution.
Karlín
Regenerated, riverside, design-forwardFlooded in 2002 and rebuilt into Prague's coolest quarter: Eska's factory dining, concert halls and pastel neo-Renaissance blocks below Vítkov hill. The lunch scene outclasses the Old Town's.
Beyond the city
Day trips worth the ride
Kutná Hora
55 min by direct trainThe Sedlec Ossuary's chandelier of human bones and the UNESCO Gothic cathedral of St. Barbara, both built on medieval silver-mining wealth.
Karlštejn Castle
40 min by train + uphill walkCharles IV's 14th-century fortress, built to guard the imperial crown jewels, rising photogenically above forested hills.
Český Krumlov
2.5–3 hr by bus or trainA UNESCO fairy-tale town looped by the Vltava, with a painted castle tower and riverside taverns; doable in a long day, better overnight.
Eat like a local
What to order in Prague
Svíčková na smetaně
Beef sirloin in a silky root-vegetable cream sauce with bread dumplings, cranberries and a flourish of whipped cream.
Try it at: Lokál Dlouhá, Old Town
Guláš s knedlíky
Czech goulash — darker and beerier than Hungary's — ladled beside pillowy bread dumplings.
Try it at: U Fleků, New Town
Chlebíčky
Open-faced sandwiches of potato salad, ham, egg and pickles — the festive Czech snack reinvented by modern bistros.
Try it at: Sisters Bistro, Dlouhá street
Trdelník
Spit-roasted chimney cake rolled in cinnamon sugar — a Transylvanian import adopted wholesale by Prague's tourist lanes, best eaten warm.
Try it at: Stalls around Old Town Square and Havelská Market
Good to know
Prague essentials, answered
Two full days covers the castle, Old Town and Malá Strana; three lets you add Vyšehrad, Letná and proper pub time. Add a fourth for a Kutná Hora day trip.
