Prague – Walking Tour (free, downloadable guide) – Ryan and Debi & Toren (2023)

In the spring of 2023 we had the opportunity to spend over a week in Prague, Czech Republic. My wife attended a workshop and I had a lot of work to do there (I would be on vacation) and I got a chance to explore some parts of Prague. I walk most days in Prague for exercise. In the process, I realized that the different things I wanted to see (e.g., museums, art, and other interesting things) could be found all over the city, and I ended up spending quite a bit of time figuring out where things are in the city found. city ​​and the best places to see them, good order. To help others in the future, I've made my list of interesting things to do/see in Prague along with some guides on how to get around them and what it's all about.

I am not a tour guide. I didn't get paid for it. If the manuals are no longer up to date, feel free to contact me and I will remove them. But if you don't agree with me, don't contact me. I am an introverted, middle-aged college professor. If you don't like my guides, make your own.

I do not promise that these guidelines will be valid for a year or two, because cities are living beings that are constantly changing. But it would be nice to have these tips and guides when I go to Prague.

First, here's my ranked list of things to do and see in Prague - from my favorite to my least:

1. Prague Castle (includes St Vitus Cathedral, St James Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Golden Lane; West River)
2. Museum of Communism (East River, North)
3. Pride (pisssculptuur; Xihe)
4. Lucheng River (West River)
5. Walstein Gardens (drip stone wall/cave; West River)
6. Mirror of Alchemy (East River, Noord)
7. Crawling Babies of Kampa Island (West River)
8. Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library (East River, North)
9. King Wenceslas Riding His Horse (Lucena Palace; East River, North)
10. Old Town Square (St Nicholas Church, Old Town Hall, One Minute House, Storch House, Stone Clock House, Our Lady Before Tyne, East River, North)
11. Charles Bridge (across the river)
12. Franz Kafka-monument (North East River)
13. Kafka Rotating Avatar (Eastern North)
14. Zizkov Tower (and Crawling Babies; East River, South)
15. Sex Machines Museum (East River, Noord)
16. Strahov Monastery (only if you pay for a guide; West River)
17. Letna Park (West River - the real North River)
18. Metronoom (Xihe - de echte Beihe)
19. Where are you going (Xihe)
20. R2-D2 vent shaft (and Minion vent shaft; East River, South)
21. Grotta (East River, South)
22. Municipal Library Idiom Book Sculpture (Donghe North)
23. Prague Astronomical Clock (East River, North)
24. Jan Hus Monument (East River, North)
25. The Hanged Man (Sigmund Freud hanging in the street; East River, North)
26. Olsani Cemetery (East River, South)
27. Wenceslas Square (East River, North)
28. Rudolph Hall (east-north)
29. Vinarna Certovka (Super Narrow Walkway; West River)
30. Miniature Museum (if you have 10 minutes and money to burn; West River)
31. Lennon Wall (don't bother, I'm a big fan of John Lennon and the Beatles; West River)

(Another thing I wanted to do but was closed while I was there - the Paternoster in the New Town Hall.)

As for the guide, I have two things that might help you. First, although Prague has specific districts (seehere), they didn't really help organize where I wanted to go each day. Since the city is actually bisected by the Vltava River, I've divided the city into three main areas: West River, East North (also known as Old Town), and East South.

Based on these three areas, I've come up with several shorter tours you can use with accompanying maps (in Google Maps) and possibly useful guide information (although I verified all of this when I used ChatGPT to generate info). If the journey turns out to be shorter than you would like, you can combine them into a longer journey.

Itinerary 1 – Prague Castle and Surroundings

I recommend visiting Prague Castle, Hertengracht and Royal Gardens for a day. Entrance to Prague Castle is free, but certain buildings require tickets and audio guides are charged separately (also cash only). There are plenty of sights around the castle that you can visit for a whole day. Here is a map of the Charles Bridge:

Note that you can click on the map to open and modify it in Google Maps. Also note that the map takes you to the entrance of the Royal Gardens, but the gardens are large (actually there is a north (very large) and a south, which you can visit as you enter the Prague Castle complex. Both the Royal Gardens like the Deer River It's free and not very lively The map also takes you to the west entrance of the Lucheng River If you follow the Lucheng River all the way it will take you all the way to the castle complex on the east side of Prague So my suggestion route is: from the east Enter the complex of Prague Castle face to face, visit the southern gardens, buy tickets for the tour of Prague Castle, go to the Royal Gardens to explore for a while, but do not follow if they leave to a busy street, they go all the way east and then back to the Royal Gardens at the same time One entrance, then round to the west entrance of the Hertengracht Keep walking along the Hertengracht through (west to east) and then go to the east side (there is a path exit, but you have to walk up and down the sidewalk (not for those with a fear of heights). It will open near where you entered the castle complex on the east side.

InThis is a free downloadable information guideGenerated by ChatGPT, it provides some of the most accurate background information.

Route 2 - West River-North (aka Old Town)

For this tour, I recommend starting at the Old Town Square. Although very touristy it is well worth seeing and there is much to see in the area. While there, visit the Jan Hus Monument, Astronomical Clock, St Nicholas Church, Old Town Hall, Minute House, Storch House, Stone Bell House and Our Lady of Tyne Church. Right next to it, assuming you're into that sort of thing, is the Sex Machines Museum (bit interesting IMO) which you can visit before moving on. After the Sex Machines Museum, see if you can visit the Clementinum (buy tickets in advance; they sell out quickly). The view of the library and tower is 100% worth it. From there you can skip Rudolph Hall (nice building but not worth a visit unless you're going to see a show there) and if it's open head to the New Town Hall for a paternoster (it wasn't there then i opened) there) then cross the street to the municipal library to see Idiom. From there you can cross the river to Letna Park and see the metronome, which replaces the giant Stalin monument. Head back across the river to see a cool Franz Kafka monument, then head to Speculum Alchemy, a relatively short visit to the alchemist's workshop under a building in the Old Town (cash only). Next up is the Museum of Communism (informative and well worth a visit). From there, head south to Wenceslas Square, which is more of a street than a square, and is very touristy, then keep seeing two David Czerny installations: one in King Wenceslas The Seine Palace riding a dead horse turned upside down, and the other a Franz Kafka bobbing his head. Last Stand - Sigmund Freud hanging from a metal pole in the street. This is a long walk (approximately 5 km) and will take up most of the day if you visit all the sights along the way and take your time. Stop for lunch along the way - there are plenty of restaurants to choose from.

Again, you can click on the map above and customize it to suit your needs. Skip something or add something. that's your choice. But this pretty much makes a full circle and minimizes the distance between things to look at.Here is another guide generated by ChatGPTAdditional information will be provided along the way.

Route 3 - West River

Besides Prague Castle on the west side of the Vltava, there are more great things to see and do. This is a tour I recommend. First, book a tour of the Strahov Monastery online. The library there is really good and well worth a look. However, you cannot walk in unless you pay for a guide. I don't, and I'm a little sad about that. To get there, if you're fit enough, you can hike through the Petřín Gardens to the monastery. Great view, good exercise and hardly anyone doing it (so you can avoid the crowds for a while). Otherwise, take an Uber or public transportation to the monastery (it's on top of a hill past Prague Castle). This is the starting point for the map below. Spend some time in the abbey. If you take the full tour, you'll be there for a while and look around (you can also look inside the church, it's beautiful). Once you are done, if you are very interested in bizarre art and have some money to spend, you can head to the Miniature Museum, which is located right next to the Strahov Monastery. I did it on the recommendation of a friend. Is it worth the 15 minutes of my life and the $10 I spent on it? unsure. From there, go to the German Embassy. There is another David Czerny sculpture there, Quo Vadis, but it is behind the embassy building. You can see it from the park west of the embassy through the metal bar on the east side of the park, which I marked on the map. Then head downhill to the very pretty Walstein Gardens (free). It consists of a pond, some hedges, several fountains and sculptures, a stalactite wall and aviary (also called a grotto) and what appears to be an event stage. This would be a great place to sit and relax. Next, head to another David Czerny installation - Piss (or Golden Shower), a statue of two men urinating in the Czech Republic. Right next to the narrowest sidewalk in Prague you can try to walk on it but we had a 30 minute queue when we walked so we skipped it. Then head south to Kampa Island, where there is a nice park. David Czerny's three crawling babies (the same one on Zizkov's Tower) are in the park, making for a nice close-up and great photo opportunities. (Some of you may wonder why the Lennon Wall isn't on my tour. Well, because it's boring. It's a graffiti wall. I understand the historical significance of it, but as a John Lennon fan, I'd like some want cool stuff , avant garde John Lennon street art. What I saw was a 50-80 foot graffiti wall. Definitely not worth the visit, especially since Prague is full of graffiti. Skip it. You won't miss it. Seriously .) It's a fairly short walk, only 3km. Here's a map:

InHere's another downloadable guideInformation generated with ChatGPT.

Route 4 - East River, Zuid

Unless you really enjoy walking, you probably don't want to walk the entire route. This is far. I did this the day before the hike and kind of regretted it. But if you have time and want to see some cool stuff that I don't think people visiting Prague normally see, and want to see a different part of the city, then you should. Maybe rent a scooter or use public transport to see a few. A scooter is a good option.

First up is the ventilation shaft of an old bunker in the Folimanka Park and Sports Complex, painted to look like R2-D2 from Star Wars. It's a bit hard to find so you may have to walk through the park but it's there. Another ventilation shaft around the corner is also painted to look like Minions. Both are fun. From there, head to Grébovka Park, where there is a beautiful cave conveniently called "Grotta". It appears that a statue once stood there, but unfortunately it was misused as it was open to the public. Rubbish everywhere, all statues gone, looks like it has seen better days. This got me thinking about what kinds of things can be made public (things that can't be easily violated or destroyed) and what should be kept private for a fee. I would pay a few bucks to see Grotta in all its splendor with cool visuals. Unfortunately, no such luck, but it's still pretty cool. It is part of a large park where you can wander, relax and escape the city. From Grotta, head to Olsany Cemetery, a cemetery that was once outside the city and used for plague victims. It is now quite large and has many interesting tombs and tombstones. Well worth a visit if you like cemeteries. Near the Olsany cemetery is the Zizkov Tower, considered by many to be an eyesore. Not me. Sure, it's different, but that doesn't make it worse. Plus, you can visit it, pay for a viewing platform, or, like me, take advantage of the restaurant's height and enjoy a nice lunch with a view of Prague (note, it's not a cheap restaurant, but the food is good). is a map:

InThis is an information guideGenerated by ChatGPT. Again, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information.

21 total views, 4 views today