prague sights, attractions and itinerary
Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Prague itinerary. Here you'll find information on all the top Prague sights and attractions along with a bit of history and a few helpful tips. I hope you enjoy this guide.
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Beautiful Squares, Tall Towers, Magic Clocks and a Lot of Bones
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Prague is one of the most beautiful cities you'll ever have the fortune to visit, and as it hasn't joined the euro yet it'll also be one of the cheapest. As the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic Prague attracts visitors from far and wide, and it's easy to see why. The whole city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site littered with churches, museums and architectural wonders galore. This is an absolute gem of a city, and a must see for any traveller.
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Prague also has a rich history spanning over 1000 years, reaching its zenith as the capital of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century. The reign of Charles IV as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and founder of the famous Charles Bridge was especially kind to Prague, which became one of the elite powers of Europe. This is the period when a lot of the top Prague attractions were created.
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Under Habsburg reign during the 16th to 20th century Prague continued to prosper, especially under the reign of Rudolph II, who chose Prague castle as his official residence. He flooded Prague with dignitaries, great thinkers and great artists. Perhaps the most notable of these dignitaries was Johannes Kepler, who is still one of the great names of astronomy with a space telescope, several stars, and a moon crater all baring is name.
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The end of World War I saw the creation of Czechoslovakia with Prague as the capital, while it spent most of World War II under Nazi occupation. This was swiftly followed by a long period under Soviet rule. It wasn't until the 1990's that the Czech Republic really came into existence with Prague at the center. In 2016 The Czech Republic changed its name to Czechia, but no-one noticed, and this is why I've chosen to stick with Czech Republic while writing this piece. Now that's the history done we can start the Prague itinerary.
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Getting to Prague
Before we talk about all the top Prague attractions we have to get you there. Prague is one of the easiest and most popular locations to get to from the UK with cheap direct flights from Stansted, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds. I've put them in this order as they begin with the cheapest first. Once you get to Prague Airport you'll want to take the bus to the centre. The most regular is the 119, but the 100, 191 and 510 can all be caught outside terminal one and cost less then £2 for the 20 minute journey. Alternatively Shuttledirect offer cheap transfers. Right now lets drink in the Prague sights.
Prague Sights
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Old Town Square
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This is very possibly the best looking square in Europe, it's certainly up there with Krakow, Brussels, and Bruges. There's some absolutely wonderful architecture on show with the Town Hall one end, the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn the other, and beautiful building after beautiful building in between. It's certainly one of the top Prague attractions.
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The statue dominating the centre is of Jan Hus who is seen as a predecessor to the likes of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. He was executed by the Catholic Church for his teachings. I find it ironic, and amusing that the Jan Hus statue now spends its evenings surrounded by locals and tourists enjoying cheap alcohol and street entertainers into the early hours. I highly doubt this conservative preacher would have approved. But I certainly do, and this is where we started most of our evenings in Prague.
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Church of Our Lady Before Tyn
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This absolutely gorgeous 14th century Gothic Church dominates the Prague skyline and Main Square. In the daytime sun it's beautiful, but at night, lit up like Hogwarts, it's an absolute joy to behold. It's strange that a building which is so obscured by its surroundings can still cast such an impressive shadow, but this church well and truly manages to do just that. The interior is a mixture of Gothic and Baroque, but really it's best enjoyed from the outside.
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Astronomical Clock
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This early 15th century clock on the side of Prague Town Hall is just a bit special and one of the top Prague attractions. It's the oldest working astronomical clock in existence, and no trip to Prague could be complete until you've seen the characters come alive to usher in a new hour. According to legend once the clock was completed by Jan Ruze the city council blinded him so no other town could have a clock as beautiful as this. If the story is true it's pretty brutal, so I hope for Jans sake it isn't.
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The figures on the clock include the apostles and a skeleton, who gets to strike the clock. I guess having Death watch time pass seems appropriate. Sure by today's standards the clock isn't exactly cutting edge technology, but it's still a beautiful piece of engineering, and it still draws quite a crowd every hour. It really is a sight to behold and watching the figurines strike in the hour is one of the top Prague sights and the main feature of many a Prague itinerary.
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Prague Castle
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Taking a little over 1000 years to complete, yes there are three 0's there, Prague Castle in the Hradcany District of the city is the largest ancient castle in existence. In all honesty it's probably best described as a walled town. The dominant feature of the castle is St Vitus cathedral, but the whole area is a wonderful medieval throwback. If possible try to get to the castle for 12:00 to see the changing of the guard.
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Prague Attractions
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St Vitus Cathedral
The undisputed star of the show in Prague Castle is this gorgeous Gothic 14th century cathedral. It's near impossible to get a really good photo close up, but it's the one you see looking over the river towering above the castle walls.
This gargoyle covered giant stands on the same spot as the previous Prague Cathedral built in the 10th century, so it's on well established holy ground. Completing such a piece does take time though, and the cathedral was only actually fully completed in the late 20th century, over 600 years after building commenced. It puts the 150 years and counting it's taken to build Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in perspective.
Having taken so long to complete the cathedral interior inevitably went through a Baroque stage, which adds a little extra sparkle to the standard Gothic majority. The two styles come together nicely making the visit an enjoyable experience. What's less enjoyable is the 250 CZK entrance fee, which is roughly £9, it's still worth paying though as this is one of the top Prague attractions.
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Petrin Hill and Tower
When you think of high towers in Europe your mind immediately goes to the Eiffel Tower in Paris doesn't it? Well from now on I want you to think of Petrin Tower in Prague instead. It may not look it but this is actually a higher tower than it's Paris counterpart, well technically it is anyway.
Petrin Tower stands proud on top of Petrin Hill, which does give it a somewhat elevated head start over its French rival, and sure some of you may think that's cheating, but I don't. I think it's just good common sense planning. Why build a 300 meter tower when you can just stick a 63 meter one on top of a massive hill? It's this kind of ingenuity which I think makes Petrin Tower one of the top Prague attractions.
Anyway, it costs 150 CZK, which is about £5, to climb up the 299 stairs, or 210 CZK to get the elevator. Your choice will really depend on how you feel having already walked up a massive hill to get here. Although there is the option of a funicular. For what it's worth we walked up the hill, then stopped for a beer looking out over this gorgeous city, before making our way up the 299 steps. To say the least it's worth the effort. The views are spectacular making it the ideal place to drink in the Prague sights.
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Prague Walking Tour
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There's no better way to experience a city than a walking tour. It's the only way to ensure you don't miss any of the Prague sights, and an excellent way to get your head around the charming Prague streets. There's numerous tours available, some of which come with a boat tour, and others that focus on a particular area such as the Jewish Quarter or Castle District. For a general tour though you can't go far wrong with this two hour tour. Starting in the Old Town and going up to Prague Castle, over Charles Bridge. The walking tour is also an excellent way to find more for your Prague itinerary.
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Prague Itinerary Extras
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John Lennon Wall
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I wont dress this up too much, it's a wall covered in graffiti. And it's a wall that's been covered in graffiti since the 1980's. Initially it was covered in song lyrics devoted to peace, such as John Lennon's Imagine, and it still maintains some of its old charm. It has been painted over time and time again though to reflect the changing feelings and causes of different generations. As a fan of the film Donnie Darko I did enjoy finding the words Cellar Door crudely sprayed on one section.
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Charles Bridge
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This 14th century stone bridge designed by Peter Parler, who was also involve din the design of St Vitus Cathedral, links Prague Old Town to The Castle District. The First Brick was laid by Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor whom the bridge is dedicated too. Walking across the bridge is like walking through a sculpture gallery as 30 wonderful stone statues guide your way. The majority of the statues are of saints so you should be in good hands. Ever since it was built Charles Bridge has been a star Prague attraction.
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Prague Library Book Tower
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Hidden away in Prague Library you'll find this fascinating work by Matej Kren. It's basically a huge tower of books locked together with a mirror inside, which makes the tower look infinitely large. It's an impressive piece which could be easily missed on most Prague trips.
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If you want to see Prague and much more without any hassle have a look at Travelsphere.co.uk. They have the Imperial Cities Trip which covers three of my favourite cities Budapest, Prague and Vienna. Travelsphere will sort out the transfers, the flights, the hotels, two meals a day and the tours for you while you just sit back and enjoy the trip. Check them out here.
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Day Trip to Kutna Hora
Book your Kutna Hora Day Trip here
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When it comes to must do day trips this one for less than £40 is an absolute essential part of any trip to Prague. The wonderful medieval town was originally set up to house a monastery, but once silver was found in the surrounding hills it soon became a thriving location. These days Kutna Hora is primarily a tourist location due to having two incredible buildings.
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Sedlec Ossuary
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From the outside the Sedlec Ossuary, better known as the Bone Church, looks far from spectacular, but as soon as you glimpse the inside you'll know why you're here. This isn't just a bone church by name, it's a bone church by nature. Nothing in here is fake, or plastic, the decorations, chandeliers, sculptures are all made from human bone. Our guide told us that in total there's the remains of around 60,000 people here in artistic form, and it's pretty special.
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This is a wonderfully macabre experience, and while I'd like to say it's all tastefully done, I'm not 100% sure it is. Frantisek Rint who is the designer responsible for this has even left his signature, made out of bone on the church wall. The bones are primarily from people who died in the Black Death in the 14th century. They were dug up in the 16th century, and in the 19th put to use as decorations. Waste not want not should probably be the churches moto. Trust me this unique church alone is worth the tour price.
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St Barbara's Cathedral
For those of you who prefer churches to keep their bones in caskets, and graves St Barbara's Cathedral offers a rather more traditional take on religious buildings.
This Gothic 14th century beauty was built in Kutna Hora, and dedicated to Barbara the patron saint of miners, which seems appropriate given the towns origins.
Unlike the Bone Church this is very much spectacular on the outside, and standard Gothic on the inside. That's not a bad thing though, it's got one hell of an exterior and Gothic is very much my church style of choice. Assuming bone isn't an option in most cases.
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Day Trip to Dresden
To book a day trip to Dresden from Prague click here
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The idyllic German city of Dresden is only 90 minutes away from Prague, and makes an excellent day trip. Before World War II Dresden was considered the German capital of culture, and it was very much part of the allies plan to damage German morale, as much as their military force, when Dresden was bombed almost to the point of total destruction. Since then the city has been almost completely rebuilt, and has more than rediscovered its former glory.
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During the trip you'll complete a walking tour of Dresden before visiting the incredible Zwinger Palace, a former Royal Residence which now holds an impressive art collection, including works by Titan and Raphael. You'll also visit the Castle District, calling in at The Church of the Virgin Mary with its huge dome. Plus you'll have free time to grab a stein at one of Germany's famous beer halls. To book this trip click here. These tours really are great options once you've done all your Prague itinerary.
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Thanks for stopping to read the Drink in the Sights Prague itinerary. I think that covers all the top Prague attractions and sights so it's time to search Expedia for your Prague trip using the search box below.
more help planning your Prague trip
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If you want more help planning your Prague trip why not use the Drink in the Sights Free Holiday Trip Service where all you have to do is contact me on the form below or via Facebook messenger and I'll help you plan your next trip. I'll look for the right flights, hotels, transfers and tours just for you, and it wont cost you a penny.
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