Prague Itinerary

1. ~8:30aCafé breakfast

   A grand First-Republic café — eggs and dark bread, or a fresh koláč pastry, with a strong Viennese-style coffee before the climb to the castle.

   
2. 9:00aPrague Castle at opening

   The largest ancient castle complex in the world — St Vitus Cathedral's stained glass (find the Mucha window), the Old Royal Palace, and the tiny Golden Lane. Go early before the tour groups.

   
3. ~11:30aDown through Malá Strana

   The baroque Lesser Town — the Wallenstein Garden, the Lennon Wall, and the lanes spilling down toward the river.

   
4. ~1:00pCzech tavern lunch

   A hospoda for svíčková (braised beef in creamy root-vegetable sauce with bread dumplings and cranberry) and a half-litre of Pilsner Urquell poured properly thick-headed.

   
5. ~3:30pCharles Bridge

   The 14th-century bridge of blackened baroque statues — late afternoon for the softest light and the Old Town towers ahead of you.

   
6. 8:00pField ⭐Anchor table

   Prague's most celebrated table — playful, art-driven modern Czech tasting with foraged and farm produce. Intimate and inventive; book ahead as the trip's fixed point.

   

Prague Castle is the one to hit at opening — by mid-morning the courtyards fill. Charles Bridge is impossible by midday and magic at dawn or dusk; this plan saves it for golden hour.

Day 1 in photos

1. ~9:00aOld Town Square & the Astronomical Clock

   The medieval heart — the Týn Church's twin spires, and the 600-year-old Astronomical Clock's apostle parade on the hour. Climb the Old Town Hall tower for the rooftop view.

   
2. ~11:00aJosefov, the Jewish Quarter

   The moving old synagogues and the layered, leaning headstones of the Old Jewish Cemetery — one of Europe's most affecting historic quarters. A combined ticket covers the sites.

   
3. ~1:00pLunch & a trdelník

   A modern Czech bistro or a beer hall, then — tourist treat though it is — a hot trdelník chimney cake from a street grill.

   
4. ~3:00pWenceslas Square & the passages

   The broad boulevard of the Velvet Revolution, and the Art-Nouveau arcades and the glass-roofed Lucerna passage hiding off it.

   
5. ~6:00pA classical concert

   Prague is a city of music — a Mozart or Dvořák evening in a baroque church or the Municipal House's Smetana Hall, the Art Nouveau masterpiece.

   

Old Town Square is busiest at the top of each hour for the clock — see it once, then explore the quieter lanes off it. The Josefov combined ticket is the efficient way through the Jewish Quarter sites.

Day 2 in photos

1. ~9:30aVyšehrad fortress

   The other castle — the hilltop fort south of the centre, with the neo-Gothic church, the cemetery of Czech greats (Dvořák, Mucha), and a crowd-free view down the Vltava.

   
2. ~11:30aThe Náplavka riverbank

   The revitalised embankment of cellar-bars and, on Saturdays, a farmers' market — where young Prague actually hangs out by the water.

   
3. ~1:00pVinohrady lunch

   Out to the leafy Vinohrady district for a modern bistro or a craft-beer tavern — Czech cooking lightened up, away from the tourist core.

   
4. ~3:30pA Czech beer-culture stop

   A traditional pivnice for a tankové (tank-fresh) Pilsner, or a microbrewery — the Czechs drink more beer per head than anyone, and it shows in the quality.

   
5. ~6:30pBlack Light Theatre or a jazz cellar

   A uniquely Prague evening — the surreal Black Light Theatre, or a vaulted jazz cellar like the long-running Reduta.

Vyšehrad is the local's castle — all the atmosphere, almost none of the crowds. This day deliberately leaves the tourist core for the riverbank and Vinohrady, where the city feels lived-in.

Day 3 in photos