Prague: The Complete Guide to the City of a Hundred Spires

Prague earns its nickname honestly. Climb Petrin hill or the Old Town Hall tower and the skyline is a forest of spires — Gothic, baroque, neo-everything — rising from a medieval street plan the twentieth century largely left alone. Few European capitals let you walk from a ninth-century castle to an Art Nouveau concert hall in twenty minutes, pausing for a beer that costs less than a London coffee.

• Getting there: Vaclav Havel Airport is about 17 km west of the centre; bus and taxi links are straightforward
• Getting around: three metro lines (A, B, C) and an excellent tram network; the historic core is walkable
• Currency: Czech koruna (CZK) — the country is in the EU but not the eurozone
• Best months: April–June and September–October for mild weather and thinner crowds
• Language: Czech; English is widely understood in the centre

Why go

Prague packs an almost unreasonable amount of intact history into a compact centre, all of it UNESCO-listed. It is also one of Europe's great beer cities — the Czechs drink more of it per head than anyone else on earth — and its cafe and classical-music traditions run deep. Come for the postcard views; stay for the pubs, parks and river islands where the city actually lives.

The districts that matter

Stare Mesto (Old Town)

The medieval core, centred on Old Town Square. The Astronomical Clock, installed in 1410, still draws an hourly crowd; the twin Gothic towers of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn loom behind it. The lanes between the square and the river reward aimless wandering — go early, before the tour groups surface.

Mala Strana (Lesser Town)

Across the river, baroque Prague at its most theatrical: embassies in painted palaces, the great green dome of St Nicholas Church, and quiet gardens climbing towards the castle. Kampa Island, just off Charles Bridge, is the place to escape the crush.

Hradcany and the castle

Prague Castle is often described as the largest ancient castle complex in the world, and it functions as a small town: courtyards, the Golden Lane, and at its heart St Vitus Cathedral, whose Gothic nave took nearly six centuries to finish. Allow half a day.

Josefov

The former Jewish quarter holds one of Europe's most moving ensembles: the Old-New Synagogue, in use since the thirteenth century, and the layered headstones of the Old Jewish Cemetery.

Beyond the core

Vinohrady offers leafy avenues and neighbourhood cafes; Letna park has the city's best sunset beer garden; Vysehrad, the clifftop fortress upriver, gives you the skyline without the crowds.

Must-sees, honestly ranked

Charles Bridge at dawn is the single best free experience in the city — by 09:00 it is a slow-moving queue. The castle, the Old Town Square ensemble and Josefov are genuinely unmissable. The Municipal House repays a look inside for its Art Nouveau interiors, and a Vltava river cruise earns its keep at dusk.

Eating and drinking

Skip the trdelnik stands (a tourist-era import, however photogenic) and head for a proper hospoda: Lokal serves impeccably kept Pilsner Urquell and Czech classics, while U Fleku has been brewing its dark lager on site since 1499. For coffee-house grandeur, Cafe Louvre — open since 1902 and once frequented by Kafka and Einstein — does a fine schnitzel lunch. Mains in an ordinary pub typically cost noticeably less than in western Europe, though prices in the Old Town have climbed; check menus before sitting down.

Practical tips

Validate tram tickets before boarding, change money only at bank-run exchanges (the zero-commission booths near the square are notorious), and carry a card — most places accept contactless. Two full days covers the highlights; three lets the city breathe.

Tip: Cross Charles Bridge before 08:00, then climb straight up to the castle as it opens — you will have done the two most crowded sights before the day-trippers arrive, and the rest of your visit runs downhill, literally and figuratively.