*Highlights of Prague Castle; a (gastronomic) exploration of the Hradčany district – 8 km*

Highlights of Prague Castle; a (gastronomic) exploration of the Hradčany district – 8 km

Prague Castle, considered the largest connected castle complex in the world, is a remarkable fusion of most of the architectural styles of the last thousand years. A visit to the main sights, including a tour of the interiors of the most important palaces, churches and other historic buildings normally takes a couple of days!
The route shown in the map below is a suggested itinerary starting and finishing at the Hradčanská metro and tram stop. Expand the full map (click the ‘Show on map‘ button in the bottom corner) to show the map points which highlight potential stopping points on the route. These include a number of good places for refreshment along the way – it is something of a gastronomic tour!
Most visitors to Prague Castle will undoubtedly have multiple sources of good information about the myriads of sites to visit in and around the Castle (but the castle website is as good a place to start as any). An entrance ticket is required for most buildings (note that the state-owned buildings and access to Golden Lane requires a combined ticket). However, one building that is worth a stop which does not feature on the combined ticket, is the privately-owned Lobkowicz Palace (map point 9) which includes the historical collection of this important aristocratic Czech family (and an excellent terrace restaurant/café).
There are a number of lovely garden and park areas that are connected to the Prague Castle complex which should definitely be included in any tour of the area (note these are usually closed in the winter months). The highlights include the Italian Renaissance-inspired Royal Garden (map point 5) and the South Gardens (map points 12 and 13).
Below the Royal Garden a natural ravine has been turned into a small park area, called the Jelení příkop (Stag or Deer moat – map point 20). The name derives from its use as a breeding ground for deer during the 17th and 18th centuries. A path runs along the middle of the ravine for approximately 1 km. It is a shady area, good for escaping the summer heat.
As noted above, there are many places around the Castle to stop for refreshments. A good central spot is the Lobkowicz Palace courtyard. For excellent ice cream try Pragelina Gelateria (map point 15) which is also a nice café. Three refreshment spots are marked on the map that would not normally be passed on a tour of Hradčany, but are worth seeking out. The first is a fatfuck smash burgers (map point 16). It is an 800m walk from Loreta square, but worth it for those who enjoy quality burgers. The second is a quaint café in the ancient Nový Svět district below the Castle (Kavárna Nový Svět – map point 18) and the third a nice little bistro – Šodó (map point 22) less than 500m from the metro-tram stop.
This walk can easily be extended by several kilometers taking a loop through Petřín park and the Malá Strana area of town. A suggested route for this is included on the following page.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

It is hopefully not necessary to offer a detailed street by street directions in this guide as most visitors will presumably come armed with various tour guides and Prague street maps
Just decide beforehand which sites to visit – there will be too many for a single day – and which of the refreshment spots to try out!
Mark them on your map and set off!