*A personal tour around the architectural majesty of Prague’s Old Town: 5 km*

• Although the primary purpose of this guide is to highlight walks in the beautiful nature areas of the Czech Republic, no walking guide for the country would be complete without at least a few walks in the remarkable historical center of Prague! Already published elsewhere in the guide are a couple of walks in the castle area, including Petřín park (which at least qualifies as a small ´nature area´!) and some highlights near the Vltava in central Prague. However, the walk on this page focuses on an exploration of Prague’s magical ‘Old Town‘, which probably tops the list of tours in most guide books.
• The route shown in the map below is the author’s personal choice of a route incorporating the famous Old Town Square, Charles Bridge and the surrounding streets. Noted on the map are a selection of famous buildings. Most are included in the photo gallery below (click on the image to get the caption). These photos were all taken one sunny February afternoon. Wintertime maybe the best time for touring Prague – on sunny days the light is perfect for photos and the streets just a little less crowded than usual…
• The route assumes a start in Náměstí Republiky, which is a convenient intersection of tram and metro routes, located next to Prague’s most famous Art Nouveau building – Obecní dům. The suggested route first heads through the hidden medieval Ungelt square (formerly a fortified merchant’s yard) before reaching the Old Town Square (with its many famous sites – including the unmissable 15th century Astronomical Clock).
• From the Old Town Square, take a slightly circuitous route along pretty Jilská street, through historic Betlémské náměstí to finally reach the 14th century Charles Bridge. Interestingly, this is not the oldest stone bridge in the country. That honour lies with the south Bohemian town of Písek, whose bridge predates Charles Bridge by at least 100 years. See here for a short walk around the attractive town of Písek.
• From Charles Bridge, the route heads through the Klementinum complex (the astronomical tower can be ascended for one of the best rooftop views in Prague). From Klementinum, the route heads north to enter the well-known Jewish quarter, passing the Old New Synagogue, one of Prague’s first Gothic buildings, dating from the 13th century.
• Return back to the Old Town Square by walking along Prague’s most exclusive shopping street, Pařížská, lined with beautiful Art Nouveau buildings. Cross the Old Town Square, heading towards Wenceslas Square, stopping on the way to admire the architecture in the hidden side square, Ovocný trh.
• Traverse the whole length of airy Wenceslas Square, which is lined with grand Art Nouveau hotels and shops, finishing at the recently refurbished National Museum, which houses the many of the country’s most important scientific and historical collections. There are good tram and metro connections from here to the rest of Prague.
• The route described above is approximately 5 km long and can be managed with a stroller. It is essentially a flat route, but there are a few cobbled sections to be wary of! There are many excellent refreshment spots along the route – a good guide to places in Prague is the Hejlík gastromapa guide, which can be downloaded as an app. A personal favourite is the Mistral Café (map point 13).

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’ 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

• The description of the route given in the discussion above hopefully provides the basic route guidance
• As there are few marked hiking trails in the city center, the detailed route is best followed on a good map or using the mapy.cz phone application