The Old Town
1. Old Town Square. When I dreamed of Prague, there were a few sights that came to mind. This was one of them. Many of you may be able to imagine the twin towers of the Tyn Church looming against a beautiful blue sky. A short walk away you can see the incredible Astronomical Clock. This area/square is always bustling with people. Go inside just adjacent to the Astronomical Clock and buy your ticket to explore and take an elevator to the top for the iconic views. The day we went the backdrop was simply gorgeous. These photos were some of my absolute favorites from our trip. Keep in mind if you want to see sights when they aren’t as crowded … just get up a little early. We made our best attempt to get up early when walking to the castle area. This allowed me to get a photo in front of the Astronomical clock with no other tourists in sight! There are plenty of cafes that line this square, but I wouldn’t get caught up in these touristy spots for anything other than a drink. You will pay the price, but the views may be worth it. As far as food, there are too many other options to try versus wasting a meal on one of these traps.
2. The Ungelt. Although there is no sign announcing you have arrived, this is the area behind the Tyn Church. Wander around and explore. There is a lot of beauty to take in while visiting Prague.
3. Church of Saint James. Entry to this church is free, and it is quite ornate and beautiful inside. It is a medieval church in close proximity to the Ungelt. It does close briefly in the early afternoon hours around lunch time.
4. Celetna Street. My main interest for traversing this street was to see The House of the Black Madonna. This is a cubist building with a cafe on the first floor.
5. Clementinum Library. You have to purchase a ticket to go on this guided tour which takes approximately 45 minutes. Unfortunately, you are not able to take any photos of the library, but there is plenty of time for viewing. Your guide will then take you on an additional sets of stairs with the end result being some incredible rooftop views. Now, you may start to notice the trend I discussed, there is no lack of rooftop views in Prague. The most difficult decision is probably deciding which rooftop is the best!
6. Bethlehem Chapel. It seems wrong to say this, but I didn’t enjoy this stop as much as others. The inside is much different than other churches we visited in Prague. It is more “plain jane.” One nice aspect is we basically had the chapel to ourselves. Along with admission to the chapel, there are some other relics and works of art to enjoy when you pay the price of admission. Also, outside the chapel you will find the “man hanging out.” To be honest, he was a little more difficult to find than I expected, but it is in close proximity to the church. His face is that of Sigmund Freud who was born in what is now the Czech Republic.
7. Charles Bridge. This is another one of the iconic scenes that comes to mind when thinking of Prague. If you go during the day, you will find it packed with people. There are vendors selling goods and musicians playing. Pay attention to all of the statues as you meander along the bridge. You can climb the towers that flag the bridge. For the best lighting, climb the old town tower early and the lesser town late in the day. We climbed the lesser town lower late in the day to take photos. There weren’t many people at this time of day. The first evening we arrived, we walked along the bridge at sunset. I highly recommend this. It is magical. The next time we walked the bridge was earlier in the morning with fewer crowds. You don’t have to make just one trip!
8. Powder Tower. This is one of the original city gates. It was completed in 1475 and marks the separation of the Old from the New Town.
9. Get ice cream. I had to add this at the end of Old Town because you will start to notice all of the places selling ice cream in these interesting “cones.” They are made of dough shaped like an ice cream cone. You can choose your ice cream flavor and toppings. We couldn’t resist trying one.
Jewish Quarter
A small portion of the Old Town is Prague’s Jewish Quarter. It was a very sobering experience touring this area and certainly an opportunity to learn. We spent one morning touring this area, which I feel is adequate time to see everything.
1. Pinkas Synagogue. The special piece here was the handwritten names of over 77,000 Czech Jews sent to Auschwitz and other camps. They are written on the inside of this Synagogue. This was a powerful experience. The information included outside in the courtyard does a fantastic and concise job of conveying more knowledge about the conditions at the time.
2. Old Jewish Cemetery. For almost 300 years, this was the only burial ground allowed for the Jews of Prague. This meant graves being placed essentially on top of each other. You can walk around outside on a designated path looking through the gravestones inscribed in Hebrew. The gravestones are at angles and on top of each other, some areas as many as 12 layers existing.
3. Ceremonial Hall. This now houses an exhibition related to Jewish history.
4. Maisel Synagogue. Inside you will find an enlightening amount of reading explaining Jewish history. You can follow along in English.
5. Old New Synagogue. This is the oldest synagogue in all of Eastern Europe!
There is so much beauty to take in when visiting the Czech Republic and especially Prague. This was my first trip to Prague. It really did live up to the hype that developed from all the wonderful things I heard about it. In addition to that, this city was extremely affordable. Everything from hotels, food, and admission prices were all extremely reasonable.
