Prague, Czech Republic

The city of 100 spires. Prague is definitely that and so much more.  Prague was not one of those places that I had heard a lot about but it was always on my “To Travel” list because it was the setting of one of my favorite YA books growing up.  Maybe it was because it wasn’t a place with an overwhelming amount of hype, but I went without having a lot of plans or expectations of the city; I really just wanted to go and see what was there.  And boy was I blown away.  I’ve been to quite a few of the big European cities and Prague has definitely moved its way to the top of the list as one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.  The city was filled with so much art, architecture and mysticism so if you like any of these, you’ll be in the right place.

Stay

We stayed in Prague for a week at a lovely airbnb very close to the Old Town Square.  We are generally airbnb people over hotels so we rarely look at hotels to compare prices but I do have to say that the airbnb’s we looked at were all very reasonably priced and really nice. The city was extremely walk-able so I would not recommend renting a car unless you were looking to do day trips outside of the city and even then, Prague seemed to have a good public transportation system.  At no point did we feel unsafe walking around the city, day or night.

We were in Prague at the very beginning of May and the weather was perfect if you like mostly sunshine and wearing a light jacket.  We had rain just one of the days and all the rest the weather was perfect. 

What We Did

Central Gallery Prague. This gallery was very easy to spot as it is right in the middle of the Old Town square.  Judging by the outside of it, I thought at first that it might be a tourist trap but we decided to give it a go anyways and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  I love art and my husband is not as big of an art buff as I am and he also really enjoyed.  If you already know you like the works of Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and/or Alphonse Mucha, it is well worth it.  The exhibit for each artist was so unique and very well done.

Free Walking Tour. We went on a free walking tour through Old Tour and not only was our guide hilarious, we also learned so much about the city!  I was thoroughly impressed.  At the end of the tour, we also got to see the Lennon Wall, a famous monument in Prague that is often on lists of what you should see when you go to Prague.

Museum of Alchemy - Speculum Alchemiae. This was THEE highlight of the trip for me.  Again, I am a huge mysticism and alchemy nerd but I think being able to tour the alchemy museum would be a magical treat for anyone.  I don’t want to give too much of it away so I’ll let you find out for yourself but it was truly a 10/10 for me.

Powder Tower. If you want some amazing views of the city, take a walk up the powder tour.  Named after being the storage place for the city’s gun powder, the Powder Tower is the tower at the start of the bridge connecting Old Town to Lesser Town.  It cost I believe no more than 8 euros each.

Astronomical Clock. If you are walking through the Old Town Square you will definitely see the clock tower.  Every hour on the hour the clock does a little “show” but it is definitely not worth watching.  Our tour guide even told us that it was rated the 2nd most disappointing tourist attraction in the world, with the Mona Lisa coming 1st.  I do recommend pausing and admiring the clock when you can because it is quite remarkable but feel free to skip the “show”.

Banksy Exhibit. Another amazing art exhibit that was very well done and curated in a fun and funky way, very Banksy vibes.  This is for you if you like artwork that makes a socio-political statement.

Mini Eiffel Tower. We heard from our tour guide that Prague has its very own Eiffel tower, albeit a mini one and we braved the walk there.  It was an uphill journey that was well worth it, as we saw wonderful views of the city and were able to be in a bit more of the nature.  There’s a cute little patio restaurant right next to the tower for you to stop and grab a bite or drink after the trek and the best part is that there is a little shuttle that takes you all the way back down if you get tired of walking.

Strahovska Knihovna Library. This can be done on your way up to the mini Eiffel Tower but if you like books and libraries, check this place out.  It is home to one of the most beautiful libraries and is worth pausing and marveling at for a moment.

Food

I’m a firm believer that the whole restaurant experience includes going to the restaurant and discovering what they offer and feeling into that space’s vibes so I won’t go into too much detail for the restaurants listed below but what I will say is that I highly recommend them all and that Prague is a very meat heavy city so be prepared for that. Compared to US city prices, Prague’s food scene was cheap but for amazing quality meals and dishes.

Restaurance Mlejnice. We stopped here for our first meal in the city. If you come here, you’ll find a rustic place that feels very “Prague”. One of the main dishes in Prague is goulash, which is described as a meat and vegetable stew and we had the best goulash of our whole trip here.

Lovely Day Bistro. An amazing and very LOVELY breakfast/brunch place. We also had some cake at the end of our meal and the coffee was amazing.

Choco Café. We stopped here along one of our long walks, getting lost and seeing what we stumbled upon and this place was quite a treat. It has a whole menu filled with different kinds of hot chocolates and sweet little desserts and treats to nibble on.

U Provaznice. My husband ordered the pork knuckle, something that I would not think of getting but it was amazing.

Café Louvre. This was on many lists for breakfast places to eat at in Prague and while the food wasn’t anything crazy, it was a good, clean, simple meal in an elegant one hundred year old cafe.

Mylnec. If you are looking for a fancy dinner that is reasonably priced and good serving sizes, this is your place. This was the best meal we had in Prague, maybe even one of the best meals we have had ever. Everything was so well done, it felt like quite the experience and the restaurant had amazing views of the water. Coming from Chicago, it was WAY cheaper than what we would expect to pay for a nice night out at home.

Grand Orient Café. The famous cubist cafe that houses the Black Madonna and houses AMAZING desserts. This is a must stop if you have a sweet tooth.

Venue. This breakfast spot was highly recommended and therefore often came with a decent wait to get a table but the wait was well worth it. Such unique and very tasty breakfast options in a very cute place. We even went here twice and would have gone back again if we had more time.

Ending thoughts of our trip to Prague…

Just go and you will not be disappointed.