15 Unique Things to Do in Prague (Updated 2023)

Posted: 2/13/2023 | February Thirteenth, 2023

Prague is certainly one of Europe’s hottest cities. Owing to its beautiful medieval structure, it has developed a popularity as one of many continent’s must-see locations.

Unfortunately, its reputation means it will get packed throughout the summer season. In 2019, almost seven million vacationers descended on Prague, a metropolis of simply 1.3 million individuals!!!! And the crowds have now returned post-COVID.

But, whereas Prague could also be battling overtourism, town has so much to supply intrepid (and repeat) guests who need to see one thing apart from the identical outdated highlights.

For instance, do you know that a few hundred years in the past, a gaggle of Czech architects determined to use Picasso’s Cubist model to structure and that scattered round Prague is a small handful of Cubist buildings, together with a Cubist café?

Or that there are continuously revolving, doorless elevators in Prague that you must hop out and in of?

To make it easier to deepen your go to and get off the overwhelmed path, right here is my record of the very best distinctive issues to do in Prague that can assist you see one thing totally different:
 

1. St. Jacob the Greater Church

The Church of St. Jacob the Greater will get missed as a result of it sits within the shadow of Týn Cathedral on Old Town Square. But, for the curious who do enterprise inside this Thirteenth-century basilica, for those who search for simply inside the doorway, you’ll see an object hanging from a sequence.

It’s a withered hand on a meat hook.

As the story goes, a thief tried to steal some priceless jewels from a statue of the Virgin Mary on the altar. As he laid his hand on the jewels, the statue reached out and grabbed him. And it will not let go.

Some parishioners — a lot of whom belonged to the Prague Butchers’ Guild — amputated the hand of the thief and Mary instantly dropped it. As a lesson (and warning) to potential future thieves, they hung the hand up within the church and, a number of centuries later, it’s nonetheless there.

If you are taking a ghost strolling tour of Prague, you’ll cease right here to listen to all about this grizzly story.

Malá Štupartská 635. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:30am-4pm. Admission is free.

2. Charles Square

One of the most important squares in Europe, Charles Square sits in New Town (Nové Mesto). It was initially a cattle market the place additionally they offered fish, wheat, and charcoal. And, for one week a yr, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who made Prague the capital of the empire throughout his 14th-century reign, held an annual relics present right here (relics have been non secular objects of vital significance). Now, it’s a stupendous sq. few individuals go to however is a superb place to people-watch.

3. Bethlehem Chapel

Located on a pleasing and intimate sq. in Old Town (Staré Mesto), this was the place a person named Jan Hus preached to parishioners within the early fifteenth century — in Czech, not in Latin as was required on the time. This was thought-about radical. Hus was some of the charismatic preachers in Prague. He attacked the pomp and circumstance of the church and papacy, which he mentioned was designed to exclude commoners.

Be positive to notice the simplicity and lack of icons. The structure was very a lot in keeping with Hus’s philosophy of how one ought to worship God.

Betlémské nám., bethlehemchapel.eu. Open each day 9am-6:30pm. Admission is free.

4. Vítkov Hill

Hike as much as this hill east of Old Town and also you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful view. But there’s another excuse to go to: it’s topped by the world’s largest equestrian statue. The man on the horse is one-eyed General Jan Žižka. After the pope had Jan Hus (talked about above) burned on the stake in 1415, individuals like Žižka took up his trigger. He fashioned a military, and shortly sufficient, warrior-crusaders representing the Pope have been marching into Bohemia (the western half of at the moment’s Czech Republic) to attempt to quash his reform-minded rebel. About a thousand of Žižka’s males defeated a military of Catholic crusaders — some say there have been 20,000 of them. The Hussites, as they referred to as themselves, have been finally defeated by the Catholics, however Žižka’s spirit stays on Vítkov Hill.

Prague is second solely to New Orleans in having the best variety of pubs per capita, and Žižkov has about 300 of them, the best density in Prague. Do your self a favor and go on a pub crawl right here.

5. Infant of Prague

If you’re a fan of non secular historical past, one non secular oddity value looking for out in Prague is a child doll on show contained in the Sixteenth-century Church of Our Lady Victorious within the Malá Strana neighborhood. The Infant of Prague (typically referred to in Italian as Il Bambino di Praga) was delivered to town by King Ferdinand in 1628.

Rampaging Swedish troopers — who went on a wild frenzy in Prague within the 1630s — threw the doll in a pile of trash and it was misplaced. That is, till seven years later, when a priest was milling concerning the mountain of trash and heard a voice saying, “Psst. Psst. Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.” Ever since, the Infant has been again in its chapel in Our Lady Victorious.

Today there’s a cult of worship of the Infant of Prague in Catholic communities everywhere in the world. In Ireland, for instance, it’s notably auspicious for a soon-to-be bride to be given a miniature duplicate of the doll.

Karmelitská 9, pragjesu.cz. Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5:30am, Sunday 1pm-6pm. Admission is free.

6. Paternoster Elevator

Nicknamed “the Elevator of Death,” the Paternoster is a kind of raise that doesn’t have a door — and it doesn’t cease at flooring. There are a handful of them round city however the one that’s most simply accessible is in Prague City Hall in Old Town.

Head by means of the entrance doorways and stroll the lengthy hallway to the again of the constructing. There you’ll discover the slow-moving raise. Jump in (rigorously) and benefit from the experience. If you don’t get off on the highest flooring, don’t have any worry: the elevator merely revolves in a loop, and shortly sufficient you’ll be going again down.

Prague New City Hall, Mariánské nám. 2, praha.eu/jnp. Open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. Admission is free.

7. Petrín Tower

In 1889, a gaggle from the Club of Czech Tourists went to Paris to see the World Exposition. They have been awestruck by the brand new Eiffel Tower so the impressed Czechs went again residence and raised sufficient cash to erect an analogous tower on Petrín Hill, close to the middle of Prague.

Petrín Tower isn’t precisely a duplicate of the Eiffel Tower, however you possibly can simply acknowledge that the tower was closely impressed by the Eiffel Tower. Visitors at the moment can trudge up the 299 stairs to get a surprising view of Prague.

Petrínské sady 633. Open each day 10am-8pm. Admission is 150 CZK.

8. Alternative Prague Walking Tour

I really like strolling excursions. They cowl quite a lot of floor and might get you off the vacationer path with the assistance of an skilled native information. This Alternative Prague strolling tour will introduce you to among the metropolis’s greatest avenue artwork and illuminate what occurred throughout the Velvet Revolution in 1989. You’ll additionally go to a steampunk underground membership, discover hidden cafes, see secret group theaters, and even find out about an underground crypto-anarchist hacker institute!

If you need to get a style of the varied distinctive communities and artists on the margins of Prague, this tour shouldn’t be missed.

Tours final 3 hours and price 623 CZK per particular person. You can e book your tour right here.

9. Cubist Architecture

Between 1911 and 1914, a small group of Czech architects determined to see what it will be like in the event that they utilized Cubism — normally present in work, reminiscent of within the early-Twentieth-century work of Picasso — to structure. And so up went just a few buildings which can be lovely, odd, and hanging. You can stroll across the Vyšehrad neighborhood, about two miles south of Old Town, and discover a few of these buildings.

One different centrally situated Cubist web site you need to search out is on Jungmannovo námestí (Jungmann Square), simply off the underside of Václavské námestí (Wenceslas Square). It’s not solely probably the most lovely Cubist lamppost on the earth — it’s the solely Cubist lamppost on the earth.

To be taught extra concerning the Cubist model, you possibly can take the Art Nouveau and Cubist Architecture strolling tour. It’s 3 hours and covers all the primary highlights.

Ovocný trh 19, grandcafeorient.cz. Open each day 8am-10pm. Admission is free.

10. St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral

On October 28, 1941, two Czech paratroopers who had been residing in exile in Great Britain covertly parachuted into Prague underneath the duvet of night time. Their purpose was to assassinate prime Nazi official and head of the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich. The secret mission was referred to as Operation Anthropoid.

On May 27, 1942, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubiš ambushed Heydrich’s automobile, spraying Heydrich with a bathe of bullets. Heydrich died just a few days later, the one prime Nazi official to be assassinated.

After that, the Nazis needed vengeance, so that they went on a manhunt round Prague. The paratroopers went into hiding within the crypt of the medieval-era Cathedral of St. Cyril and Methodius for 3 weeks. Unfortunately, somebody snitched on them, and shortly sufficient, the Germans had the church surrounded. But as soon as they lastly broke into the crypt, they discovered Gabcik and Kubiš lifeless from self-inflicted bullet wounds.

You can go to this church at the moment and nonetheless see the Nazi bullet holes within the exterior partitions. You can even take a World War II strolling tour that covers this story — and way more round Prague.

Resslova 9a, katedrala.data. Open Tuesday-Saturday 8am-5pm, Sunday 8am-2pm. Admission is free.

11. Prague Metronome

If you’re crossing the Charles Bridge and look to the north up the Vltava River towards Letná Park, you possibly can see a large metronome. As odd as it’s, it’s not as bizarre as among the different issues which have been in that spot. For instance, in 1955, Communist authorities erected the world’s largest statue of Josef Stalin.

Stalin fell out of favor just a few years later, and in 1962 the monument was blown up. In 1991, Prague erected the 75-foot functioning metronome in the identical place. Its designer, Czech sculptor Vratislav Karel Novák, envisioned the monument as representing “the relentless passing of time.” A plaque on the base of the construction reads, “In time, all things pass.”

If you go to the metronome within the warm-weather months at the moment, there’s an out of doors bar promoting beer and cocktails, generally a DJ is spinning tunes, and there’s all the time a gaggle of skaters hanging round.

Letná Park. Open 24 hours. Admission is free.

12. Day Trip to Bohemian Paradise Geopark

Bohemian Paradise Geopark is a UNESCO-listed panorama and residential to beautiful geological formations which can be tens of millions of years outdated. The deep pine forests and rocky panorama have been well-liked with painters and artists for hundreds of years. There are additionally a handful of historic lodges and different buildings right here too, some that date to the Middle Ages.

Just one hour away from Prague by automobile, day trippers can go to the park to absorb the attractive panorama, hike, see native folks villages, and benefit from the surroundings away from the crowds of town.

Tours from Prague typically final 8 hours and embody visits to native artisan retailers in addition to lunch in a small native restaurant within the park.

Day excursions from Prague price round 4,000 CZK. You can e book your tour right here.

13. Žižkov TV Tower

This 700-foot tower was erected within the latter half of the Eighties, and there have been rumors that the Communists constructed it to dam out radio transmissions from the West. Locals have hated the construction since day one.

It wasn’t till Prague allowed well-known Czech artist David Cerny to put in ten big crawling black infants on the shaft of the construction that public opinion started to melt a bit. It’s value getting an up-close have a look at it. You can even get an awesome vista of Prague for those who take the elevator as much as the viewing platform.

Mahlerovy sady 1, towerpark.cz. Open each day 8am-midnight. Admission is 300 CZK and you may get your ticket right here.

14. Sapa Praha

Prague has a big Vietnamese group. That’s as a result of, throughout the 41-year Communist interval, the Czechs took in quite a lot of visiting Vietnamese trade college students (Vietnam was additionally a Communist nation). That implies that there are a plethora of (nice) Vietnamese eating places in Prague.

If you need to dive in, the very best place known as Sapa, also called “Little Hanoi.” Even Anthony Bourdain made some extent to go to this massive market advanced when he filmed a TV episode in Prague. It has quite a lot of low cost items on the market, however the actual motive to return right here is to eat at one of many glorious northern Vietnamese eating places.

Libušská 319/126, sapa-praha.cz. Open each day 8am-6pm. Admission is free.

15. Franz Kafka statue

Around the flip of the final century, the Prague-based Kafka Society held a contest for a brand new statue of Franz Kafka that may be erected within the middle of Prague (Kafka was born in Prague and was a significant contributor to Twentieth-century literature). Many of the entries have been comparable, that includes the German-speaking Jewish author standing on a pedestal. But Czech artist Jaroslava Rona did one thing extra artistic along with his entry: he had Kafka sitting on the shoulders of a headless man carrying a go well with, an allusion to his brief story “Description of a Struggle.”

Not solely did Rona’s surrealist sculpture win the competitors, however the Kafka Society’s annual prize to writers can also be a small model of the statue. You can see the unique on show within the Jewish Quarter, the place Dušni and Vezenská Streets meet.

Vezenská and Dušni Streets. Open 24 hours. Admission is free.

Prague is a magical vacation spot value taking the time to discover. While the primary highlights are spectacular, to me, town actually involves life when you get off the vacationer path and expertise Prague’s much less visited, extra obscure sights.

Even for those who go to within the hectic summer season months, you’ll discover far fewer crowds at Prague’s offbeat sights, guaranteeing a extra enjoyable (and extra genuine) go to.

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