Prague 2026

We flew into Prague from Paris late at night, so we slept in a little and then decided to go explore before our afternoon tour.  After a quick stop at the hotel coffee shop where we had coffee and Buchta (fluffy, square-shaped baked buns made of sweet yeast dough and filled with plum jam), we set out into the old town area of Prague. Our tour guide had reached out let us know that the Prague marathon was going on that morning, so we knew getting around would be a little challenging, but it made for a really fun atmosphere! We ended up coming across  a beautiful Greek Catholic Church where we caught a little bit of mass and then left using the back entrance.  As we wound our way through the streets, we were surprised to see the marathon route again and the Charles Bridge. It was a process to cross the marathon route, but it was worth it to walk across the famous Charles Bridge with only a few people because the marathon made it hard to access. Our late morning stroll had taken us across the river into the Lesser Town area where we had lunch at a restaurant called Pork's - they had amazing pork (surprise, surprise) and we enjoyed our first Czech beer!  

Later that afternoon, at the hotel,  we met up with our tour guide that we had arranged for a walking tour of Prague through Tours by Locals.  She took us onto public transportation, where we took the subway and a tram to the castle complex area. The public transportation system in Prague is easy to use!!  The castle complex isn't really a castle but is an expansive area that includes St Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane and  numerous government buildings, old and current, where the Czech government is based. Having a guide to walk us through this area was really insightful as she was able to highlight many details we never would have noticed. After leaving the castle area we headed through Lesser Town to the John Lennon wall which was originally a memorial to him after his assassination in 1980 and serves as a symbol of peace today.  We made a quick stop for coffee at L4 coffee to re-energize as we continued through Lesser Town and made our way back to the Charles Bridge. Apparently, we learned it  was unlucky to walk through the tower at the end of the bridge, so we had to walk down the steps before the gates but....we may have already walked underneath earlier that day - oops!  Our tour finished at the famous astronomical clock which dates back to 1410 (check out the pics - it's impressive!) and at the top of the hour, it puts on a 45 second show with the wooden figures representing the 12 Apostles, Death, Vanity, Greed & Envy.  

It was time for a drink and a snack so we went to a little place off the main square for a quick stop but it was kind of loud sitting outside, as they we cleaning up all the infrastructure from the marathon.  So after a quick Google search, we found a little hole in the wall beer bar called U Zlatheo Tygra.  It was packed with locals and served excellent Czech beer! Refreshed and ready to go, we headed back to watch the clock go off on the hour to see its display of rotating wooden figures of the apostles as well as other figures - it was fun to watch!  By then it was time for dinner so we stopped into an Italian restaurant our guide had recommended called L’Osteria Palác Kinských .  Great food and lots of it!  After dinner, it was finally dark so we decided to go for a walk to see the city lit up and get our first trdelnik (chimney cake) with strawberries and chocolate! From the Charles Bridge to the churches to the cobblestone streets and the yummy snack, it was like we were in a fairy tale!  On our walk back to the hotel, we also stopped by the Kafka sculpture which is dedicated to Franz Kafka who was born and lived in Prague.  

Our next day started off at the same coffee shop as before but this time with a different Buchta - this one was filled with something similar to ricotta or cottage cheese....really interesting but not as great as plum!  We decided to make our way back to the castle complex and spend more time exploring it so we hopped on the public transit again and purchased tickets for the main circuit of Prague Castle  which included St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica and Golden Lane.  Each of these was beautiful and really interesting to see and learn about!  After this we were hungry so we walked up the hill to the Strahov Monastery Brewery (a recommendation from our guide the day before).  We popped into the beautiful church for a quick second, and then we tried a few of their beers and had lunch before walking back down to the Charles Bridge where we took a boat ride with Prague Venice Boat Rides. Complete with a beer and a snack, our voyage gave us the history of the bridge and the area and gave our feet a rest!  As we headed back to the hotel we stopped for another trdelnik, with ice cream his time. To be honest, we preferred the one without the ice cream. Since it had been almost a week since we did laundry, we found a laundromat and dropped off our laundry to be picked up the next day. That evening we headed to a Prague specialty - the beer spa!  We had a great massage followed by a bath that was made of all the ingredients of beer along with a beer tap right at the edge of the bath - can't beat that after days of walking!

Our last full day started with breakfast at our now favorite coffee shop and then we headed out to explore the old town area more and made our way back to the Astronomical Clock where we climbed its tower to look out over Prague and took a guided tour of the inside of the Old Town Hall which is where the clock is housed.  The tour was really interesting and gave a lot of detail on Prague's history, including the damage done in 1945 to the Old Town Hall, right before the war was over and the underground original old town, raised because of flooding.  But our favorite highlight of the tour was seeing  inside of the clock mechanism while it was in motion, because they were working on it!!

After lunch in the Jewish Quarter, we split up with our friends for the afternoon. They walked through Letna Park and enjoyed a paddleboat ride on the river while we decided to explore more of the Jewish Quarter, including the Jewish cemetery and synagogue. The synagogue was a tribute to the holocaust victims from the Prague area. The cemetery is unusual because they kept burying in layers, adding a few inches of soil, even having to add retaining walls. After leaving the cemetery we took a walk along the Charles River and made a stop at a local coffee shop where we had coffee (including an espresso and tonic....super refreshing!) and a wonderful piece of apple strudel!  Then we stopped to pick up our clean and folded laundry and packed up.

For our last evening in Prague, we attended a one hour concert at the Mirror Chapel where we heard the Royal Czech Orchestra play a variety of different pieces.  A spectacular setting for wonderful music!  There are many different options for evening concerts in Prague, make sure to check one out.  We then walked over The Charles Bridge to dinner at Kampa Park just below the bridge along the river.  Food was wonderful and the evening was a lot of fun despite being rainy....a first for the trip!

Prague is a magical, fairy-tale city that is a well-preserved from the bombing of WWII, showcasing many architectural styles with cobblestone streets and  a deep history, and of course, beer!!!

1. Beer bath!
2. Getting lost in the Old Town
3. The history of the Jewish Quarter
4. Symphony Concert in Mirror Chapel
5. The walking tour
6. Czech beer!
7. Prague at night is magical!

Lodging

Almanac X Alcon Hotel

Transportation

To/From Airport: Private Transfer arranged by hotel

Public transit: Metro/Tram

Uber is available

Restaurants & Bars

Pork's Mostecka

U Zlatheo Tygra (beer)

Kampa Park

L’Osteria Palác Kinských (Italian)

Trdelník (chimney cake): lots of options

Alfredo Caffe

Excursions

Prague Half Day Walking Tour w/ Tours by Locals (Victoria D)

Bernard Beer Spa

Prague Venice Boats