Mid-range · 6-hour walk · Prague
The castle and Malá Strana in six hours
Over the bridge and up to the castle, west to Strahov, then down through Petřín to the river.
The castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world by area, which is a statistic that becomes a problem around hour two. Treat it as three or four buildings rather than all of them — St Vitus, the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane — and keep the afternoon for the hill behind it, which almost nobody walks. Everything after Strahov is downhill, and the last stretch through Petřín comes out beside the river a bridge south of where you started.
The route, stop by stop
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Charles Bridge
Cross west at opening, before the bridge fills. Everything from here is uphill until Strahov.
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Malostranské náměstí
The Malá Strana square, dominated by a baroque church whose dome is the one you keep seeing from across the river.
35 min here Walk here → -
Prague Castle
Circuit B — the cathedral, the palace and Golden Lane — is the two hours worth having. Circuit A adds an hour of rooms.
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Strahov Monastery
Ten minutes west along the ridge. The library halls are viewed from the doorway only, and the monastery brews its own beer.
40 min here Walk here → -
Petřín Lookout Tower
A 63 m Eiffel Tower copy from 1891 on top of the city's highest hill. 299 steps, and the funicular runs if the legs have gone.
40 min here Walk here → -
Kampa Island
Downhill through the orchards to the island under the bridge — a mill wheel, a park, and the quietest water in Prague.
30 min here Walk here →
More in Prague
Every walking route in Prague, or the full Prague guide for where to stay and what a day costs.