Five days is the sweet spot for Prague. It gives you time for every classic, from the Astronomical Clock to Prague Castle, plus one day trip, without racing from sight to sight.
This itinerary works one neighbourhood per day, so you walk more and backtrack less. Each day mixes the landmarks with a good lunch, a view and a dinner worth booking ahead.
For more options and details, read my complete Prague luxury travel guide. If photos matter to you, my best photo spots in Prague guide pairs with every day below.
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Arriving in Prague
You’ll land at Václav Havel Airport (PRG), 30 to 50 minutes from the centre by car. I always recommend arranging a private transfer so you arrive relaxed and ready.
Where to stay in Prague
I stayed at Andaz Prague, set in the 1916 Sugar Palace on Senovážné Square. It’s a short walk to the Powder Tower and Wenceslas Square, which puts Day 1 and Day 2 on your doorstep. The interiors take their cue from Prague’s myths and legends, and ZEM, the restaurant, is downstairs.
For more options across every style, see the hotels section of my Prague luxury travel guide.
Day 1: Old Town (Staré Město)
Start where Prague began. Everything today sits within a 15-minute walk.
Old Town Square
This is the postcard: the Astronomical Clock, the twin spires of the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Jan Hus Monument and the pink-and-white Goltz-Kinsky Palace. The clock’s apostles parade every hour from 8 am to 11 pm, so time your coffee around it.
Old Town Hall Tower
Take the glass elevator or climb to the top of the tower that holds the clock. The view drops straight onto the square and the red rooftops. Go in the first hour after opening, when tickets are half price and the gallery is quiet.
Klementinum Baroque Library
Visits are by guided tour only (about 50 minutes), and you view the frescoed library from its doorway, not inside. The tour ends with a climb up the 68-metre Astronomical Tower, so you’ll have two big views before lunch. With the elevator at the Old Town Hall, that’s easier on the legs than it sounds. Book a time slot ahead.
Lunch at Mincovna
Set in an 18th-century former mint on Old Town Square, Mincovna serves Czech classics like duck confit and svíčková with a modern touch. Book ahead, because locals eat here too.
Infinity Book Tower
Inside the Municipal Library on Mariánské Square stands Idiom, a column of 8,000 books by Slovak artist Matej Krén. Mirrors at top and bottom make it look endless. Entry is free, but expect a queue.
Charles Bridge at Sunset
Cross toward Malá Strana as the light turns gold over Prague Castle and the Vltava. In summer, sunset falls after the concert below, so swap the order.
Classical Concert at St. Clement’s Cathedral
This Baroque church inside the Klementinum hosts hour-long concerts, often Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at 7 pm. The acoustics and painted dome make it feel private. The church is heated in winter, but bring a layer.
Dinner at ZEM
Back at the Andaz, ZEM pairs antique mirrors and chandeliers with a 1920s mood. The menu blends Czech bistro cooking with Japanese influences, a good first taste of how Prague eats now.
Tip: Book the Klementinum tour, the concert and your dinner tables before you fly. They’re the three things that sell out.
Day 2: New Town (Nové Město)
Today swaps medieval lanes for grand boulevards, one bold modern building and a quiet fortress above the river.
Powder Tower
This 65-metre Gothic gate, completed in 1475, is where coronation processions entered the city and where the Royal Route to Prague Castle begins. It got its name from storing gunpowder. Climb 186 steps to the gallery at 44 metres for a view over Old Town.
Wenceslas Square and the National Museum
Walk the length of Wenceslas Square, the stage for the 1989 Velvet Revolution, up to the National Museum. Josef Schulz’s Neo-Renaissance building, finished in 1891, reopened in 2018 after a full restoration.
Lunch at Taro
In the Dunaj Palace on Národní, brothers Khanh and Giang Ta run a counter restaurant where you watch the chefs work around a U-shaped bar. The cooking is Vietnamese-led and elegant, served as a three-course set lunch, and chef Khanh Ta won the Michelin Guide’s Young Chef Award in 2025. Book ahead; it’s closed Sundays and Mondays.
Dancing House
Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry designed this curving glass-and-concrete building, finished in 1996 on the riverfront. Its two towers earned it the nickname Ginger and Fred. Shoot it from across the street for the full silhouette.
Vyšehrad
Spend the afternoon at Prague’s other castle hill, a fortress park above the Vltava with some of the best river views in the city. See the twin spires of the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, then walk the cemetery where Dvořák, Smetana and Mucha are buried. The grounds are free; the basilica interior has a small fee.
Dinner at The Eatery
Take an Uber to Holešovice for this Michelin Bib Gourmand. Expect an industrial room, an open kitchen and contemporary Czech cooking at fair prices. It’s closed on Sundays.
Cocktails at Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge
End on the rooftop of the Hilton Prague, 40 metres above the river, with views from the glass lounge or the terraces. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 6 pm and closed on Sundays, so plan around it.
Day 3: Castle District (Hradčany)
Give the castle a full morning. Arrive at 9 am, before the tour groups.
Prague Castle
The courtyards are free, but the Main Circuit ticket gets you inside St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica and Golden Lane. Don’t miss Vladislav Hall in the palace, big enough that knights once held jousts inside. Golden Lane’s tiny cottages housed castle craftsmen, and Franz Kafka lived at No. 22. The ticket is valid for two days, one entry per sight.
Lunch at Lobkowicz Palace Café
Lobkowicz Palace is the only privately owned building inside the castle, and its café terrace looks out over the rooftops of Malá Strana. Expect Czech staples like goulash and schnitzel, plus the family’s own wine and beer. You don’t need a castle ticket to eat here.
Wallenstein Garden
Walk downhill to this early Baroque garden beside the Czech Senate, laid out in the 1620s, with fountains, statues and white peacocks. Entry is free, but it’s open April to October only. In winter, head next door to the Augustine, a hotel set in 13th-century monastery buildings. From the first Advent weekend through Christmas, its garden becomes a winter terrace with a fire pit and a festive afternoon tea.
David Černý Sculptures
Book a guided tour of Prague’s most provocative artist. Highlights include the rotating Kafka head in New Town, the faceless babies on Kampa Island and the peeing statues in Malá Strana. For a deeper dive, his own museum, the Musoleum, opened in Smíchov in 2023.
Dinner at Terasa U Zlaté studně
On the fourth floor of the Golden Well hotel, just below the castle, this terrace has one of the best views in Prague: a sea of red roofs across Malá Strana. Reserve well ahead, and ask for a terrace table.
Day 4: Letná Park and Malá Strana
A slower day: one big view, the prettiest corner of the Lesser Town, the river and a spa.
Walk through Letná Park to the Hanavský Pavilion, a cast-iron pavilion built for the 1891 Jubilee Exhibition. From the viewing deck beside it, Prague’s bridges line up one after another down the Vltava. The view is free; the pavilion itself is a restaurant.
Malá Strana
Cross into the Lesser Town for three stops close together. Prague’s Little Venice is the Čertovka canal, where houses rise straight from the water beside Kampa Island. The Lennon Wall is a few minutes away, and Vinárna Čertovka, Prague’s narrowest alley, is so tight it has its own pedestrian traffic light. It makes a quick, fun photo stop.
Lunch at U Modré kachničk
“The Little Blue Duck” hides on a quiet lane, Nebovidská, and serves duck and game in candlelit Baroque-era dining rooms. It’s traditional Bohemian cooking done with care, five minutes from Charles Bridge. Order the roast duck.
Prague Venice Boat Cruise
Small wooden boats leave from Charles Bridge for a 45-minute loop that slips into the Čertovka canal, a stretch the big river boats can’t reach. You’ll pass the old mill wheel and get the classic view of the bridge from the water. Your ticket includes entry to the Charles Bridge Museum.
Spa at Mandarin Oriental
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental sits inside a former Renaissance chapel, with the foundations of a 14th-century Gothic church lit beneath a glass floor. Non-hotel guests can book treatments, but reserve ahead, especially for weekends.
Dinner at CODA
Inside the music-themed Aria Hotel, CODA serves refined Czech and European cooking with live music. From April to October, book the rooftop terrace for views of the castle and St. Nicholas Church. The rest of the year, you’ll dine in the Art Deco room downstairs.
Day 5: A Day Trip from Prague
Pick one. All three work as a day out with a private driver, and the first two are simple by train.
Karlštejn Castle
Charles IV founded this Gothic castle in 1348 to guard the crown jewels, on a limestone ridge above the Berounka valley. The train from Prague’s main station takes about 40 minutes, then it’s a 20–30 minute uphill walk through the village. Book the tour that includes the Chapel of the Holy Cross, lined with 14th-century panel paintings.
Kutná Hora
This UNESCO-listed silver-mining town is about an hour by train. Start at the Sedlec Ossuary, the chapel decorated with human bones, then continue to St. Barbara’s Cathedral in the old town. Allow five to six hours, and arrive at opening time to beat the queues.
Karlovy Vary
The best-known Czech spa town, with elegant colonnades built over its thermal springs. Skip the train, which takes more than three hours. A private day trip is the way to do it: door-to-door from your hotel, about an hour and a half each way by car. This is the private Karlovy Vary day trip I recommend.
Optional: Add a wine tasting or a long countryside lunch on the way back.
Farewell Dinner in Prague
End with Italian at one of two sister restaurants. Aromi, on Náměstí Míru in Vinohrady, specialises in fish and seafood and ranked No. 25 on the 2024 50 Top Italy list of the best Italian restaurants outside Italy. It serves dinner only on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays. La Finestra in Cucina, in Old Town, focuses on meat and Italian wine and is a Michelin inspectors’ favourite. Book either one ahead.
