Prague as the largest city in Czech Republic is a beautiful romantic city full of historic sites and has plenty to offer to the general tourist. If you only have 48 hours in Prague, there are certain things you cannot miss out. So get your cameras ready and begin your romantic tour of Prague, the most fairy tale city in Europe.
DAY ONE
Walking Tour of Prague
Prague has many historic buildings and different architecture due to the different rule of the city by different monarchy or empire like the Hussite and Habsburg Dynasty. The fastest and most in-depth way to see the city and all of it’s building with proper explanation of its historic meanings to the present Czech Republic is to join a walking tour. There are paid and free walking tours and I would recommend the free walking tours since it is good enough. One of my recommended agency to go for the tour is Sandemans tour. Their guides are professional and provide very good insight into Prague.
Cost: Free ( You are open to tip the guides based on how well you have enjoyed the tour )
Duration: 3 hours
Key highlights: Old Town Square & Astronomical Clock, View of Charles Bridge, View of Prague Castle,Old New Synagogue & the Golem and Wenceslas Square.
You can find out more about the tour as well as book your tour online here . The meeting point for the tour is at Old Town Square and you just need to look out for the red Sandemans umbrella or sign. Your booking email will provide you with the exact meeting location and their tour starts as early as 10 am.
LUNCH
When the walking tour ends, you will be in time for lunch. There are many restaurants for selection around old town. The ones nearer to the square is usually more expensive compared to the ones in the smaller alley.
I recommend Taverna Toscana restaurant which we chanced upon near the square and they served pretty decent Italian dishes from Tuscany at reasonable prices. I subsequently found out that they are the oldest Italian restaurant in Prague since 1991. You can find their full menu here. What I liked about the restaurant as they had very prompt service and the restaurant is housed in a historic building with a lot of character which they retained for the internal of the restaurant.
3PM – Check out Dancing House/Charles Bridge/Lennon Wall
The Dancing House is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building on the Rašínovo nábřeží in Prague, Czech Republic. The building’s unusual style, which the designers sometimes called neo-baroque, consisted of 99 differently shaped panels of concrete, topped by Medusa, a twisted metal sculpture ( Source: Wikipedia ) Personally, I love looking at architecture and it is very interesting how this modern building fitted in with all of the historic centre of Prague.
From the dancing house, you can walk to the Charles Bridge which is one of the key monuments of Prague. The bridge is 16 mins away by foot and it is nice to take a stroll along the Vltava River. On route to Charles bridge, you will pass Sitkov water tower, the national theatre, Legion’s bridge and Kranner’s fountain. I find this a very relaxing stroll and a nice time to take in the sights of Prague.
The Charles bridge is the oldest bridge in Prague and the construction of the bridge completed in 1402. The bridge is built of sandstone blocks and flanked at both ends by fortified towers. From 1683 to 1928, 30 statues of saints were carved to decorate the bridge, the most famous of which is the statue of St John of Nepomuk. The Charles bridge shows 2 different sights in the day and at night. It is best to see the bridge in daylight to admire the statues as well as get the night view when the lights are switched on. After crossing the bridge, you can visit the Lennon Wall.
The John Lennon Wall is a wall full of graffiti inspired by the Beatles singer. It is worth taking some pictures here with the creatives artwork left behind by many Lennon fans. From this point, you can return to the old town and explore some of the insides of the buildings or sites you seen during the walking tour but did not have enough time for photos.
Or you can proceed for dinner.
Dinner
With the amount of walking in the day, I would recommend a restaurant with one of the best rooftop views in Prague. The Teresa U Prince’s roof terrace is located right in the old town and you can see the city light up at night while sipping on your hot soup.
The food is generally ok on the salty side but the service was not fabulous and it really depends on which service staff is serving your table. We chose this restaurant purely for the views although I am sure there are other restaurants with better meals and service. The price is also higher than the other restaurants.
Where to Stay: Wenceslas Square Terraces
Wenceslas Square Terrace is located right on Wenceslas Square above the shopping street. It is extremely convenient for any late night shopping or hanging out at any of the nearby pubs or cafes. The apartments are only 10 mins by foot from the old town square and have full kitchen facilities, air conditioning, free wifi as well as 24 hours security. Although it is located in the city centre, security is not a problem as the doors are locked and you can only access the building with an access code.
We had a 2 bedroom apartment and the living area is huge which is fabulous for families or group of friends. Everything in the apartment is well maintained and after a long day outside, having an apartment that feels like returning to home with a huge living room for relaxing and spacious bedrooms and bathrooms is a big PLUS point. Rooms start from 130 EURO and are extremely popular so do book your rooms early here
DAY 2
One of the top places to see in Prague is definitely the Prague castle. The nearest station to Prague castle is Malostranská where you can walk up the old castle stairs. For us, we walked all the way from our apartment.
Once you reach the top of the old castle steps, there is a balcony where you can take in the entire city view of Prague.
There are areas within the castle which is free and certain areas where you need a ticket. One of the main sights is the St Vitus Cathedral with gorgeous architecture. It is the largest and most important church in Prague where many important ceremonies were held. Another building to see inside the castle is the Rosenberg Palace which is built by the Rosenberg family in 1545.
Another picturesque place within the castle is the golden lane which features colourful houses where the servants, defenders and craftsman used to stay. Some of the notable houses are house number 12, 13 and 14 because of the occupants; a famous writer, fortune-teller and guard. The castle grounds are opened from 6 am to 10 pm but the buildings are only opened from 9 am to 5 pm. A proper tour around the castle with entry to all the buildings will take approximately 4 hours.
You can leave the castle in the direction of the Treasury and you will find an extremely cool Starbucks within the castle grounds having the best view of Prague. You can enjoy your usual Starbucks mocha at their balcony while taking in the sights of Prague city. From Starbucks, you can take the steps towards lesser town towards Charles bridge and take in the night view of the bridge. Before that, you can settle for late lunch in lesser town at one of the many cafes.
You can spend the rest of your evening in Wenceslas Square where most of the locals spend their time. There are some very popular pubs for those who love drinking and soaking in the local drinking culture. For those who love shopping or bringing home some souvenirs, there are plenty of shops along the entire stretch of the shopping street.
You can also visit the Palladium Shopping Centre where many young Prague people hang out as there are as many as 200 stores in the mall. Prague has many things to offer but 48 hours is almost enough to see everything. Prague is a picturesque city and photographers will definitely love this city.
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 