Czech Republic 7 Day Itinerary
The Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora decorates its interior entirely with the bones of approximately 40,000 people, including a chandelier that contains at least one of every bone in the human body. It was designed by a woodcarver named Frantisek Rint in 1870 who had a very specific vision. That single detail tells you more about the Czech relationship with history, dark humour, and craft than most introductions to the country manage.
Seven days gives you Prague properly, two excellent day trips, and a night in Brno, the country’s second city, which does not get the attention it deserves and is all the better for it.
Visa and Entry
The Czech Republic is a Schengen Area member. EU and EEA citizens need only a valid identity document. Citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, and most other OECD countries can enter without a visa for up to 90 days. Check your government’s current travel guidance for confirmation, as rules can change.
The currency is the Czech Koruna (CZK). The Czech Republic has not adopted the euro. Use ATMs from Czech banks (CSOB, Ceska Sporitelna, Moneta) to withdraw CZK at interbank rates. ATMs branded Euronet or those offering to dispense euros should be avoided entirely: the exchange rates are punitive. Never exchange cash on the street or at booths clustered near the Astronomical Clock or Charles Bridge, where rates are routinely 15 to 20% below the bank rate.
Day 1: Prague Arrival
Vaclav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) is 17 kilometres west of the city centre. Bus 119 to Nadrazi Veleslavin, then Metro line A to the Old Town, costs about 40 CZK and takes 40 minutes. Taxis and Uber operate from the airport; official taxi ranks are inside the terminal. Agree a price before departing if taking a metered taxi: the meter rate in Prague is reasonable, but some drivers at tourist-facing stops run it creatively.
Check into the Old Town (Stare Mesto) or Mala Strana (Lesser Town) if your budget allows: being able to walk to everything in the city centre saves time and is worth the premium over the budget hotels near Zizkov or Smichov.
Walk Charles Bridge in the evening. It was built in 1357 under Charles IV, spans 516 metres across the Vltava, and is lined with 30 baroque statues of saints added from 1683 onward. At 7 or 8pm in summer, the light on the river and the castle above is the kind of Prague moment that survives the crowds. The bridge is open 24 hours and is free; avoid it between 10am and 4pm when tourist groups pack it solid.
Dinner in the Mala Strana neighbourhood, which has better restaurants per square metre than the Old Town: Cafe Savoy on Vitezna Street is a 19th-century literary cafe that now serves excellent Czech food at reasonable prices in a beautiful interior.
Day 2: Prague Castle and Josefov
Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world by area, covering about 70,000 square metres on the hill above Mala Strana. Buy the Circuit B ticket (250 CZK) for entry to St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica, the Old Royal Palace, and Golden Lane, a street of tiny coloured houses built into the castle wall where Franz Kafka briefly rented a space in 1916.
St. Vitus Cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece begun in 1344 and not completed until 1929. The stained glass windows by Alphonse Mucha in the north transept, installed in 1931, show him working at full Art Nouveau power on a biblical commission that might seem unlikely for the man who designed those posters.
In the afternoon, walk down to Josefov, the former Jewish Quarter, now a neighbourhood of expensive shops and galleries surrounding the preserved historical sites. The Old Jewish Cemetery, where graves were stacked in layers up to 12 deep over 300 years because the community had no space to expand, is the most visually unusual Jewish site in Europe. The Old-New Synagogue, built around 1270, is the oldest surviving synagogue in Central Europe and still an active house of worship. A combined ticket for the Jewish Museum sites costs 500 CZK.
Day 3: Old Town Square and Surrounding Streets
The Astronomical Clock (Orloj) on the Old Town Hall tower performs its Apostles procession at the top of every hour. The procession is free to watch from the square; entry to the tower to see the clock mechanism and the view from the top costs 350 CZK, with a 50% early-bird discount in the first hour after opening. The mechanism dates to 1410, making it the oldest functioning astronomical clock in the world. The astronomical dial shows sidereal time, solar time, the position of the sun and moon, and signs of the zodiac simultaneously.
The Old Town Square itself is ringed by Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo buildings in various shades of cream, yellow, and rose. The Tyn Church, whose twin black spires look vaguely threatening from the square, contains the tomb of Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer who worked in Prague under Rudolf II. The interior is open and free.
Spend the afternoon in Vinohrady, a residential neighbourhood south-east of the Old Town reachable by Metro. The streets here look like a Viennese suburb: fin-de-siecle apartment buildings, wine bars, good independent restaurants, and almost no tour groups. For an evening beer, Pivovar Vinohrady on Korunni Street brews its own lager on site and serves it at prices a fraction of those in Old Town.
Day 4: Kutna Hora Day Trip
The train from Prague’s Hlavni Nadrazi (main station) to Kutna Hora Hlavni Nadrazi takes about one hour. Trains run throughout the day; book in advance online through CD (Czech Railways) to get the better fares.
The Sedlec Ossuary is 2 kilometres from the main station, a 25-minute walk or short taxi. The standard adult ticket (about 220 CZK) covers both the Ossuary and the Cathedral of the Assumption next door. Book on the official website (sedlec.info) in advance to guarantee your entry time; slots sell out on busy days. The experience is compact (30 to 45 minutes) but stays with you. Do not treat it as a photo opportunity: the remains are real, and the space is a consecrated church.
St. Barbara’s Cathedral, the other major site in Kutna Hora, is 30 minutes’ walk through the historic town centre. Built by the mining guilds of the town between 1388 and 1905, it is a late Gothic cathedral whose size is wildly disproportionate to the current town population and testifies to how wealthy Kutna Hora was when its silver mines were producing a third of all the silver in Central Europe. Entry is 130 CZK.
Return to Prague by early evening.
Day 5: Cesky Krumlov Day Trip
Cesky Krumlov is in South Bohemia, about 170 kilometres from Prague. Direct buses from Prague’s Florenc bus station take 2.5 to 3 hours. The Student Agency/RegioJet coaches are comfortable and bookable in advance online.
The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason: a horseshoe bend in the Vltava River wraps around an old town of gothic, renaissance, and baroque buildings, all in remarkably good condition. The Cesky Krumlov Castle, the second-largest in Bohemia after Prague, towers above on the other bank. Castle entry costs depend on which circuit you choose; Circuit I (State Rooms) is 380 CZK per adult and gives access to the interiors.
The Baroque Theatre inside the castle, open from May to October, is one of the best-preserved 17th-century theatre interiors in existence, with original stage machinery, costumes, and sets largely intact. Tours run in small groups; book at the castle ticket office.
Rent a boat or rubber raft from one of the operators on the riverbank and float through the town. A two-person boat for 90 minutes costs about 300 to 400 CZK and the perspective from the water, looking up at the castle walls, is one of those views that generic travel writing calls once-in-a-lifetime and that actually lives up to it.
Return to Prague by evening, or stay overnight if you can find accommodation: Cesky Krumlov is much better after the day trippers from Prague leave.
Day 6: Brno
Brno is the second city of the Czech Republic and has largely decided it is fine with being overlooked. RegioJet or CD trains from Prague Hlavni Nadrazi take 2 to 2.5 hours. Stay the night: doing Brno as a day trip from Prague misses what the city actually is.
Spilberk Castle, a 13th-century hilltop fortress that was converted into one of the most feared prisons in the Habsburg Empire, is now a city museum. The casemates (underground prison corridors) can be visited; it is cooler underground and the history is sobering. Entry is around 150 CZK.
The historic centre around Namesti Svobody (Freedom Square) and the Cabbage Market (Zelny Trh) is compact and walkable. The Petrov Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul) above the Cabbage Market rings its noon bell at 11am, a civic act of defiance dating to the Swedish siege of 1645 when the commanding general agreed to lift the siege if the city held out until noon. The bells rang at 11am, the Swedes left, and Brno has been doing it ever since.
Brno has good wine bars and restaurants at prices 20 to 30% below Prague levels. Plum brandy (slivovice) from Moravia is the regional spirit and better quality than anything you will find in a Prague tourist shop.
Day 7: Prague Departure
Travel back to Prague by morning train if staying overnight in Brno. Prague’s airport bus from Nadrazi Veleslavin leaves for the terminal every 7 to 10 minutes. Allow 45 minutes from central Prague to the departure gate.
If you have a few hours before check-in, the Letna Park above the Vltava has a beer garden with one of the better views of the city, and is frequented by locals rather than tourists. The walk across the Hanavsky Pavilion bridge below it, overlooking the river bends, is one of the views of Prague that does not appear on any postcard and is none the worse for it.
Practical Notes
Czech beer (pivo) is the national drink and often remarkable. Pilsner Urquell and Budvar are the internationally known names, but regional and micro-brewed options are readily available. In traditional Czech pubs (hospoda), the waiter will bring another round as soon as your glass is near-empty unless you indicate otherwise, and will track your consumption on a slip of paper or by marking your coaster. This is normal practice, not a scam, though the tab does add up faster than you expect.
Restaurant scams to know: some tourist-district establishments add a bread basket or small amuse-bouche and then charge for it; check whether items on the table are free before eating them. The “menu of the day” (denni menu) offered at lunch in Czech restaurants is almost always good value, typically 150 to 180 CZK for soup and a main course.
Prague’s public transport (Metro, trams, buses) uses a single-ticket system. A 24-hour pass costs 120 CZK and is the best value for a day of sightseeing. Trams 22 and 23 run past the main tourist sites and through Mala Strana and are a cheap way to see the city.