Prague 4 Day Itinerary

Bus 119 to the airport metro connection doesn’t exist anymore. It was replaced by trolleybus 59 back in 2024, which covers the same route to Nádraží Veleslavín in about 16 minutes, where you switch to metro Line A into the center. A single 90-minute transit ticket covering the whole trip costs 40 CZK, roughly 2.50 euros, and beats a taxi on both price and predictability during rush hour. If you’d rather skip a transfer, the Airport Express bus runs direct from both terminals to Prague’s main train station in about 35 minutes for 60 CZK. An official metered taxi runs 600 to 800 CZK, so only take one if you’re arriving very late or hauling serious luggage.

Day 1: Old Town and the Castle

Prague Castle’s main circuit ticket, which includes the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica, Golden Lane, and the interior of St Vitus Cathedral, runs 450 CZK for an adult. The cathedral’s exterior and the castle grounds themselves are free to walk, so you can absolutely see the highlights without paying if budget is tight, you just won’t get inside.

Morning: Walk Charles Bridge early, before 9am if you can manage it, since by midmorning it turns into a slow-moving crowd of selfie sticks and portrait painters. The statues lining the bridge are worth slowing down for regardless. From there head up to the Castle complex.

Afternoon: Old Town Square anchors the rest of the day, with Týn Church, Old Town Hall, and the Astronomical Clock all within a hundred meters of each other. The clock’s hourly show is genuinely more crowd than spectacle, the mechanical apostles take about 45 seconds and that’s the whole event, so don’t reroute your whole afternoon around it. A river cruise on the Vltava is a pleasant way to see the skyline from a different angle if you have an hour to spare.

Evening: Lokál Dlouhááá does honest Czech classics, goulash and svíčková done properly, in a big beer-hall setting that fills up fast on weekends. Mlejn is the better pick if you want a quieter, slightly more modern take on the same cuisine.

Where to stay: Hotel U Prince sits right on Old Town Square and delivers on the boutique-luxury promise, though you pay for the location. Villa Richter is actually just below the Castle rather than in Old Town proper, worth knowing if walkability to the square matters to your plan, but its rooftop terrace view of the Castle is one of the best in the city.

Day 2: New Town and the Jewish Quarter

Morning: Wenceslas Square is less a square and more a wide boulevard, and it’s been the site of most of the country’s major twentieth-century political moments, worth a slow walk with that history in mind rather than treating it as just a shopping strip. The National Museum at its head costs a modest entry fee and gives useful context on Czech history if you want it.

Afternoon: The Dancing House, co-designed by Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry, is worth a photo stop even if you don’t go inside. The Jewish Quarter, Josefov, holds six historic synagogues plus the Old Jewish Cemetery, and the Pinkas Synagogue’s memorial, listing the names of roughly 80,000 Czech Jewish Holocaust victims on its walls, is one of the most affecting sights in the city. Budget real time here rather than rushing it.

Evening: Kuchyň serves modern Czech cooking in a quieter setting than the Old Town beer halls, a good choice if you want a calmer dinner after the Jewish Quarter. Mamacoffee is solid for an afternoon coffee break if you need one between sights.

Tips: Prague beer culture is not a gimmick, Czechs drink more beer per capita than any other country, and a half-liter at a local pub costs a fraction of what you’d pay in Western Europe. Watch for currency exchange counters around Old Town Square and Karlova Street advertising “0% commission,” the actual rate they give you can run 10 to 15 percent worse than the interbank rate. Use a bank ATM or an exchange office away from the tourist core instead, and check the posted rate against the real one before handing over cash.

Day 3: Day Trip to Kutná Hora

Trains leave from Prague’s main station, Hlavní nádraží, and take about an hour, running frequently enough that you don’t need to book far ahead. The Sedlec Ossuary, a small chapel decorated with the bones of an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 people, is the main draw and photography inside now requires a small additional fee on top of admission, a recent change worth knowing before you arrive expecting free photos. St Barbara’s Church in the historic center is a genuinely major Gothic building, arguably underrated relative to the ossuary’s fame, and it’s free to admire from outside. The old silver mines nearby explain why this small town was once one of the wealthiest in medieval Europe.

Day 4: Petřín Hill and a Slower Pace

Morning: Take the funicular up Petřín Hill rather than walking if your legs are tired from three days of cobblestones, it’s covered by a standard transit ticket. The Petřín Tower, Mirror Maze, and Rose Garden round out a relaxed morning with some of the best panoramic views of the city, better in many ways than the crowded Castle viewpoint.

Afternoon: The John Lennon Wall in the quiet Malá Strana neighborhood remains a genuine piece of living street art, repainted constantly since the 1980s when it was an act of quiet protest against the Communist regime. Vrtba Garden nearby is a small Baroque terraced garden that most tourists skip entirely, which is exactly why it’s worth the short walk.

Evening: Eska focuses on seasonal, locally sourced Czech ingredients and is one of the better serious dinners in the city if you want to end the trip on a high note. Dancing House Bar on the top floor delivers the rooftop view its name promises, a good spot for a final drink over the river.

A correction worth knowing before you leave: trdelník, the sugar-dusted chimney cake sold from nearly every Old Town stall, is not a traditional Czech pastry. It originated in Skalica, Slovakia, and only became a fixture in Prague after the 1990s, marketed to tourists as “Old Bohemian” despite locals rarely eating it. If you want what Czechs actually consider a classic sweet, look for větrník, a cream-filled choux pastry, or ovocné knedlíky, fruit dumplings, at a proper Czech bakery instead of a street stall.