One Day in Prague

Can a tourist manage to spend just one day in Prague and see all the major sights? With only three whole days to see as much as we can of the Czech Republic, the Brawny Sherpa and I dedicate one day to see as much of Prague as possible. It’s doable, but prior planning eases our way. Here are all of the things to do in Prague that we were able to accomplish in less than 24 hours.

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1 Day in Prague? Head to the Charles Bridge

We get up relatively early and take a car service from our hotel near the Florenc metro station and arrive at the Charles Bridge at about 9 a.m. Our plan is to walk the Charles Bridge from the Old Town Bridge Tower to the Prague Castle side and back before the throngs of tourists and souvenir salespeople will make it slow going. We stroll leisurely from one side to the other and make time to appreciate the statues that line the bridge as well as the tower that greets us as we begin our walk.

We might be seeing quite a lot of Prague in one day, but it will take us quite a bit longer to understand it.

I am pleased to learn that the oldest statue on the bridge, that of John with five stars above his head, depicts the patron saint of boatmen, priests, and lawyers. Apparently good king Wenceslas tortured the priest who became St. John of Nepomuk and had his body thrown into the Vltava River. Some say this bad ending came about because John, a priest, declined to divulge Queen Sophia’s secrets that John had learned in taking her confession. Of course, this makes me wonder just what Queen Sophia’s secrets were. Some chalk the whole kerfuffle up to an early clash between church and state. Prague Castle gleams at us from a distance. I guess the state won that round.

On the castle side of the bridge, we do a little window shopping. Here I see some of the puppets for which the city is famous. We also spot a number of vintage automobiles and drivers available for motor tours. We already know we need to return to see more of this. But first, we head back to the tower side of the Charles Bridge for our first group adventure in Prague.

Take a Prague Little Venice Boat Tour

We decide to see the city of Prague from the unique perspective of the Vltava River. We descend beneath the Charles Bridge on steps next to the Charles Bridge Museum to board a wooden boat run by Prague Venice. Warmed by some hot cider and gingerbread for me and a bit of Czech beer for the Brawny Sherpa, we take a 45-minute historical river cruise where we learn about devastating floods of 2002 and see some of Prague’s sherbet-colored buildings and their reflections on the river. I delight in the wooden stove on board that keeps me toasty on a very crisp morning. The wooden boats themselves are modeled after 19th-century versions.

Afterward, we do a quick walkthrough of the Charles Bridge Museum, which provides us with a hint of what life was like in the Middle Ages for the workers who built the bridge.

Prague-Venice, Křižovnické námĕstí 3, Prague, Czech Republic

Charles Bridge Museum, Křižovnické nám. 191/3, 110 00 Josefov, Czechia

Back Across the Charles Bridge for a Vintage Car Sightseeing Tour

One great way to negotiate Prague’s narrow streets is via an historic automobile. In a car, we will be able to cover much more ground than we can by walking the city. We arrange for a one-hour ride around Prague in a vintage convertible with the top down. Our driver provides a running monologue, pointing out significant buildings and discussing important events.

We begin to appreciate the Czech Republic’s varied past from being part of the Austro-Hungarian empire to becoming Czechoslovakia to being annexed by Germany just prior to World War II. Our driver and others in this city point to the Czech National Theater (Narodni Divadlo), the first to provide performances in the Czech language rather than in German.

Because we have just one day in Prague, we arrange with our driver to drop us off at the Franz Kafka Museum at the end of our tour. We delight for a bit just basking in the sun and gawking at the peeing statue, more formally known as Streams. From here, we also manage to locate Prague’s narrowest street, which essentially is a narrow staircase featuring a street light.

Afterward, we head generally to the Charles Bridge but dodge into shops here and there. We also experience our first trdelnik, the Czech (by way of Hungary) pastry-string version of an ice cream cone. A warm pastry filled with apples and ice cream becomes my new favorite dessert.

Franz Kafka Museum, Cihelná 635/2b, 118 00 Malá Strana, Czechia

Prague’s narrowest street is at U Luzickeho seminare, Mala Strana,Prague 118 00,Czech Republic

Find the Prague Astronomical Clock

Crossing the ever-more-crowded Charles Bridge, we take a leisurely stroll toward the Astronomical Clock, a complicated timekeeper particularly impressive given that it dates from the 1400s. On our walk, the Brawny Sherpa seems most appreciative of the Beer Bike, a car powered by beer-drinking pedalers. That most definitely is a rowdy good time, but we do not have enough space in our calendar to indulge on this particular trip. Next time.

The astronomical clock is a marvel, but can you tell what time it is? On this particular clock, time passes in multiple ways, including Old Bohemian Time and Babylonian Time. The clock also tracks the sun and the moon as they proceed through the zodiac. Be prepared for crowds at the top of the hour as the moving figures including the 12 apostles appear on the clock.

We have another activity lined up, so we do not linger for long. First, though, we need refreshment.

We stop at the charming Caffe Milani (inside the Art Passage on Male Namesti) for cappuccino (me) and beer (the Brawny Sherpa) and for a biological break.

Prague Oldtown and Medieval Underground and Dungeon Tour

We take literally our vow to see Prague from top to bottom on our one day in the city, so our next adventure features a walking tour of some old basements. Over the centuries, streets and newer dwellings were constructed over old ones. I delight in being in a house that dates from the middle ages. Learning a bit about alchemy and attempts to concoct the elixir of life thrills as well.

Also charming are the pleasantly named and aptly decorated buildings, such as the Green Garland Pension. In days before buildings were numbered, they featured identifying motifs—such as a green garland—instead. Numerals can be so impersonal.

As we descend into the lower levels of a number of buildings, we learn a bit about Prague’s brutal past. King Charles, for whom that famous bridge is named, had four wives. His first marriage occurred when he was just seven years old. Good King Wenceslas apparently was murdered by his younger brother in the year 935. Not many years before that, Wenceslas’s grandmother, who became St. Ludmila, was killed by her daughter-in-law—Wenceslas’s mother—using her own scarf. No wonder alchemists sought to prolong life.

Time did not necessarily ease the violence all that much. Defenestration apparently was quite popular in Prague in the 1600s. Torture took place as well. In World War II, small openings in basements leading to street levels were used by people escaping their enemies.

We realize now that we might be seeing quite a lot of Prague in one day, but it will take us quite a bit longer to understand it. Czech politics seem always to have been complicated.

Prague Tours Ticket Office, Male Namesti 11, Praha 1, Oldtown (inside the Art Passage)

Powder Tower

Our tour concludes not far from the intimidating Powder Tower, what remains of a gate in the wall that once surrounded the city. Dating from the 1200s, the tower in centuries past stored gunpowder. At one time, the tower marked the beginning of the coronation route for Bohemian kings headed to Prague Castle.

Powder Tower, nám. Republiky 5, 110 00 Staré Město, Czechia

Mozart at the Grand Hotel Bohemia in Prague

Ready to see some of the lighter side of the city, we walk to the nearby Grand Hotel Bohemia for cocktails at the bar before descending to the hotel’s historic Boccaccio Ballroom for dinner and an evening of Mozart. Singers from Czech opera houses and musicians present arias and duets from Don Giovanni, the Marriage of Figaro, and the Magic Flute. Mozart apparently favored Prague, and Don Giovanni premiered in the city in 1787. We finish a delightful dinner with apple strudel before taking a taxi back to our hotel.

The Grand Hotel Bohemia, constructed in the 1920s and then known as the Grand Hotel Steiner, fell into some decay during the communist era. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the hotel was returned to its original owner and, ultimately, sold and restored.

Grand Hotel Bohemia Prague, Kralodvorska 4, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic

We did it—we manage to travel, in one day, from the Middle Ages through communist Prague to its present-day state.

Tips for Spending One Day in Prague

• Wear sensible shoes. Cobblestones abound in Prague, and it can be easy to stumble.
• Some public restrooms require payment for use. Be certain to carry some extra Czech crowns (korunas), preferably in coin form.
• If you have a short period of time to spend in Prague, plan in advance and book tickets for your activities.
• With an itinerary that will allow us just 1 day in Prague, we had to make some decisions about how we wanted to spend our time and what we absolutely wanted to see. One glaring omission in this itinerary is Prague Castle. Wise folks informed us that one needs at least three hours to tour the castle. Lacking that amount of time, we opt to save the castle for another visit. Others with different priorities might make different decisions, though.
• With just three full days in the Czech Republic, we spend the bulk of our remaining time in the country on day trips to Terezin and to Kutna Hora. We are able to slip in a visit to the Museum of Communism, which provides a good history of Czechoslovakia from World War I to the present.

—Lori Tripoli

Lori Tripoli is the editor and publisher of BashfulAdventurer.com. Based in the New York City vicinity, she writes about travel, environmental sustainability, business and law. Reach her at loritripoli@bashfuladventurer.com.

Day Trip to Kutna Hora

A Visit to the Museum of Communism Prague

A Stay at Jurys Inn Prague

Have you been to Prague? Which sites would you include in a one-day Prague itinerary?