Prague in 24 Hours

Written By Andrea Ciccolini

By: Lauren Ciccolini 

Vitsit date: July, 2023 

The author of the post standing in front of the Astronomical Clock in the sun in Prague, Czechia

Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czechia


Imagine you're on a trip to Berlin. You look at a map and decide, hey, Prague’s not too far away! To add on top of all of this it's been your dream to go to Czechia and your feeling inspired for an international day trip adventure. You convince your two travel buddies that it's totally achievable to go for 24 hours. They agree and after you spend the night into the morning at the club you hop on a 4 hour train!

. . .

In all honesty, Prague was a great side quest from Berlin but, I could also see this city being made into a multi day trip. There is SO MUCH in Prague! We hit the main sites, but not everything and as a reminder we were on a strict broke college girl budget.

A Baroque period library with book cases, tile floors, wood columns, and a ceiling mural at the Klementinum Library in Prague, Czechia

Baroque Library at Klementinum Library, Prague Czechia

HOW WE GOT THERE:

We booked the train tickets using Rail Europe. I was struggling to use the German train website and Rail Europe was very user friendly (there is an App)! Using Rail Europe we were only up-charged about 3 dollars and it was totally worth it in my eyes. When booking the tickets we opted to not pay the extra money to reserve a seat. This meant we looked around at seats with no names and sat in them until someone came aboard and was like “hey this is my seat” and then we moved to another open seat. On our way back there were no open seats, so we sat on the floor for a bit until I asked one of the train attendants that if I bought a coffee from the cafe cart could my friends and I sit there the whole trip. He said yes, so that's what we did. 

View of Prague, Czechia, through a window at Klementinum Library.

View from the telescope tower at Klementinum, Prague, Czechia

WHERE WE STAYED:

My two friends and I split an Airbnb that was located in the Old Town of Prague. Here are some notes about our stay:

1. there is a tourist tax for Prague; about CZK 50.

2. Our Airbnb host made us leave the tourism tax in cash when we checked out. This is customary.

3. The Airbnb we stayed in was awesome and the main reason was because it had Air Conditioning. The heat in July was no joke.

4. Prague is an old city. The Airbnb we stayed in was on a five floor walk up. There was an elevator but it was very very old and cramped, let's just say we opted for the stairs. This is something to keep in mind when considering accessibility and staying in the Old Town.

The Karluv Bridge in Prague. It is made of dark stone with an ornamental tower.

 Karluv Bridge, Prague, Czechia

BRING YOUR COMFY SHOES (AND SOCKS):

To my next point. My friends and I are all able bodied and love working out till we are a bum tired. We walked so much in 24 hours. If walking is not as much of an option, there is a local train that can take you from stop to stop.

A market place featuring produce stands and a stall selling purses. A man grabs for a piece of fruit.

Local Market, Prague, Czechia

MARKETS AND CASH:

The markets in Prague are awesome! There is a lot of super pretty jewelry and handcrafted nick-nacks so bring a little extra cash for this. Also if you love Russian nesting dolls or puppets Prague is the place to buy them. Prague is also utilizes cash heavily. I brought about 50 USD in local currency with me for the day. 

Donut Ice Cream, Prague, Czechia

SAFETY:

I traveled as a group of three young women. I felt really safe in Prague, however we did not go out at night. We did walk around in the dark for a bit and felt fine. However there were a bunch of signs in the touristy parts of the city warning about pickpockets, I had no problems but we ditched our backpacks in the Airbnb right away and only utilized fanny packs.

Now on to what you truly want! The step by step of what me and my two friends did. 

View from Klementinum Library, Prague, Czechia

WHAT WE DID:

Day 1:

1. Arrived to Praha hlavní nádraží (the main train station) at 11am and walked to Cafe-Cafe for lunch.

2. Next we checked into our Airbnb.

Praha hlavní nádraží, Prague, Czecia

3. Went to the Astronomical Clock around 1pm (I would suggest visiting earlier in the day for less lines for pictures).

4. Then a guided tour of Klementinum at 2pm, tours can be purchased at the university. This was so worth it it. We got a great view of the city from the telescope tower, learned a lot about the history of the city, and got to see the Baroque Library. For the tour you need to be able to climb up and down a ladder and this was not advertised well when we purchased our ticket. 

Inside the Klementinum telescope tower in Prague. The author and her friend are standing exploring the wooden decor in front of two circular windows.

Klementinum telescope tower, Prague, Czechia

5. We walked to the bridge near Jan Palach Square, this was a gorgeous view and a great spot for pictures (it wasn't crowded). 

6. Around 4pm we went to the Jewish quarter to see the Old Jewish Cemetery and another side of the city. The Jewish quarter is a UNESCO world heritage site, and one of the only places with rich history in he city not destroyed by the World Wars. It was a truly special place to visit to understand the history of the city. The cemetery was like nothing I have ever seen. 

The Klausen Synagogue in Prague Czechia. It has yellow stone, a red roof, and a turret.

Klausen Synagogue, Prague, Czechia

7. Next, the Powder Tower, where we walked into puppet shops and got ice cream donuts (these ice cream donuts are not local but Prague is known for them, if you have a sweet tooth they are worth it). 

8. After the tower, we listened to live music on the streets and walked over Karluv Bridge 

9. On the other side of the Karluv Bridge is the Narrowest Street. I am a bit claustrophobic but the narrowest street was fine for me for the most part, the street is like a staircase. We were on the street for a while as it was crowded and hard to leave/exit. 

10. Walked to Bella Vida Cafe, got dinner around 8 pm and watched the sunset. This was the most awesome and underrated thing we did! This restaurant was affordable and delicious. We got to sit outside and split a bottle of Reisling while watching the sunset over Vlata. 

11. We ended the night with gelato of course!

Wine glasses containing white wine in front of blue sky

View from Bella Vida Cafe

Day 2: 

1. Next morning we slept in and got breakfast from a cafe near our Airbnb 

2. At about 12 pm we then walked to the markets and bought some little bits

3. Walked along the water to see the Dancing House 

Dancing House, Prague, Czechia

4. Then sat by the water drinking some coffee 

5. Walked to the train station to get some lunch and wait for our train 

6. Left at about 3pm because our train was delayed. We got back to Berlin around 7pm. 

Th author standing on a bridge in front of the river in Prague

View from Jan Palach Square, Prague, Czechia

PRICE BREAKDOWN:

  • Train ticket about $70 USD

  • Spent about $50 USD on two people, including: breakfast, lunch, tourist tax, two sweet treats 

  • $10 for tour 

  • $20 for dinner and wine

  • Airbnb $40 for 2 person 

    this price breakdown doesn’t make sense, can you do it for one person

IDEAS OF WHERE TO VISIT: 

  • Markets 

  • Astronomical clock 

  • Ice cream donut 

  • Puppet shops 

  • Tour of Klementinum (pretty library and views) about an hour Baroque Library $17 USD for an adult about $10 USD for a student (with ID).

  • Walking over Karluv bridge 

  • Dancing House

  • The Narrowest Street in Prague 

  • Old Jewish Cemetery 

  • Powder Tower 

  • Old town square 

  • Bridge near Jan Palach Square

View of Jan Palach Square looking at large green bushes and stone architecture

Jan Palach Square, Prague, Czechia

Andrea Ciccolini
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