3-day itinerary · Czech Republic
A realistic first-timer plan that gives each part of the city its own day: the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter, Prague Castle and Malá Strana, then Vyšehrad and the New Town. Every stop comes with walking distances and the ticket rules that matter in 2026.
Updated 11 September 2026 · 8 official sources checked · report an error
The plan at a glance
Prague is best seen on foot, and its sights fall on either side of the Vltava, so each day keeps to one area: day one walks the Old Town from the Astronomical Clock through the Jewish Quarter to Charles Bridge; day two climbs to Strahov Monastery and Prague Castle, then wanders down through Malá Strana; day three starts at the Vyšehrad fortress and follows the river into the New Town. The Jewish Museum is closed on Saturdays, so plan day one around it.
At a glance
Day 1
Start on Old Town Square, watch the Astronomical Clock strike the hour, visit the synagogues and cemetery of the Jewish Quarter, tour the Clementinum's Baroque library, then cross Charles Bridge in the evening light.
Morning
The heart of the Old Town has been a marketplace since the Middle Ages. The twin Gothic spires of the Church of Our Lady before Týn rise over its east side, and in the middle stands the Jan Hus Memorial, unveiled in 1915, five centuries after the reformer was burned at the stake.
Installed on the Old Town Hall tower in 1410, the Orloj is the oldest astronomical clock still in operation. On the hour a skeleton rings its bell and the twelve apostles file past two small windows. Afterwards, go up the tower, which has a lift, for the best view over the square.
Midday
Afternoon
The Jewish Museum's sites trace a thousand years of Jewish life in Prague: the Pinkas Synagogue, whose walls carry the names of nearly 80,000 Jews from Bohemia and Moravia murdered in the Holocaust; the Old Jewish Cemetery, with around 12,000 tombstones crowded together; and the Moorish-style Spanish Synagogue. Nearby, the Old-New Synagogue has held services since the 13th century.
The Jesuits built this vast college beside Charles Bridge from the 16th century onwards. A guided tour takes you into the Baroque Library Hall, with its painted ceiling and antique globes, through the Meridian Hall and up the Astronomical Tower for a view over the Old Town rooftops.
Evening
Construction of the stone bridge began in 1357 under Charles IV, and until 1841 it was Prague's only crossing of the Vltava. Thirty statues, most of them Baroque, line its parapets; under St John of Nepomuk, visitors rub the bronze plaques for luck. At dusk the castle lights up above Malá Strana.
Day 2
Ride the tram up to Strahov Monastery, walk along the hilltop to Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral, then head down through Malá Strana to St Nicholas Church, the Lennon Wall and Kampa Island.
Morning
Premonstratensian canons have lived at Strahov since 1143. Its library's Theological and Philosophical Halls, with painted ceilings above tall wooden bookcases, are counted among the most beautiful library halls in the world; a standard ticket lets you look in from the doorway.
Seat of Bohemian kings and today of the Czech president, the castle is a walled district of courtyards, palaces and churches. At its centre rises St Vitus Cathedral, begun in 1344 and only finished in 1929. The circuit ticket adds the Old Royal Palace and its vaulted Vladislav Hall, St George's Basilica and Golden Lane, where Franz Kafka once wrote in one of the tiny houses.
Midday
Afternoon
Built by the father-and-son architects Christoph and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer during the 18th century, the church's green dome dominates the Malá Strana skyline. Inside, frescoes and gilded statues fill one of the grandest Baroque interiors in Central Europe; Mozart played its organ in 1787.
After John Lennon was killed in 1980, young Praguers began covering this wall with his portrait and messages of peace, a small act of defiance under the communist regime, which kept painting over them. It is still repainted constantly, so it never looks the same twice.
Separated from Malá Strana by a narrow millrace, the Čertovka or Devil's Stream, Kampa is a quiet green island beneath Charles Bridge. Look for the old water wheel on the stream, David Černý's giant crawling babies outside Museum Kampa, and the view across the river to the Old Town.
Evening
Day 3
Take the metro to Vyšehrad for its ramparts, basilica and cemetery, walk along the river to the Dancing House, visit the National Museum, then stroll down Wenceslas Square to the Art Nouveau Municipal House.
Morning
Legend makes this rock above the Vltava the first seat of the Czech princes. Inside the fortress walls stand the neo-Gothic Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul and Vyšehrad Cemetery, where the composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana and the painter Alfons Mucha are buried. The ramparts look down the river to Prague Castle.
Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry designed this riverside building, completed in 1996, whose curving glass tower leans into its straight-sided partner like a dancing couple; it was first nicknamed Fred and Ginger. A bar on the top floor has a terrace over the river.
Midday
Afternoon
Josef Schulz's Neo-Renaissance building, opened in 1891, closes off the top of Wenceslas Square. It reopened in 2018 after a major renovation: see the natural history halls, the Pantheon of great Czechs under the dome, and the view down the square from the dome itself.
More a long boulevard than a square, this is where modern Czech history happened, from the protests against the Soviet occupation to the huge crowds of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Below the equestrian statue of St Wenceslas, a memorial remembers the students Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, who died in protest in 1969.
Evening
Prague's great Art Nouveau building opened in 1912 beside the Powder Tower, a 15th-century city gate, and Czechoslovak independence was proclaimed here in 1918. Guided tours show Smetana Hall and rooms decorated by Alfons Mucha; in the evening, catch a concert or have a drink in its grand café.
Before you go
Questions
Three days cover the Old Town, the castle district and Vyšehrad without rushing. A fourth day allows Petřín Hill and its lookout tower, or a day trip to Kutná Hora.
You can walk through the castle courtyards for free, but the main buildings, including most of St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St George's Basilica and Golden Lane, need a circuit ticket. Circuit tickets are valid for two days, with one entry to each building.
Buy a ticket in the PID Lítačka app or at a machine before you ride, and stamp a paper ticket when you first board. In 2026 a 90-minute ticket costs 46 CZK in the app or 50 CZK on paper.
The Jewish Museum's sites, including the Old Jewish Cemetery, are closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays, so swap day one with day two or day three.
Between sights it comes to roughly 1 to 3.5 km a day in a straight line, all of it on foot apart from the tram and metro rides to the start of days two and three.
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Places and coordinates: Wikidata and Tripwoa's open-data place catalog (Overture Maps Foundation, © OpenStreetMap contributors). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each image. Practical rules: the official sources linked in each note, checked in September 2026.
How this plan was made: Tripwoa's planner drafted the day order from real coordinates and typical visit times. Each stop was then reviewed, reordered where needed and rewritten with AI assistance. Walking distances are straight-line estimates, so allow a little extra time on real streets.