Thirsty Journeys

If you’re looking for a list of fun things to do in Prague, look no further. Prague offers a huge range of fun sites, attractions and events to please everyone visiting this beautiful old European city.

Storm the Castle

Archaeological evidence suggests that Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty founded Prague Castle as far back as 880 AD. The castle is also in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ancient castle in the world.

So, okay, maybe these facts are only fun for history lovers. But Prague Castle is a genuinely interesting place to visit.

The Prague Castle complex has numerous exterior buildings to explore.

This is the outside of St. Vitus Cathedral. This is the third church to stand on this site since the 9th Century. Isn’t she a beauty?

If you time things just right, you can watch the Changing of the Guard, scheduled at 12:00 daily.

This is the Golden Lane. This modest row of buildings housed the defenders of the castle, servants, and goldsmiths. The street actually got its name from the goldsmiths who lived here.

People lived in these houses right up until World War II. In fact, writer Franz Kafka lived in Number 22 between 1916-1917!

You can take a peek inside some of these houses to get a taste of how people lived back in the 16th Century. Not nearly as posh as living in the castle!

Address:
Hradčany

Look for Street Art

Prague is full of interesting art everywhere you look. Between murals, sculptures, and architecture, Prague will stimulate the art lover in you.

This is the famous “Dancing House,” designed by Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry. It represents Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, with the glass building being Ginger. Many locals didn’t like the design initially, arguing that it didn’t fit the aesthetic of other buildings in Prague. But art is meant to stir debate, after all.

On first glance, this is just an interesting-looking television tower. But look closer – it’s covered in babies crawling up the sides! The Žižkov Television Tower itself dates to 1992. Czech artist David Černý added the babies later, in 2000.

Interestingly, the babies were removed for cleaning and structural review back in 2017. But instead of putting them back, the original baby sculptures were returned to the artist, and replaced with reproductions.

This moving piece is the Memorial to the Victims of Communism, unveiled in 2002. You can find it on Újezd Street:

Prague also features edgier street art – just check out this interesting 3D piece by Urban Solid, an artistic duo from Milan:

Stumble Upon a Festival

Prague is a city with a lot going on. When we visited, we attended the Czech Beer Festival (Český pivní), the largest beer festival in the Czech Republic. This festival is 17 days of beer drinking, eating, and beer-themed workshops.

With over 150 different beers on tap, there was definitely a great selection. Although most of them were somewhat similar in terms of flavour, hoppiness, etc.

But the big draw here was Krušovice, one of the most famous beers in the Czech Republic.

Krušovice has been around since 1581, and is one of the few beers that remains unpasteurized, even for export. This means that Krušovice tastes the same everywhere around the world.

The Krušovice Royal Brewery brewed 10 and 12 degree beers specifically for the festival. Krušovice 10 is a pale draught beer, while Krušovice 12 is a pale lager. We made sure to try both. You know, just for the sake of scientific comparison:

That there, my friends, is a true and proper liter mug o’ beer. No measly girly pints at this festival. Needless to say, they had a lot of bathrooms on site.

The beer festival was a terrific introduction to the variety of beers made in the Czech Republic.

(Currently, it’s not clear whether the annual festival will continue, due to a dispute between the festival organizers and the local government).

But the beer festival wasn’t the only event we came across during our visit.

We were also lucky enough to walk into an incredible little one-day festival called Experience Mexico (usually held in the third week of May).

We partook of enchiladas, quesadillas, spicy salsas, and Mexican beers. It was a nice stumble-upon find. And conveniently, we found it right at lunch time!

Prague doesn’t only play host to wonderful food and drink festivals. The Czech Republic Autoclub occasionally hosts vintage car shows in the city, too. Really, Prague has a festival or event to cater to everyone’s interests.

Take the Funicular to the Top of Petřín Hill

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy funiculars. And the funicular in Prague is part of the Prague public transport network, so tickets for public transit also work for the funicular.

The funicular dates back to 1891, although it closed in 1916 during World War I, and again in 1965 after a landslide destroyed the tracks. It reopened in 1985, and runs between Ujezd Street and the top of Petřín Hill.

Once you reach the top of the hill, you can explore a handful of sights, including an observatory, a church, lookout tower, and gardens.

Address:
Funicular Railway
Petrin Hill, Lesser Town, Prague 5

Escape from the Mirror Maze on Petřín Hill

Well, ok, finding the exit of the Mirror Maze on Petřín Hill isn’t that much of a challenge. But it’s a fun throwback to simpler times.

The Mirror Maze started out as an exhibition hall at the General Land Centennial Exhibition in 1891. It originally stood near the corner of the Industrial Palace, but was moved to Petřín Hill two years later.

The mirrors were installed a few years later, and include ordinary mirrors, as well as convex and concave mirrors.

We rather got a kick out of photographing ourselves within the maze, but I have to say I much preferred the normal mirrors to the body-distorting variety!

Address:
Petřín Gardens
118 00 Prague 1 – Lesser Town

Barhop Around Prague

Prague has no shortage of great pubs, bars, and restaurants to wet your whistle in after a long day of sightseeing. This is a very short list of our recommendations:

U Fleku

We particularly enjoyed U Fleku, a restaurant and brewery serving its own dark lager. I don’t know if they serve any other kinds of beer, because as soon as we sat down, the waiter plunked down two pints of their lager in front of us before we could even peruse the menu.

And we were okay with that. Very okay.

This is one of those classic experiences (although we experienced it in Cologne, Germany as well) that made me fall in love with Prague. They just keep bringing you more and more beer, until you place your coaster on top of your glass to signal that you just couldn’t possibly consume one more drop of malty deliciousness.

By the way, take a look at the date on the coaster. Yes, the U Fleku brewery dates way back to 1499!

The interior of this brewpub is homey, warm, and inviting. There was such a lively buzz in the place that we found it hard to leave.

Not only does the restaurant serve up great regional cuisine, but they have a cabaret show, plus brewery tours!

Address:
Křemencova 11

Pivovarský dum

Prague is chock-full of brew-pubs, and Pivovarský dum was one of our favourites.

Not only does their menu feature traditional Czech cuisine, but they have a beautiful range of interesting beers. The best way to taste them is by ordering their beer sampler.

Note the more interesting flavours you won’t find in most restaurants – nettle, banana, sour cherry, and coffee, just to name a few!

Sop up all that alcohol in your system with an order of their delicious fried bread, and you can call your visit a success!

Address:
Ječná 15

Pohostinec Monarch

If you’re more of a wine drinker, try Pohostinec Monarch. They have a very extensive wine list, and very knowledgeable staff. Not to mention, great food to pair with your wine selection!

Address:
Na Perštýně 349

Soak in a Beer Spa

What better way to experience delicious Czech beer than to drink it while soaking in a hot tub? Why not try out a beer spa, which gives you the best of both worlds!

Give Spa Beerland (Pivni Lazne in Czech) a try. It’s conveniently located right in the heart of Prague.

Just a few of the selling points of the beer spa included:

• unlimited consumption of beer while you’re there
• fresh, homemade beer bread included in the price
• private room
• optional sauna add-on (which I chose to include as part of the experience)
• open late in the evening, after all the stores and museums have closed
• gift shop selling beer cosmetics (which wasn’t needed in the end, as I found several shops in Prague that sold various beer and wine-themed creams and lotions).

The term “beer spa” is a bit of a misnomer, as you don’t really sit in a vat of actual beer. The hot tub contains some of the raw ingredients that comprises beer, though – ground hops, malt, and brewer’s yeast.

So what sort of health benefits do they claim the ingredients have?

• Hops: energizing, rejuvenating, skin softener. opens pores
• Brewer’s Yeast: vitamin B, skin hydration, smooths wrinkles
• Malt: proteins in both malt and hops make your hair feel thicker and softer – which is why washing your hair in beer makes hair look so shiny and healthy!

You can even lounge on a wheat straw bed and nibble on warm, homemade beer bread after your hot tub and steam room experience.

Reservations are highly recommended.

Addresses:
Beer Spa Žitná
Žitná 658 / 9

Beer Spa Rybná
Rybná 650/3

Go Wild in the Prague Zoo

I have mixed feelings about zoos. Visiting a zoo that’s poorly funded or poorly run can really put a damper on the visitor experience. But the Prague Zoo was one of the best we’ve visited. And we’re not the only ones who feel this way – TripAdvisor rated the Prague Zoo as the 4th best zoo in the world in 2015!

The zoo opened in 1931, and has undergone numerous updates and expansions through the decades.

Just look at all the open space the giraffes had to roam:

Just look at the face of this stunning Southern cassowary. Cassowaries can be quite vicious though, earning them the title of the world’s most dangerous bird. They’re quite regal-looking though, don’t you think?

We also got a kick out of taking the chairlift to the upper portion of the zoo. Sure, we could have walked, but this was more fun, and gave us great views of the zoo along the way.

Address:
U Trojského zámku 3/120

Chew-Chew-Chew Your Food at a Train Restaurant

If you love trains, you’ll love grabbing a bite at Vytopna. This restaurant features a G-scale model train that stops at your table to drop off your drinks. It doesn’t bring you your food though – real wait staff still come to your table as well. But it’s still pretty cool.

The menu is a mix of traditional Czech and Western dishes. The prices are quite fair as well – the pork goulash equated to about $7 CDN. Not terrible for being in such a touristy area, where you pay a lot more for location.

If you’re looking for a more filling meal, try the deer leg sous-vide with farmer dumplings and thick mushroom sauce. Then sit back and watch the train go around the room doing its thing while you wait for your meal.

Here’s a short video of the train in action:

Even your drinks will be delivered directly to your table via mini rail.

What I don’t understand though, is how does the train know when you’ve removed your drinks from the car? The weight perhaps?

All I know is, as soon as we took our drinks, the train went on its merry way along the track. I’m not a big train fan, but I gotta say, this kind of made me want to have one at home. As long as it had a similar drink delivery system, of course!

Addresses:

The Vytopna Railway Restaurant has two locations in Prague:

Prague – Palladium Shopping Center
Náměstí Republiky 1, Prague 1
+420 775 444 554
[email protected]

Prague – Wenceslas Square
Václavské náměstí 56, Praha 1 Czech Republic
+420 775 444 554
[email protected]

See More Trains at the Public Transport Museum

If a railway restaurant isn’t enough to satisfy the train conductor in you, swing by the Public Transport Museum.

The museum exhibits numerous artifacts such as historical photographs, old tickets, advertising signage, blueprints, and historic films covering the history of public transit in Prague. The museum houses approximately 40 historic transport vehicles inside.

This beauty was Prague’s first tram. As you can see, it was a horse-drawn tram. A wagoner by the name of Jakub Chocenský was granted special concession to run two omnibus lines. This was circa 1829! This was the beginning of regular passenger transport in Prague.

The advent of electricity changed the face of transportation in Prague. By 1891 the first electrical tram began operation. A surface funicular started operating that same year. It used a water gravity system to move.

Can you spot the maintenance worker checking the electrical cables?

Unfortunately, Prague has had a history of frequent and intense flooding over the centuries. Some of the more drastic floods wreaked havoc on the city’s transport lines as well.

Just look at the force of nature that twisted these rail lines:

After walking around the museum, end your visit with a ride on the historic tram #91. These trams run from April to November. You can find the schedule here: Prague Historic Tram Schedule

Address:
Patočkova 4, 162 00 Praha 6, Czechia

So, what other fun things to do in Prague should have made this list? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!

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