Two days in Prague – itinerary by local

I’m not originally from Prague, however, I spend there for about 5 years, so I would consider myself as a local. This post is all about Prague, so let me be your guide. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and with a population of 1,3 million, also the biggest city. Prague is a city mainly for people who love history. It might sound like a really big city and in fact, it is but if you want to enjoy it and don’t have too much time, it is enough to stay in Prague just for two days. Besides Prague is quite a cheap place to stay to it is easy to enjoy local sights for just a couple of bucks. It is also a city, where Franz Kafka lived, and quite a lot of movies were made here. For example Blade 2, Van Helsing, Mission Impossible, and from the latest one, also series called Carnival Row.

Two days in Prague itinerary

Day 1: Royal route

When you go to visit Prague, you might hear about something called the Royal route. It is a route that kings used to walk to their coronation. The historical part of Prague is part of UNESCO and certainly has historical importance.

Pulver tower

In Prague, it started at something called Powder Tower (Prašná brána). Unfortunately, for now, there is not a lot to do now there, so if you go there, maybe just enjoy the walk through the little but very old streets. There is also a museum in Pulver tower. If you decide to go there, you will be able to see part of history in Prague. You will be transferred to the historical Prague of the 16th century and see how the city looked back then.

The museum isn’t that widely visited but it is a great place for history lovers. You can come here every day from 10 am to 8 pm. You would pay 100 czk for as entrance fee. People usually spend here for about half an hour, so it is not such a big stop.

Old town square

The next stop for the king was the Old town square. This place is also well known for its historical sights. So what can you see here? There is a massive statue of one of the biggest Czech pastors. Except for this one, you can also see there a Týn church – the one that looks like from Disney, and the old town hall.

National Gallery

Except for this, you can also visit here the national gallery. They have there some of Czech best artist. Some of them are quite known such as Mucha. A lot of times they would have a temporary exhibition with big names like Rembrandt and once I was there on Tim Burton. National Gallery consists of 5 building and perhaps because of that the admission ticket cost 500 czk but it would last for 10 days so you would have enough time to go through it all.

Oldtown hall

If you feel like you can see the things from all the above, it is possible to buy a ticket for the old town hall, where you get a very different view of Prague. Quite a bit of people are doing it so especially in summer, you will find here a long line of people waiting to be let on the top. But don’t get discouraged, the view from there is amazing. You will need to pay 100 czk to get there though.

Astronomical clock

On one of the sites of the old town hall is also something called the astronomical clock. Those were made in the 14th century and still have a little play once in an hour. But be prepared, that you won’t be the only one standing there and waiting for them to play.

Charles bridge

After visiting Old town square, feel free to go further to Charles bridge. It is also the oldest bridge in Prague and perhaps in the whole Czech Republic. It was built in 1357. You can find there very old statues, there are about 15 of them and all of them are dedicated to some Christian story. Besides that, you can see the whole historical part of Prague.

But prepare yourself for a lot of people. This is one of the most popular attractions in Prague. And there aren’t just tourists, you will probably find here a lot of street artists as well. To be honest, they are quite overpriced and you can buy local art in better places.

Malostranské square

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This is a popular square not because of it’s historical significance but more for what can you find here. The whole square is filled with cute houses and the major thing here is Saint Nicolaus church.

It is one of the most famous churches in Prague. Build at the beginning of the 18th century and have a chapel that stands out. You can come and visit it every day between 9 am and 4 pm. The entry fee is 100 czk.

Prague castle

This is still part of the royal route. After the Charles bridge, the streets will take you straight through the Malostranské square and up to the castle. It is not a long or steep walk but be prepared to go slightly upwards. Prague castle is where the coronation took place in medieval times. There are parts of the castle that are always open to visitors and you can easily go there.

The place where the castle is was used by noblemen and kings since the 9th century. It is a place where presidents live up until today. But the castle as we know it was finished just in the 18th century even though people were building is since 9 th century.

Part of the castle area is also Saint Vitus cathedral. The cathedral itself has the same age as the castle – it also used to be here since the 9th century but it was a lot smaller and until 1348 it was just church. After that, it was upgraded to the cathedral.

The opening times to Prague castle are quite long. You can come here from 6 am to 10 pm. Although there are some parts for visitors that are open just from 9 am to 5 pm. There are several types of entry fee classes are depending on what do you want to visit. But the most common one cost 350 czk.

Spend an evening on Letná

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This is a very local thing to do. Letná is one of the biggest parks in Prague and it might be also one of the most popular parks in Prague. At least by locals. You can walk around the park and enjoy the green place in the city. There is also a statue of a big metronome that is staring directly at the city.

Letná has a big historical impact, especially from recent history. During the communist era, there used to be a massive statue of Stalin that was later on taken down. There is also a big green square that was filled in 1989 by demonstrating people, who were unhappy with the regime. It is estimated that back then around one million people gathered there and that started the Velvet revolution.

Today this square is still used for demonstrations. But the green park is filled with little stands with local food and drinks. And because Letná is a hill, you can see here one of the best views of Prague.

Day two – around the Vltava river and back

National Theatre

National Theatre is a piece of history. The whole building burned down in 1881, but people decided to collect money for reconstruction, so it is standing and working up till now.

So far unless you want to go in and watch some play, you cannot go in. But you can still walk around and observe the opera from outside. The plays that they have there are mainly in Czech although some Italian operas are in the original language.

Dancing house

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One of the very few modern buildings in the historical center in Prague. I have no idea why is it called that way, but right now it is a hotel with a restaurant and a gallery.

The food here is rather expensive since it is a high-class restaurant. And the same goes for the hotel rooms, but you can still visit the gallery. In the gallery, you can find an exhibition of retro furniture from the ’70s and 80’s so mainly from Communist time in the Czech Republic. Other than that, there are a lot of other exhibitions, some of them are changing over time.

Museum Kampa

This is one of the most interesting museums that you can find in Prague. It is a museum of modern art, founded by Meda Mládková. You can find here all kinds of modern art, mainly from Czech artists. The museum itself has a cool location, right next to a river, so you will get an interesting view from this place is well.

At the same time, the museum is easy to recognize. There are weird crawling babies all around it and some other masterpieces right outside of the museum. Kampa museum is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm and to go in, you will need to pay 350 czk.

Petřín

Since I’m talking a lot about great views of Prague, perhaps one of the best ones isn’t too far from the Kampa museum. Hill called Petřín is right above it. This area is not just a park. Upon the peak, you can find various attractions from the mirror house to the Petřín lookout tower.

To get up there, you will need to either hike the hill – not too bad honestly, you can be there in 20 minutes. Otherwise, there is a cablecar that will help you up. From there, you can enjoy the luxurious view of Prague.

Wenceslas square

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Let’s look elsewhere, from tram station under Petřín hill you can jump to a tram leading to one of the biggest squares in Prague with a statue of Wenceslas on the horse as the main sight there, right under the national museum. This square will possibly remind more of a communist time in the country than any other period, mainly because the architecture here is from that time and it is just something very different than rest of the Prague.

If you are looking for places to shop, this would be one of them, there are thousands of little or bigger shops. There is also the national museum. If you are wondering whether you should visit it – I think you can, but the sights inside are quite old and mostly it is made for Czech people rather than tourists. But if you like architecture, then you should think about going there, cause since 2019 it is renovated and the building is beautiful.

Piece square

If you walk up the Wenceslas square to the national museum, you can easily visit another interesting place from there. Piece Square. This is a place with one of the nicest churches in Prague. Often it is being overlooked by tourists, so you won’t find as many crowds here.

The buildings inside are under reconstruction so it is yet another building, where you cannot just walk in. But It is worth to see it anyway. The little park around is gorgeous besides there is a stand where they sell one of the best ice creams in the city.

Spend an evening in Náplavka

So this is your last day. And sure, you can go to a nice restaurant. But honestly, around the river is a place called Náplavka. There are like tens of food stands and drink bars. It is right on riverside so you can watch a beautiful sunset over the Prague castle.

A lot of local people come here, it is a really popular place where you can get local food and drinks.

Practical info about two days in Prague

Is it worth it to spend two days in Prague?

Yes. If you don’t have more time of course. One day in Prague would be too short. And in two days like this, you will manage to see the main tourist places and some little bit more local places as well.

The ideal time here would be 4 days but not everyone wants to spend the whole 4 days in the city. Besides some of the hidden gems might be more interesting for locals because of the history rather than for tourists.

How to get around Prague?

Prague has really good public transport, so it is possible to spend the whole two days in Prague and just rely on public transport.

How to get from and to Prague airport?

Unless you want to invest in Uber or taxi (not recommended, will get to it). You can simply use the green line that will go to a station called Nádraží Veleslavín. In the sound annunciation, they will tell you that this is the one for the airport.

There you would hop on a bus that would lead directly to the airport. It goes every 5 minutes and it takes only 15 minutes to get there from this point. This is the most easier way on how to get from and to the airport.

When it comes to tickets, you just need to buy the tickets for public transport. Since it is rather a long way to the airport, find the one that costs 32 czk. That should be enough.

Public transport in Prague

Prague is a great place to travel on foot. It is big enough to be an interesting city but small enough to walk around without public transport. But there are some places where you will want to be faster and possibly use public transport.

One of the most common ways of getting around Prague would be by subway. The local subway has only three lines, divided by colors. Each line has always only one station where you can switch to another line so it is not that complicated like in the London subway for example.

Another way of getting around Prague would be the local trams. They go all around Prague and very often to places where the subway won’t reach. But they are also much slowlier. On the other hand, I enjoy going to the cute old subway.

Taxi is a no-no

Prague taxi drivers are notoriously known for their bad practice. Especially towards foreigners. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some decent ones but the bad guys always kind of ruins it for them.

So what can happen? No, you will not get abducted. But you might pay a lot more than you should. One of the common practices is just to drive people around for a little bit, in ways where it is not necessary. And then ask for more money.

Another one is just to turn off the counter so people wouldn’t notice. Or not clear the counter so you would pay more. And because of that, I would never use a taxi in Prague. At least unless you ask your hotel for one.

When is it the best time to visit Prague?

If you have just two days in Prague, it doesn’t matter too much about when are you going. But your view of Prague matters. Do you prefer to see Christmas markets at the squares? Or would you like to see green parks?

Prague can be beautiful at any time. But you must count on the fact, that generally in spring and autumn it can rain a lot.

The main season is in winter when a lot of people would come to see the Christmas markets. Then the city is crowded.

Summer is not that popular season. But it can get really hot. We are talking around 35°C. So choose carefully which one do you prefer.

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