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Prague Castle

Tour Creator

Jeffrey Opdyke
Jeffrey has traveled to nearly 70 countries across all the habitable continents as a columnist and writer for publications including The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. He…Read More Bio »

Tour Type:

Castle

Historical

Royal

Prague

GPS-directed

Remote Tour Included

1hr/2hrs(Extended itinerary)

1km/2km(Extended itinerary)

Welcome to our tour of what the good folks at Guinness World Record call the world’s largest castle complex. From an ancient monastery to tales of a moat-dwelling werewolf and the severed tongue of a saint, this is your insider’s guide to Prague Castle.

Avoid the Crowds

Allows you to explore without having to be shoulder-to-shoulder in a large tour group

Created by an exceptional journalist

Written by a former The Wall Street Journal columnist, who lives in Prague

GPS Directions

Easy-to-follow GPS directions to get you from one point to the next on your tour

Highlights include:

Prague Castle, St. George Basilica, and Lobkowicz Palace

Remote Tour Included

As with all our tours, a remote tour is included that can be enjoyed from home

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Itineraries

Prague Castle – Extended

Prague Castle – Standard

  1. Strahov Monastery - this was a church and a center for palace guards to protect entrance to the city. It has been burned and attacked through the ages, and is today one of the most significant pieces of architecture in the entire country.
  2. Czernin Palace & Edvard Benes statue - A monument to hubris, really. With a façade nearly 500 feet long, this is the longest Baroque-era building in the country.
  3.  Loreto Sanctuary - Named for the Italian basilica in Loreto, Italy, which enshrines the house were some believe Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived and which was flown to Italy from Jerusalem by angels. The 17th century Loreto Sanctuary in Prague pays homage to that, and has become its own pilgrimage destination among the more-pious.
  4. Tycho Brahe’s apartment - When the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe lost the graces of the Danish king (on rumors he was bedding the king’s wife), he relocated to Prague, where Emperor Rudolf II took him in as a counselor making predictions and reading star charts. During part of his short time in Prague, he lived in this building, which was, at the time, popular with local alchemists of the day.
  5. Church of St. John of Nepomuk - Here, at this church built in the early 1700s, we tell the story of St. John of Nepomuk, the priest drowned by a king and memorialized with a statue on the Charles Bridge.
  6. Martinicky Palace - Built across 80 years in the mid-1500s and early 1600s, this palace stands as one of the most-beautiful buildings in Prague from the late-Renaissance. A fire gutted the place a few times and legend says the ghost of queen’s lady-in-waiting can sometimes be seen fleeing the area with a burning dog.
  7. Hradcanske Namesti - A large park/open space leading to Prague Castle, and surrounded by various palaces
  8. Prague Castle - Overview of Prague Castle. It’s age. The fact that it holds a Guinness World Record as the largest castle complex in the world at 750,000 square feet (about 13 football fields). Its purpose through the years. Was home to Adolf Hitler for a single night.
  9. Imperial Stables & The Treasury - Built by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who adored and collected horse. He knocked down a portion of the castle wall in the late-1500s in order to build what are some extravagant stables.
  10. Stag Moat - For just a moment, we’re going to step outside of the castle walls to see a moat. But it’s not a normal moat. This one was never filled with water. It was filled with animals – stag and bear, and the bear, in particular, served as some of a deterrent to those who might try to cross the moat.
  11. St. Vitus Cathedral - Back inside the walls, we go. St. Vitus Cathedral is, perhaps, the defining silhouette on the Prague skyline.
  12. Old Royal Palace - The heart of Prague Castle – indeed, this is where the castle began and why it exists.
  13. Vladislav Hall - Perhaps the castle is most-famous though for death. In 1618, three governors officials were thrown from a window here in the Old Royal Palace. It’s known as the Prague Defenestration. That event precipitated the Thirty Years War that engulfed almost all of Europe in battle, and to this day remains one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
  14. St. George Basilica - The #2 church for the Castle and the second oldest in the city, and the oldest preserved building inside the castle complex.
  15. Golden Lane - You will notice there’s a turnstile in front of you. You need a ticket to get past here. But we’re stopping here anyway because you can see just past the turnstile the beginnings of what’s known as Golden Lane.
  16. Lobkowicz Palace & Black Tower - This is the only private residence within the castle walls. The palace dates to the 16th century and is home to the Lobkowicz family.
  1. Prague Castle - Overview of Prague Castle. It’s age. The fact that it holds a Guinness World Record as the largest castle complex in the world at 750,000 square feet (about 13 football fields). Its purpose through the years. Was home to Adolf Hitler for a single night.
  2. Imperial Stables & The Treasury - Built by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who adored and collected horse. He knocked down a portion of the castle wall in the late-1500s in order to build what are some extravagant stables.
  3. Stag Moat - For just a moment, we’re going to step outside of the castle walls to see a moat. But it’s not a normal moat. This one was never filled with water. It was filled with animals – stag and bear, and the bear, in particular, served as some of a deterrent to those who might try to cross the moat.
  4. St. Vitus Cathedral - Back inside the walls, we go. St. Vitus Cathedral is, perhaps, the defining silhouette on the Prague skyline.
  5. Old Royal Palace - The heart of Prague Castle – indeed, this is where the castle began and why it exists.
  6. Vladislav Hall - Perhaps the castle is most-famous though for death. In 1618, three governors officials were thrown from a window here in the Old Royal Palace. It’s known as the Prague Defenestration. That event precipitated the Thirty Years War that engulfed almost all of Europe in battle, and to this day remains one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
  7. St. George Basilica - The #2 church for the Castle and the second oldest in the city, and the oldest preserved building inside the castle complex.
  8. Golden Lane - You will notice there’s a turnstile in front of you. You need a ticket to get past here. But we’re stopping here anyway because you can see just past the turnstile the beginnings of what’s known as Golden Lane.
  9. Lobkowicz Palace & Black Tower - This is the only private residence within the castle walls. The palace dates to the 16th century and is home to the Lobkowicz family.

Check out a free sample of this tour!

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