What the camera doesn’t tell you
Lesser Town, in one word: timeless. Walking downhill from Prague Castle into Lesser Town, you go from the grandeur of the castle to these beautiful, narrow cobblestone streets surrounded by centuries-old buildings, colorful façades and charming little details everywhere. There’s something romantic and nostalgic about the place. It’s not just the famous landmarks that make it beautiful, it’s the streets themselves. The kind of neighborhood where you want to slow down, look around and take it all in.
We felt safe and relaxed the whole way down. It was a hot July afternoon, the light was strong, and the pale stone underfoot and on the palace fronts seemed to shine with it.
A classic red tram passing Malostranská beseda on the Lesser Town square. Our photo from the walk, July 2026.
Near the end, the riverbank opens into a little shingle beach that faces Charles Bridge. Families had spread out along it, with the bridge across from them in the afternoon light. ▶ watch at 1:05:10
The route, stop by stop
We start on Hradčany Square and go down through the Lesser Town: the Castle Steps, Nerudova, St Nicholas and the Lesser Town square, the Wallenstein Garden, then Klárov and the river. We never cross Charles Bridge. Each time below opens the film at that moment.
All 11 stops, with times
- Hradčany SquareThe square in front of the castle gates, with Masaryk’s statue on its steps.▶ 1:36
- The castle gates and the viewpointStone giants fight above the main gate, and from the edge of the square the red roofs of the Lesser Town spread out below.▶ 3:00
- The Castle StepsDown the long stepped lane from the castle, between a brick wall and the house fronts.▶ 6:44
- Nerudova and the Italian EmbassyNerudova runs downhill past its old house signs and the Thun-Hohenstein Palace, the Italian Embassy, with two big stone eagles at its doorway.▶ 16:06
- St Nicholas ChurchThe front and green dome of St Nicholas over the upper half of Malostranské náměstí.▶ 24:15
- The lower squareTrams turn across the lower half of the square, past food stalls and the arcades of Malostranská beseda.▶ 28:02
- The Wallenstein GardenIn through the gate to clipped hedges, bronze statues and the big pond.▶ 41:32
- KlárovOut of the garden to the busy tram junction at the foot of the hill.▶ 49:10
- The Vltava and Charles BridgeDown to the river, with Charles Bridge across the water.▶ 54:50
- The Franz Kafka Museum courtyardDavid Černý’s fountain of two bronze figures in a basin shaped like the Czech Republic, with café umbrellas around it.▶ 1:01:12
- The riverbank and the path to Mánes BridgeA small shingle beach facing Charles Bridge, then the riverside path toward Mánes Bridge, where the film ends.▶ 1:04:30
Open this route in Google MapsWalking directions from Hradčanské náměstí through the main landmarks. Our film takes a few extra turns.
Down from the castle
This walk begins where our Prague Castle walk ended, and from the edge of Hradčany Square the whole Lesser Town lies below: a slope of red roofs, with the green dome of St Nicholas among them. ▶ watch at 4:28 The way down is the Castle Steps, officially Zámecké schody and often called the New Castle Steps. Prague City Tourism says a path has climbed here since the 13th century, and the steps took their present form in the 17th.
On the steps down from the castle. Our photo from the walk, July 2026.
Looking back up Thunovská to the foot of the Castle Steps. Our photo from the walk, July 2026.
Nerudova
Nerudova was named in 1895 after the writer Jan Neruda, who lived for a time in the house called U Dvou slunců, At the Two Suns, and nearly every house on this steep street still has a sign of its own. Further down, the Thun-Hohenstein Palace, built in the 1720s and now the Italian Embassy, has two big stone eagles over its doorway, the arms of the Kolowrat family who built it; it took the Thun-Hohenstein name after the house changed hands in 1768. ▶ watch at 16:06
St Nicholas and the square
Nerudova ends at St Nicholas, on the upper half of Malostranské náměstí. ▶ watch at 24:15 Building began in 1703 to plans by Kryštof Dientzenhofer, whose front and nave were consecrated in 1711; his son Kilián Ignác completed the church, consecrated in 1752. The belfry beside it never belonged to the church: it was always the Lesser Town’s own, and from the 1960s State Security used it to watch the Western embassies around it.
On the lower half of the square, where the trams turn, the big arcaded building is Malostranská beseda, the Lesser Town’s own town hall until 1784, when Prague’s four towns were joined into one. Its Renaissance front dates from a rebuilding between 1617 and 1622.
Cobbles and tram lines on Malostranské náměstí. Our photo from the walk, July 2026.
The Wallenstein Garden
Behind a plain gate off Letenská lies the garden of the Wallenstein Palace. ▶ watch at 45:00 To build palace and garden in the 1620s, Albrecht of Wallenstein cleared 25 houses, seven gardens and a brickworks. Adriaen de Vries’s bronze figures from Greek myth are copies made in 1914 and 1915, because Swedish troops carried off the originals in 1648 and they still stand at Drottningholm. On the island in the pond is a copy of his Hercules fountain, and on the pond itself, in 1816, the inventor Josef Božek tested a steamship.
The Wallenstein Garden pond, with St Vitus above. Our photo from the walk, July 2026.
To the river
Klárov, the tram junction at the foot of the hill, is named after Alois Klar, who founded an institute for the blind. On the riverbank beyond it, the Franz Kafka Museum has stood in the old Hergetova cihelna brickworks since 2005, and in its courtyard David Černý’s fountain Proudy, from 2004, shows two bronze figures standing in a basin shaped like the Czech Republic. ▶ watch at 1:01:12
Charles Bridge from the Lesser Town riverbank. From our film, July 2026.
Before you walk the Lesser Town
- Walk it downhill, after the castle.Do the castle first, then let the Castle Steps and Nerudova carry you down to the river. That is how we did it, on the same July day.
- If you climb the belfry, go in its first hour.Prague City Tourism says tickets are half price in the first hour after it opens. We didn’t climb it ourselves.
- Plan the Wallenstein Garden for the warm months.The garden opens only from April to October, 7:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 19:00 at weekends. Out of season, the rest of the walk works just the same.
What it costs
| The streets, the squares, the Wallenstein Garden and the riverbank | Free |
|---|---|
| Our cold drinks on Hradčany Square before heading down, an iced americano and a coconut matcha | 125 CZK and 155 CZK |
| St Nicholas Church, if you go in | 150 CZK (90 CZK reduced) |
| St Nicholas belfry, if you climb it | 200 CZK (130 CZK reduced) |
| Franz Kafka Museum, if you go in | 300 CZK (220 CZK reduced) |
Ticket prices and hours are from Prague City Tourism and the Franz Kafka Museum, checked October 2026. The drinks are what we paid in July 2026.
Where to stay for this walk
We stayed two nights in an apartment across the river in Smíchov, in July 2026, and took the tram up the hill on the morning of our Castle walk. To sleep closer to these streets:
Worth going inside
- St Nicholas ChurchOpen daily from 9:00, closing at 16:00, 17:00 or 18:00 depending on the month and the day; last entry 15 minutes before closing. We didn’t go in.Official site ↗
- St Nicholas belfry215 steps up to a gallery 65 m above the ground. Open daily: 9:00 to 20:30 from June to September, 10:00 to 19:00 in April and May, 10:00 to 19:30 in December, and 10:00 to 18:00 the rest of the year. We didn’t climb it.Official site ↗
- Franz Kafka MuseumOpen daily 10:00 to 18:00. We didn’t go in.Official site ↗
Questions people ask
Does this Lesser Town walk cross Charles Bridge?
No. We see the bridge across the water from the riverbank and from the little beach that faces it, from 54:50 on, but the film never goes onto the bridge.
Can you combine this walk with Prague Castle?
Yes, and we recommend it. This walk starts on Hradčany Square, exactly where our Castle walk ends, and runs down to the river. We walked both on the same day.
Is the walk all downhill?
Mostly. It goes down the Castle Steps from the castle to the Lesser Town, then down Nerudova and on to the river.
Where does the walk start and end?
It starts on Hradčany Square at 1:36 and ends on the riverside path toward Mánes Bridge, where the film fades out at 1:08:16.
Facts and prices checked October 2026. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check official sites before you go.
