95 Best Sights in Prague, Czech Republic

This vineyard perched on a hill within the Botanical Gardens is a rewarding stop on a visit to Troja's zoo, the gardens, or the château. Well priced and lively, with delicious hyperlocal vintages, of course, it's a beautiful and relaxed spot for sunset among the vines. Note: you have to pay admission to the Botanical Gardens to go to the vineyard.

Once the gardens of the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, later taken over by the Order of the English Virgins, this walled garden now provides a peaceful haven in summer, with weeping willows, fruit trees, and benches. Exhibitions of modern sculpture are occasionally held here, contrasting sharply with the two baroque chapels and the graceful Ignaz Platzer statue of John of Nepomuk standing on a fish at the entrance. At the other end of the park you can find a terrace with a formal rose garden and a pair of peacocks that like to aggressively preen for visitors under the trellises. The park is surrounded by the high walls of the old monastery and new Ministry of Finance buildings, with only an occasional glimpse of a tower or spire to remind you of the world beyond.

An unobtrusive door on noisy Karmelitská hides the entranceway to a fascinating sanctuary with one of the best views of Malá Strana. The street door opens onto the intimate courtyard of the Vrtbovský palác (Vrtba Palace). Two Renaissance wings flank the courtyard; the left one was built in 1575, the right one in 1591. The original owner of the latter house was one of the 27 Bohemian nobles executed by the Habsburgs in 1621. The house was given as confiscated property to Count Sezima of Vrtba, who bought the neighboring property and turned the buildings into a late-Renaissance palace. The Vrtba Garden was created a century later. Built in five levels rising behind the courtyard in a wave of statuary-bedecked staircases and formal terraces reaching toward a seashell-decorated pavilion at the top, it's a popular spot for weddings, receptions, and occasional concerts. (The fenced-off garden immediately behind and above belongs to the U.S. Embassy—hence the U.S. flag that often flies there.) The powerful stone figure of Atlas that caps the entranceway in the courtyard and most of the other statues of mythological figures are from the workshop of Mathias Braun, perhaps the best of the Czech baroque sculptors.

You can't just wander into this building as a member of the public, but while you're in the area, it's worth paying attention to the outside. The hall was the creation of Mordechai Maisel, an influential Jewish leader at the end of the 16th century. Restored in the 18th century, it was given a clock and bell tower at that time. A second clock, with Hebrew numbers, keeps time counterclockwise. Now a Jewish Community Center, the building also houses Shalom, a kosher restaurant. The restaurant is open to the public for walk-ins during the week, and for Shabbat lunch or dinner if you book, but there are probably better options for dining in this quarter if you don't keep kosher.

Flora, fauna, and fresh air are the main things you can find in Prague's zoo. Hit hard by the floods in 2002, when some 134 animals perished, and again in 2013, when much of the zoo's grounds were inundated with water, Prague's zoo gets a periodic cleanup and offers a welcome break from the bustle of the city, particularly for those traveling with kids. Covering 160 acres on a slope overlooking the Vltava River, the zoo has thousands of animals representing 500 species. Take the chairlift for an outstanding view of the area, and look into arriving via boat: either, in summer, on a steamboat from the center of town or on the simple daily passenger ferry between Podbaba and Podhoří.