67 Best Sights in Prague, Czech Republic

Located south and slightly west of the Charles Bridge, this square is fronted by the Grand Prior's Palace—considered one of the finest baroque buildings in the area. Though now part of the Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta—the contemporary (and very real) descendants of the Knights of Malta. Alas, it's closed to the public. Opposite you'll find the flamboyant orange-and-white stucco façade of the Buquoy Palace, built in 1719 by Giovanni Santini and now the French Embassy. The nearby John Lennon Peace Wall was once a monument to youthful rebellion, emblazoned with political slogans and the large painted head of the former Beatle during the communist era in Prague. Back then, it was regularly painted over by the authorities; nowadays, Lennon's visage is seldom seen because it is usually covered instead with political and music-related graffiti. For now, you can still take a pen and add your own, but there's talk of regulations to prevent obscene daubings by inebriated tourists.

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.

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.

Bordered to the north by Nové Město and to the south by Nusle, Vyšehrad is mostly visited for its citadel high above the river on a rocky outcropping. However, fans of 20th-century architecture—you know who you are—will find cubist gems between the area's riverfront street and the homes that dot the hills on the other side. Prague's cubist architecture followed a great Czech tradition: embracing new ideas, while adapting them to existing artistic and social contexts to create something sui generis. Between 1912 and 1914 Josef Chochol (1880–1956) designed several of the city's dozen or so cubist projects. His apartment house at Neklanova 30, on the corner of Neklanova and Přemyslova, is a masterpiece in concrete. The pyramidal, kaleidoscopic window moldings and roof cornices make an expressive link to the baroque yet are wholly novel; the faceted corner balcony column, meanwhile, alludes to Gothic forerunners. On the same street, at No. 2, is another apartment house attributed to Chochol. Like the building at No. 30, it uses pyramidal shapes and a suggestion of Gothic columns. Nearby, Chochol's villa, on the embankment at Libušina 3, has an undulating effect, created by smoothly articulated forms. The wall and gate around the back of the house use triangular moldings and metal grating to create an effect of controlled energy. The three-family house, about 100 yards away from the villa at Rašínovo nábřeží 6–10, was completed slightly earlier, when Chochol's cubist style was still developing. Here the design is touched with baroque and neoclassical influence, with a mansard roof and end gables.

This museum is dedicated to the history of the city, and though it's technically in Nové Město, it's relatively easy to reach from Old Town because it's near the Florenc metro and bus stations. The highlight here is a cardboard model of the historic quarter of Prague; it shows what the city looked like before the Jewish ghetto was destroyed in a massive fire in 1689 and includes many buildings that are no longer standing.

This 19th-century neo-Renaissance monument has some of the cleanest, brightest stonework in the city. Designed by Josef Zítek and Josef Schulz and completed in 1884—it was named for then Hapsburg Crown Prince Rudolf—the low-slung sandstone building was meant to be a combination concert hall and exhibition gallery. After 1918 it was converted into the parliament of the newly independent Czechoslovakia until German invaders reinstated the concert hall in 1939. Now the Czech Philharmonic has its home base here. The 1,200-seat Dvořákova síň (Dvořák Hall) has superb acoustics (the box office faces 17 Listopadu Street). To see the hall, you must attend a concert.