Prague in 4 days

Charles Bridge is the monument that holds Prague together: thirty baroque statues in a row above the Vltava, and at 7:30 in the morning they are all yours — the only people on the bridge are anglers and commuters, the figures backlit, the river below. The itinerary starts here at this hour for a precise reason: by 10 the same bridge is a village-fair crush of portrait artists and souvenir stalls, and it doesn't become itself again until night. This is the only hour you actually see it, and it costs nothing. Put on an extra layer: the Vltava basin funnels the air, and early in the morning you feel it even in May. Then carry on along Křižovnická: the Klementinum is five minutes away.

Suggested time here: 1h 25m

The Klementinum is Prague's second largest complex of buildings after the Castle: a whole block of courtyards in the middle of the centre, five minutes from the bridge. The showpiece is the baroque library hall of 1722, with its globes and frescoed ceilings: you view it from the threshold — you don't walk in, and rightly so, because that is what keeps it as it was. From the astronomical tower, where for centuries noon was measured for the whole city, the view over the rooftops is the finest in the centre. One practical note: visits are guided only, at fixed times, so it pays to book ahead — that way the tour slots in without waiting. On the way out, the Old Town Square and its clock are six minutes on foot.

Suggested time here: 1h 9m

The Old Town Square is the heart of Prague, and the Orloj is its star turn: striking since 1410, the oldest astronomical clock still running. Honestly: the procession of the twelve apostles on the hour lasts FORTY SECONDS, and half the square packs in for it. Watch it, smile, then raise your eyes to the real dial — the sun, the moon and the zodiac, turning for six centuries: that is the show. For the square seen from above, climbing the town hall tower costs 350 CZK (~€14.50), plus 100 CZK if you prefer the lift to the ramp; in the first hour after opening the ticket is 50% off — one more reason to come in the morning. Lunch is five minutes away, just outside the tourist circuit.

Suggested time here: 2h 10m

Dlouhá runs from the north corner of the square, and three minutes are enough for prices to halve: between Dlouhá, Rámová and Haštalské náměstí the people who work in the centre have their lunch, among bufets, bakeries and hospody. The right move at midday is the denní menu, the day's menu chalked up by hand: soup plus a main, ordered fast and eaten properly. If you sit down in a hospoda, watch the slip on the table: the waiter pencils your beers onto it and brings another the moment your glass runs dry — to stop him, put the beer mat on top of the glass. The afternoon picks up again gently: Josefov is seven minutes away.

Suggested time here: 1h 23m

The Old Jewish Cemetery is the quietest and hardest place in Prague: twelve thousand headstones piled one on another, over twelve layers of burials, because the ghetto was not allowed to spread and so it buried upwards. You walk through at a slow pace, and the rest of the city disappears. The Jewish Museum ticket costs 600 CZK (~€24.50) and covers far more than the cemetery: the Spanish Synagogue, the Maisel, the Old-New and the Pinkas, with its 78,000 names written by hand on the walls, one by one. It is valid for 3 opening days and is designed to be split: if today the cemetery is enough — it happens, and it is understandable — the synagogues can wait until tomorrow. The next stop is a short quarter of an hour away, along Široká and Dlouhá.

Suggested time here: 2h 17m

The Municipal House is Czech art nouveau at full stretch: the Obecní dům of 1912, with the Smetana Hall under the dome and Mucha's decoration in the mayor's room. Leaning against its flank stands the gothic Powder Tower: two buildings pressed together with five centuries between them, and it is the most Prague contrast there is — this city sets its centuries side by side without asking permission, and here it does so within a single metre. The ground-floor café is worth the stop for the ceiling alone: sit down, order something hot and give yourself ten minutes with your nose in the air. For dinner you change scene and step out of the tourist circuit: the Petrská čtvrť is eight minutes on foot.

Suggested time here: 2h 22m

The Petrská čtvrť is the surprise eight minutes from the Powder Tower: an island of low houses and courtyards where tourists don't reach and locals genuinely have dinner. Here you order without checking the price first — which in central Prague is a rare luxury — and eat everyday cooking, with no translations and no laminated photos. A regular's warning: the nuts or crisps already on the table are not a gift — open them and they go on the bill; it is the rule in Czech taverns, it applies everywhere, and it is not a trick played on you. Close the first day gently: tomorrow you climb to the Castle, and it pays to arrive fresh.