Around the World with Kids

When you step onto the streets of Prague, you feel as if you’ve stepped onto the set of a historical romance movie set back in the time of Mozart and Beethoven. Prague is one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen, with it’s cobblestone streets and mix of Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. But behind each building and turn are areas filled with rich history of the Bohemian people. As you go through the city you can see how it has worked to change and adapt, after first the invasion of the Nazis and then the hold of communism. But today, Prague is a thriving city, open for business and tourists and ready to show you the secrets that were hidden from view for so many years.

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• Why to Go with Your Family
• How Much Time to Spend
• How to Get to Prague
• What to Do/See
  • Tours
  • History
  • Art
  • Museums
  • Outdoor Spaces
• Where to Eat
• Where to Stay
• How to Get Around
• What to Bring
• Other Important Tips

Why to Go with Your Family

If you are looking for beauty from old Europe, then Prague is the city to visit. Unlike Warsaw, Prague was mostly untouched by World War II. The old part of the city dates back to the 11^th century and has the most beautiful Baroque architecture. But New Prague has Art Deco, Baroque, and even modern buildings. Prague is full of culture. You can visit an ancient bridge and palace, listen to a classical concert in an Art Nouveau building, and see modern art installations all in the same day. For the older kids who appreciate history, there is so much to get absorbed in. Your adventurous eaters can find food in all tastes and price ranges. The littles will love the big plazas and parks, and the Museum of Bricks. There is a little something for the families who love to get absorbed in art, history, and culture.

How Much Time to Spend

• Long Weekend – Prague has a lot to see, but most of the highlights can be done walking around the city in a few days.
• Week – If you are staying longer, you can go more in depth into some of the museums, synagogues, and sights. You can also do some day trips out of the city into the Czech Countryside.

How to Get to Prague

Prague is a major European city and as such there are multiple ways to get there and frequent flights, trains, and buses to the city. We took a train to and from Prague and found finding and booking the trip easy, and it was easy to navigate the station and get into the center of the city. Here are a few ways to get there.

• Flying – Václav Havel Airport (PRG) is an international airport serviced by all the major international carriers, as well as some European low-cost airlines.
• Train – Prague Hlavní Nádraží is the main train station. Most of the terminals, stores and amenities are underground. But aboveground is the old terminal building with beautiful Art Nouveau architecture and it is worth a few minutes to look when you are leaving or arriving. There are major trains out of here to most European destinations.
• Bus – FlixBus has stops at the Prague Main station as well as the Central Bus Station. They are a cheap alternative to the train and to get you around Europe pretty well.
• Car – You can drive into Prague but note that the city is old with lots of one-way or narrow streets, and minimal parking. If you plan to drive, check with your accommodation about parking arrangements.

What to Do/See

You visit Prague to immerse yourself in history, culture, and art. There are a few different ways to do this.

Tours

• Walking Tour – I always recommend starting a new city with a walking tour. It is the best way to get the lay of the land, an overview, and see what you might want to explore more deeply. We chose to do the Rick Steve’s Free Audio Walking Tour, which allowed us to go at our own pace. There are several companies that also do Free Walking Tours where you pay the tour guide what you wish (generally about 10 euros a person). You can use GetYourGuide to schedule a paid walking tour.

History

• Charles Bridge – This famous bridge was completed in 1402 AD and crosses the Vltava River. It is a pedestrian bridge and lined with statues. On a beautiful day, it is crowded with tourists walking the bridge, taking in the sights of the river, and enjoying the vendors along the way. You can pay to go up the tower on the Old Town side and get a view of the bridge from up high and see the medieval structure and how it was built up close though prepare to walk up a lot of stairs.

• .Jewish Cemetery – This area of the Czech Republic did not fight Nazi occupation and as such was rather untouched during World War II which meant, surprisingly, that many of the Jewish buildings were left intact, even though the people weren’t. The Jewish Cemetery has graves from as far back as the 15^th century.

• Spanish Synagogue – The Spanish Synagogue was built in 1868 AD and is known as such because of the Moorish architecture. This is one of the sights you get in your bundled ticket to see the old Jewish sights in the city. In each synagogue there is also a separate exhibit to learn a bit about the Jewish life in Prague. This one had exhibits on Jews in the Bohemian lands in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

• Pinkasova Snyagoge – We came to this synagogue because it was supposed to have an exhibit on children’s drawings from the Jewish children of Prague in World War II. But what we discovered was so much more powerful. Written on the walls is every victim of the Holocaust. It covers all the walls and goes on, and on, and on. It was a powerful statement on what happened and one we can never forget.

• The Old New Synagogue – This is the oldest working synagogue in the city. It was built in 1270 AD and people still practice here. The exhibit here had pictures of all the hostages from the October 7th attack, and their current statues (returned, hostage or dead).

• Old King Wenceslas Statue – In Wenceslas Square the heart of New Prague, there is a statue to Good King Wenceslas. To be honest, until I came to Prague, I had no idea the king from the old Christmas tale was a real person. But similar to King Arthur he was a king of Bohemia, which was the area before this was the Czech Republic. He was known as a good king that unified the lands and led with respect. He has grown to be a person whose honesty and valor has reached mythical proportions.

• Astronomical Clock – This was the one thing my husband HAD to see in Prague. This clock, first installed in 1410 AD, is amazing. It tells the time, the date and the position of the sun and moon in the sky. There is also an hourly show of the apostles. You will know it is time by the large crowds that form around the clock.

Art

• Concert at the Municipal House – Prague is a music city, and there are chamber orchestra shows all over the city. However, if you care about the music, you will want to see a concert in the Municipal House in all of its Art Nouveau glory. My husband and oldest saw “The Best of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák & Grieg” and loved every minute.

• Head of Franz Kafka – There are a number of modern art pieces by David Černý around the city. One of the most famous is the Head of Frank Kafka statue. Every hour the statue puts on a show for 15 minutes rotating in different ways and separating, moving the head all around. The kids loved watching it and seeing how it would separate and come together again every time. Nearby there are also planes with wings like butterflies on the building made by the same artist.

• Idiom – In the public library, there is an art installation made by Slovak artist Matej Krén called Idiom made in the image of an infinite column of books. Passing by, it just looks like a column of books with a split. But when you look in, you see an infinite column of books up and down. It is really cool experience but expect to wait in line to see it and take pictures with it. It is a popular Instagram spot.

Museums

• Pražský Hrad – The Pražský Hrad or Prague Castle is thought to have been founded around 880 AD and housed the head of state and the highest representative of the church, the bishop of Prague. You can purchase a ticket and audio guide bundle that takes you through the castle, and some of the buildings in the complex. We explored the rooms of the old Castle including the Vladislav Hall. We also checked out Golden Lane, a collection of small well-preserved buildings that were put up around the 16^th century and had inhabitants until the 1950s.

• St. Vitus Cathedral – This ancient cathedral started construction in 1344 AD and ended construction early, only to start construction again in 1861 AD, 500 years later! It is included as part of the Castle Complex bundle. The audio tour also covers this area. You can see St. Wenceslaus Chapel, the famous bronze door, and brilliant stained-glass windows when you visit.

• Saint George’s Basilica – This church was the oldest we visited on this trip. Founded in 920 AD, it has the classic medieval architecture of the time. It is amazing to look at it in comparison with the St. Vitus Cathedral and help your kids understand the difference in architecture. It is included in the Prague Castle ticket bundle.

• Strahov Monastery – This complex was built in the 12^th century and is a working monastery. The two places to visit here are the Romanesque Basilica. The other is the library. Here you can see Theological Hall and Philosophical Hall, as well as collection of sea items, and maps and globes. You cannot enter the halls without a paid guide, so if you are interested in a more in-depth look, I would suggest getting a guide, maybe through a company like GetYourGuide.

• Museum of Bricks – This museum is the largest private collection of LEGO in the world. It is a store but it is also a museum with two floors of sets going back as far as 1948. There are several interactive elements including a scavenger hunt, buttons to watch the motorized sets move and light up, and a playroom filled with bricks for kids to make their own creations. I was in awe of the massive Lego creations of the Taj Mahal, the Charles Bridge (complete with fun mini figures) and the old Lego from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Best surprise find we had.

Outdoor Spaces

• Wallenstein Palace Gardens – We came to this garden for one reason. The peacocks! This beautiful garden is in the Malá Strana, an area of Prague that has beautiful walking paths, statues, fountains, but most importantly peacocks that wander around for you to see and get close to. It is a beautiful place to relax, walk around, have a picnic lunch, and just enjoy the day.

Where to Eat

• Traditional Czech Food – Restaurace Mincovna – Right in the heart of Old Town, it is a mid-scale restaurant that serves traditional Czech food. My husband loved the Beef Goulash, and my kids loved the Pig knee.
• Beer – Prague Beer Museum – With chains around the city, you are sure to find a place. We had lunch there and enjoyed the sausages and pig knee. But the best was the beer flight. You could choose five .15L pours from any of their 30+ beers on tap. It was a great way to explore all the beers that this area is famous for.
• Italian – Alforno Trattoria – Why am I recommending an Italian restaurant in Prague? Because it was amazing! Czech food can get heavy, which is great in winter months, but harder in the summer during a heat wave. But this Italian restaurant was a breath of fresh air. The pizzas were amazing but do yourself a favor and get the Spinach Pasta with Salmon. One of the best meals of the trip.
• Pastries and Coffee – Minimum Waste – This sustainable café, just outside old town, has some of the best coffees and croissants. Also, did I mention the croissants were vegan? We did not notice the sign until our second day, after we had scarfed down several and wondering how amazing they were.

Where to Stay

There are a few areas of Prague where you can stay, but the city is well connected by public transit so wherever you stay, you are able to get around.

How to Get Around

Old Town – We stayed in an Airbnb just on the edge of Old Town and found we could get to all the historical sights we wanted to see walking and take transit to pretty much any other sights we wanted to see. It was also fairly close to the train station.

New Town – While is says New Town, it is not really new. It’s just newer than the Old Town. But from here, you have a selection of Airbnbs and hotels. It is walkable, and well connected to public transit.

Malá Strana – This is an area on the other side of the Charles Bridge, near the Prague Castle District. It’s quieter, with less tourists, but still has that beautiful old architecture of an older European city. There are frequent trams over the river to take you to the other side of Prague.

• Bus/Light Rail – There are frequent trams and busses around the city, as well as an underground metro. The underground metro has ticket booths outside, but the busses and light rail frequently do not. You can purchase timed tickets through the PID Lítačka app, which is what we did.
• Walking – Prague is mostly flat and very walkable. We walked all the way from Wenceslas Square to the Charles bridge without an issue. There are two areas I would recommend a tram over walking. One is going to Prague Castle which is at the top of a really steep hill. The second is the Strahov Monastery, which is even higher up.
• Ride Share – Uber and Bolt were available in Prague and are easy and cheap to use. We did not use it much around the city because public transit was so frequent and easy, but it was great to use it to get all our stuff back and forth to the train station.
• Car – I would not recommend driving around Prague. Much of Old Town and New Town are small narrow streets, and there are actual streets where you are driving up and down stairs. (I am not kidding. I was shocked watching the bus we were on do it). Parking is not readily available.

What to Bring

• Comfortable Shoes for Walking – As I mentioned, Prague is a walkable city. We often just walked from place to place and ended up walking several miles a day. I did the whole trip in my Bob’s Slip in Sketchers with memory foam. My entire family loves Sketchers Go Walk Sneakers.
• Selfie Stick/Tripod – I am always nervous about hanging my phone to a stranger to take our family picture. I have found that the selfie stick, while annoying, can get in the whole family with a nice background in the distance. But I really like this Self-Stick/Tripod, that allows you to set up your phone with a tripod so you can take pictures from a distance with a Bluetooth remote, and it does not feel as intrusive as a selfie stick.
• A Good Day Bag – You need a bag that will carry all the essentials for the day (hand sanitizer, your phone and wallet, snacks, etc.)  I used the Pincnel backpack. A few days into the trip, my shoulder injury started to act up, but my oldest had no issues carrying the bag for the family.
• Handheld Fan – Prague was hot in the summer. We ended up being there during a heat wave. I saw many with these portable neck fans and I wished I had one. If you can find one, and are going to Prague in the summer, bring it.

Other Important Tips

•  Do not take out a lot of cash – Most places take credit cards these days. Tour Guides have PayPal and Venmo. The Czech Republic using the Kronor, not the Euro, so it is really only useful in the Czech Republic. We took out maybe the equivalent of $100 out of the ATM, and I still brought Kroner home.
• Download Google Translate – Those who work in tourism will likely speak English. But get out of that main area, and you will find it harder to find those who do. Those who are working in the little mini mart on the corner will only speak Czech. More people spoke English than in Poland, but I still used the translate several times. Google Translate will help you navigate these areas.
• There are not a lot of green spaces in Prague – If you have little ones that need to run off energy, it is going to be in a crowded plaza. Prague is also extremely crowded in the summer. Take that into account if you are visiting with little ones.
• Prague is very open about sex and drugs – Many of the mini marts we went into to shop had signs for pot, souvenirs with genitalia, and lots of alcohol. I was surprised to see that Prague seems to be a European destination for hen parties and bachelor weekends. At the weekend you will see a lot of these groups, and clubs. It is something to keep in mind if your kids do not know what that is yet, and it may bring up some questions and uncomfortable conversations.

Once I stepped off the train in Prague and looked at the glorious train station around us, I knew we were in a special city. After starting our trip in war-torn cities, seeing the classic beauty and history of Prague was the breath of fresh air that we all needed. As we immersed ourselves in the history, we were able to appreciate this region that we had not known much about, and understand the struggles they have been through through the centuries. Spending time in Prague will open your families eyes to the beauty of a region that is often over looked for the more “popular” parts of Europe. But since the fall of communism, Prague is now open for business and visitors, and it’s a good time to take your family and show them history they will see no place else.

Edited by SKS

* Starred Photos taken by Atma Photography