Prague Castle Walking Tour

Discover the fascinating 1,100-year old history behind the world’s largest castle complex on a small group 3-hour walking tour of Prague Castle and the Royal District with an historian guide. This guided walking tour will take you to the imposing Prague Castle atop Hradčany Hill through the Royal Garden and over the Stag Moat. See the ancient buildings, that have been constructed and reconstructed in every architectural style, incorporating Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance, and Neoclassical monuments. Learn about the Castle buildings from your historian guide and how these have been bombarded by artillery, plundered by marauding armies and left to deteriorate by indifferent Austrian Emperors over the years. Allow your guide to bring this history to life with their vast knowledge of the country’s turbulent past. We recommend booking an afternoon tour if your schedule allows as the castle complex is often less crowded then.

Stroll past the Renaissance Ball Game Hall, where sporty aristocrats played tennis with the Emperor. Admirer the Renaissance sgraffito depicting the allegories of virtues, arts and sciences.

The purest Renaissance architecture outside Italy, Queen Anne's summer house in the Royal Gardens of the Prague Castle was commissioned by Ferdinand I in mid 1500's. It was converted into an astronomical observatory by Rudolf II. Among the guests, there were Tycho de Brahe, Johanes Kepler, and even the emperor himself, who died here after losing the royal title.

St. Vitus cathedral in Prague is one of the most monumental cathedrals in Central Europe and represents a prominent example of Gothic architecture. Founded in the first half of the 14th century it was finally completed 600 years later in the first half of the 19th c. The cathedral is the site of the royal crypt of Czech sovereigns and patron saints. Of particular interest are the baroque tomb of St. John of Nepomuk, the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, cast in silver and gothic St. Wenceslas Chapel which houses relics of the saint.

Walk through the magnificent Vladislav Hall, built at the end of the 15th century combining the Late Gothic with brand new Renaissance style. It was the scene of coronation festivities and banquets, and knights' tournaments. The knights would enter the hall to take part in the jousting competitions in full armor and on horseback through the Riders' Staircase, which was designed precisely for that purpose. Step into the Ludwig Wing to see the window through which the members of the Czech Estates defenestrated two Austrian governors and their scribe, sparking the Thirty Years' War, one of the most destructive conflicts in human history.

Step into the austere and monumental Romanesque basilica built in the 1100 hundreds. Compare its architecture and interior to the just visited Gothic style of the St. Vitus Cathedral.

Walk through this quaint, diminutive street Originally built in the 16th century to house Rudolf II's castle guards. Step into the tiny rooms which now mostly house souvenir shops. There is a museum of medieval armoury within the former 14th-century fortification accessible from Golden Lane. Golden Lane is connected with Dalibor Tower, which used to be a dungeon.