We had an eventful day yesterday on our Travel to Prague-An interesting journey and then explored the city till late in the night, followed by some lovely pizza and sandwiches dinner which we relaxed and had in our room. A good night’s sleep, it was time for our breakfast today. Hotel Golden City Garni has an awesome spread laid out for it’s guests and we thoroughly enjoyed filling up. Topping it up with some lovely black coffee, we were ready to move.

The day was reserved for Prague Castle, undoubtedly the top most attraction of this beautiful city. With our hotel very well connected with tram stop Lipanska just outside, we first took tram 15 and then after a couple of stops changed to tram 22 at this very picturesque tram stop.

The access to Prague Castle complex is quite easy. There are three tram stops nearby, namely Kralovsky letohradek, Prazsky hrad & Pohorelec and also two metro stations, Malostranska & Hradcanska. Most visitors use tram No. 22 and get down at the stop Prazsky hrad, as it is the easiest way to reach. We too did so, turned left and within five minutes reached the 2nd Courtyard of Prague Castle, through the beautiful Royal Gardens after a tight security check.

We observed a huge queue for the tickets as we went in through this main entrance. If you wish to avoid the queue it is advisable to book your e tickets online, as we had done. There are three types of tickets available classified as Circuit A, B & C depending on your choice of places that you wish to enter. We had decided on the Prague Castle – Circuit B option which included St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica & Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower.

Prague Castle was built in the 9th century. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors & presidents of Czechoslovakia and is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St.Vitus were founded later in the first half of the 10th century. The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 70,000 square meters at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually.

The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. The castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle. Let’s explore more.

St. Vitus Cathedral, is the biggest and most important church in Prague. This isn’t only due to the fact that religious services used to take place here but because Czech kings and queens were crowned here as well. Moreover, a couple of patron saints, noblemen and Archbishops were buried in this location.

In the cathedral you will also find the chapel of Saint Wencesclas, the most important patron saint of the Czech Republic. You can marvel at his tomb which is surrounded by murals from the fourteenth century. You’ll also stumble upon a door to the Coronation Room, where the Bohemian crown jewels are being stored.

Those of you who love visiting cathedrals like we do, and especially when it is a truly royal one like St. Vitus Cathedral, come with us for this virtual experience amid the thick of action. And marvel at the beauty of creation.

It’s a very different kind of a feel after you emerge from a place of worship such as this, as we move to the next landmark after a short stroll.

We are now at the ‘Old Royal Palace’. The original wooden palace was lost and replaced by a stone and Romanesque version. The absolute eye-catcher of this palace is the Vladislav’s Hall, in which late gothic and renaissance elements are combined. This space used to be the scene of royal activities such as coronations and decadent banquets. Afterwards the elections of the Czech president took place here and nowadays it’s only used to celebrate important national holidays. Let’s have a look.

Our next destination is the Saint George Basilica. This originally was the second church of Prague castle. Because of its rich history it was destroyed on numerous occasions, by a fire among other things, but it was rebuilt and expanded over and over again. We head inside to observe its impressive monumental Romanesque interior. In addition, the space is also used for exhibitions on a regular basis .

We now move to the ‘Golden Lane’, which you should not miss out while visiting Prague Castle. During the expansion of the fortress, this area by the northern wall was vacated and used to build some modest houses. This is where the defenders of Prague castle were housed, among them servants, blacksmiths and the bowmen. These tiny houses were inhabited until the Second World War and throughout the centuries their picturesque appearance has not been altered. Some of them now house a museum and others where you can do some shopping and buy souvenirs.

At the eastern end of the Golden Lane stands a round tower, shrouded in legend. Dating back to 1496, the tower known as Daliborka Tower served as a prison until 1781. It is named after its first inmate – Dalibor of Kozojedy. In addition to the dungeon with its monumental vaults, there is a circular opening in the floor through which offenders were lowered into the oubliette with the help of a pulley. Let’s go in.

Our last stop is the Lobkowicz Palace, which was built in the second half of the 16th century. It is the only privately owned building in the Prague Castle complex and houses the Lobkowicz Collections and Museum.

We were feeling hungry by now and so it was time to settle down for a late lunch at this nice restaurant inside the palace complex.

Prague. Nicknamed ‘the City of a Hundred Spires’. But how many days to spend here? At least 2 days in Prague at the minimum.

And Prague Castle. An important symbol of the Czech state for more than a thousand years.

Hope you had a great time at Prague Castle. PIN it for later