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A visit to Czech is never complete without spending some time in its famous city, Prague. It is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the14th largest city in the European Union. It is also the historical capital of Bohemia. I am personally not a fan of the local cuisine, and in all my travels to Europe I make an effort to only eat local cuisine to really experience what they have to offer in that aspect. So, no fast food and no cuisine that would even resemble something from home. But, unfortunately, Czech food was not something my palate appreciates and I had to scramble for Maccers, which I was less than happy to do.

Enough about food that did not tickle my taste buds, the sights around Prague was spectacular. Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Top sights to visit include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad.

Below are more photos taken of and around Charles Bridge

And here we crossed the bridge and it was just as beautiful on the other side.

Next on our list, we visited the Old Town Square where the iconic Prague astronomical clock is found.

Here are photos of the clock tower with close-ups of the clock face where the names are written.

Moving through the Old Town Square and the nearby vicinity, it was bustling with life and the weather was great. It was a wonderful day just walking through the area listening to the history of the place. Also, there are some miscellaneous photos of our journey through the city.

 

One of the night’s while we were in Prague, we headed up the clock tower to get a view of the city.

More from the clock tower.

We visited Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, which is so large that we could not fully capture its beauty in one frame. Let’s start with the exterior of Prague Castle. We were greeted with the castle’s guard. I really wanted a photo with the guard but was too shy to ask for one. But I did ask his permission to take that shot, and he gave me a small nod, indicating I could do so while still keeping still and poised. So professional but friendly at the same time!

Now we move on St. Vitus Cathedral.

Below are photos of the cathedral’s interior.

And here are shots taken from the tower of St. Vitus.

Here are more photos of St. Vitus’ exterior.

We heard that views from Vyšehrad was gorgeous. There was a church nearby as well where we could take a peek at. But when we arrived there, we found that the view from Vyšehrad  at the hour we dropped by wasn’t quite ideal. Below is what I captured from Vyšehrad. So, for a shot overlooking Prague, we took photos from another place, which I’ll cover later on. The gardens around Vyšehrad was nice to walk and explore and the church was quaint and quiet.

Below are photos of our walk up to Vyšehrad and the areas nearby.

And this is the church at Vyšehrad, the St. Peter and Paul Basilica.

For a good panorama of Prague and its 3 bridges, including the Charles bridge, we had to instead head to Letna Park. Another luscious park that provided a scenic walk in crisp fresh air. It is also very large and we did not have the time or energy to traipse through entire park.

Below is the panorama of Prague taken near Letna Park.

Here is one overlooking the three bridges in Prague at two different times of day.

Moving on to a change of scenery… Now, who said libraries were old, dusty, musty and downright boring? We visited Strahov Monastery that housed one of the most beautiful libraries in Prague.

Inside Strahov Monastery.

Right next to Strahov Monastery is the Strahov Gallery. We did a quick walk through the area before it closed.

Our meandering through Prague was not complete without a visit to the Old Town. We visited the Maisal Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue with its Old Jewish Cemetery, and the absolutely mesmerizing Spanish Synagogue. It’s another tour I would recommend not to be missed. Loved the walks through the old town searching for the synagogues as well as the visits inside said places. The visit to the cemetery was edifying and the intricate carvings of the headstones with its rich backstory made for walking through the garden feel like a 4D version of art history period.

Let’s start with a shot of one of the synagogues that we did not enter but just passed by.

And just down the street sits the Klausen Synagogue.

 

Just opposite the Klausen Synagogue was the Museum.

The Old Jewish Cemetery is not accessible via the Klausen Synagogue and we were required to walk round to the entrance of the Pinkas Synagogue where the entrance to the cemetery is.

You can visit both attractions, one right after the other. We decided to head to the cemetery first while it was still light out. The Old Jewish Cemetery is said to be the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe and one of the most important Jewish historical monuments in Prague. It served its purpose from the first half of  the 15th century till 1786. The dense clusters of headstones are a result of layers upon layers of graves placed on top of each other as Jewish belief does not allow them to abolish graves, and the headstones were moved upwards to mark the many that lay below. There are about 12 layers of graves and this explains the height of the cemetery, which is significantly higher than surrounding streets.

At the end of the walk, we headed to the Pinkas Synagogue.

A day of synagogues, our next stop was the Maisel Synagogue. It was quite a small place and we did not spend too long here.

Last but not least, this is by far my favourite synagogue visited. Welcome to the Spanish Synagogue, glowing, literally, in all its magnificence, complex design and symmetry.

We heard of a colourful synogogue, known as the Jerusalem Synagogue. So we went looking. Unfortunately, the synagogue was not open on that day.

We then proceeded to walk around the area nearby and stumbled upon another church. It was also closed and we did not know what it was called. But pretty all the same.

Going back towards the Old Town, another highlight was St. Nicholas’ Church. Below are photos taken of the interior of the church.

 

Not to be mistaken for the Old Town’s St. Nicholas’ Church, there’s another St. Nicholas Church across the Charles Bridge, away from the Old Town, in the Lesser Town of Prague. Another beauty, the Church of St. Nicholas is a Baroque church and was built between 1704-1755 on the site where formerly a Gothic church from the 13th century stood. The nondescript exterior is home to an impressive interior.