10 Things To Do In Prague With Young Kids
Our family had the best trip to Prague this past fall (more here) and because of crazy mom life, I’m only just now getting a chance to share a bit more about it.
Better late than never, I'm so excited to share this post with you! First off, it's so special to look back at these photos of Naiya because she's already grown so much since this trip (I'm not crying, you're crying!).
Without further ado, I’m excited to round up the top 10 things to do with a toddler or baby in Prague.
Let’s face it: traveling with kids 0-3 can be especially challenging! It's my hope that the below tips will help you to enjoy this city to its fullest potential with your little ones in tow. Sharing outfit details below too.
Enjoy!
Our Trip To Prague
When Phil had a business trip to Prague this past fall, Naiya and I decided to tag along. We couldn't let Phil go to one of the most beautiful European cities in the world without us! Truth be told, after booking our tickets, I regretted my decision for weeks.
I started dreading traveling with Naiya who was then twelve months old because I had so much anxiety about it. We had flown with her from Los Angeles to New York a few times prior (more about that here) and the flights felt so exhausting, I couldn't imagine being on a plane with her for well over 12 hours!
Thankfully, we prepared for our flight way ahead of time (more about that here) and everything ended up going so much smoother than expected.
Landing In Prague
Landing in Prague, the first thing I noticed was the city's charming architecture.
All of the buildings looked like they were plucked right out of a fairytale. Prague was one of the most well-preserved cities during World War II so when you walk the streets, you get an especially powerful feel for all of its vast history.
Our family stayed in Praha 1--central Prague. We stayed in a hotel for the first couple of days of our trip and later, we rented an Airbnb.
We loved being in the center of everything because it was so much easier to walk to all of the sites on our itinerary--especially with a baby.
Sharing the top 10 highlights from our trip and how we made it through our trip in one piece with a then 12-month-old:
1) Explore the Old Town Square
Our first stop was Prague's Old Town Square. Both our hotel and Airbnb were within walking distance of this area so it was the perfect first stop for us.
Old Town Square has remained relatively untouched since the 10th Century--despite Prague's numerous invasions. The square is full of musicians, street performers, merchants, and tourists who line the historical streets.
It also has the most beautiful alfresco restaurants. The square is full of musicians street performers and merchants and you can really feel the city's energy.
On the way to Old Town Square, we quickly learned how important it was for us to bring a baby carrier with us in addition to Naiya's stroller throughout Prague.
The streets of Prague are covered in cobblestones instead of pavement and my hands were so exhausted from pushing the stroller even for just a few minutes at a time because it was such a bumpy ride. Mamas in Prague are superhuman.
I can't even imagine how shaken up Naiya must have felt in her stroller! From that moment on, we ended up carrying Naiya around in her ergo baby carrier instead and it was so much easier.
If your baby is too big to wear, you may want to bring the sturdiest stroller you own for your trip to Prague (as long as it fits on the plane of course). Our umbrella stroller was not cutting it!
2) Watch The Astronomical Clock Strike An Hour
Our next stop was Prague's beautiful astronomical clock in the center of town. This medieval tower clock is located on the southern side of the Old Town Hall Tower.
The clock happened to be under repair when we got there so we were not able to see its beautiful face but we can't wait to go back someday to see it in action.
Instead, we decided to go inside the clock tower to see the view from the top. If you are traveling with a stroller, you can take the elevator up as far as you can go. You can then park it at the base of the stairs up to the top of the tower.
We ended up taking Naiya up to the top of the clock tower in her carrier. It's closed off up there so you don't have to be worried about your kids going up so high up.
Overall, we can't recommend paying the money to see this view! It's a bit on the expensive side--I believe it was about $20.00 per person--but the view of Prague is one of the best in the city.
3) Walk Across The King Charles Bridge
Next, we walked across the beautiful King Charles Bridge — another easy and perfect walk for parents with young kids.
The bridge leads to Prague's sprawling castle and the view is so gorgeous, it was one of our favorite memories of our trip.
Likewise, the King Charles Bridge also happens to be the perfect backdrop for Instagram photos.
If you would like to nail special photos of the fam and/or of your kids, I'd suggest taking a morning or golden hour walk. The light on this bridge in the early morning and just before dusk is among the best in the city.
You can also hire a local photographer to take family shots. iPhone photos are always a good idea but with this backdrop, it's nice to have professional photos too. We ended up working with a talented photographer from a company called Puf Creatif.
He did such a beautiful job with our photos and we've loved hanging them up around the house.
4) Visit The Prague Castle
This was by far one of our favorite stops in all of Prague.
This beautiful castle is located in the Castle District, "Hradcany." As discussed above, you can see it from the King Charles Bridge but nothing prepares you for its huge size until you're actually there.
It's currently the official residence of the president and the gardens surrounding it are stunning. Entry to the grounds of the castle is free but it's important to note that many buildings (i.e: St. Vitus Cathedral, Basillica of St. George, and Golden Lane) can be visited with a combined entry ticket that you need to pay for.
Our family did not end up buying these tickets because by the time we made it to the castle, we needed to get Naiya back to our hotel for a nap and we felt there was plenty to see for free.
That said, I've heard amazing things and I do wish we had been able to see more.
If you do have time to explore the entire castle, you can buy Skip the Line: Prague Castle Tickets. These allow you to jump to the front of the lines and we've heard this is totally worth it —especially in the summer.
5) Visit The Old Jewish Ghetto
The Jewish quarter, also known as "Josefov," is located between the Old Town and the Vltava River.
In the 13th century, Jews living in Prague were ordered to leave their homes and they were forced to settle in this one area.
They were joined by fellow exiled Jews from other European countries. This area has a very sad history energy that I swear I could feel in the air but it contains six synagogues that are incredibly ornate and in pristine shape.
No matter what religion you may practice, these synagogues are must-sees because of their artistry. I've visited synagogues all over the world and the unique artistry that went into each of these is so incredible.
We ended up buying a pass to see all of the synagogues and this was both affordable and worth it. We carried Naiya in her baby carrier because there were so many stairs in and out of the synagogues and this was so much easier.
6) Visit The Lennon Wall
The Lennon Wall is a giant wall of street art back on the other side of the Old Town Square side of the King Charles Bridge. It's a must-see — especially because it's the perfect backdrop for photos. The wall has been covered in John Lennon and The Beatles graffiti, lyrics, and quotations since the 1980s and the colors on the wall are so vibrant and inspiring.
Here, we let Naiya run around because all she wanted to do was go up to the wall. She loved every minute and couldn't stop staring at all of the colors.
We got the cutest photos of her — one of which we blew up into a big canvas and hung on our wall.
7) Parks & Playgrounds
One of Naiya's favorite parts of Prague was all of the beautiful and clean playgrounds throughout the city. Whenever we felt like she was getting extra fussy, we would duck out to the nearest park and let her run around.
Our favorite parks near the city center were at the north end of Kampa Island (at the Malá Strana end of Charles Bridge) and on Slav Island.
You can find a great list of play areas here. These parks made Naiya so happy and they helped to tire her out so that she would later take a nap either in the hotel or in her baby carrier.
8) Take A Day Trip
One of my favorite parts of our trip included getting out of Prague itself to see the surrounding cities.
We took a two drive to the Cesky Krumlov, the most quant, storybook town I've ever seen. We ended up staying overnight there but you could definitely take the trip back and forth in one day. Cesky Krumlov is a tiny town located at the base of the most epic, sprawling castle I've ever seen.
It looks like a set right out of 'Game Of Thrones.'There are numerous alfresco restaurants throughout the town that are kid-friendly and the town is so fun to walk around with babies and toddlers.
It's much easier to wear kids in carriers because the town has a lot of steep hills that are covered in cobblestones.
We visited in September and one thing we did notice throughout Cesky Krumlov were tons of hornets or bees (I'm not 100% sure what they were but I wasn't loving them!). They were all over the town's trash cans and they swarmed around a lot of the restaurants--especially those which served deserts.
At first, I was so scared to expose Naiya to these and my mama bear reflexes came out but thankfully, they seemed to keep to themselves and appeared to be rather harmless.
9) Take A Walk To Vysehrad
On our last full day in Prague, we took the most beautiful walk from central Prague up to Vysehrad--a beautiful area on the top of a hill overlooking all of Prague. There was a lot of open space for Naiya to run around in--rolling hills and such a picturesque view. There's an old cemetery up there as well which is especially interesting to walk through. This was the perfect walk to do with a baby or toddler because it took maybe a couple of hours or so to do from start to finish and we were able to get her back to the hotel for naptime. Thank you so much for reading through our favorite highlights from our first Prague trip with Naiya. There were so many more where these came from but these were our favorites. Have you ever visited Prague? Are you planning on visiting in the future? I'd love to hear if any of these tips help you. Please feel free to share any other travel tips you may have too.
10) Visit Terezin
We took another day trip from Prague to Terezin. Terezin is a small town outside of Prague but it used to be a Jewish Ghetto surrounded by a concentration camp. The most unthinkable things happened there to innocent people during the Holocaust and the energy there feels understandably eerie.
Terezin was one of the most moving parts of our trip I'll never forget and while I cried my eyes out, I'm so happy we rented a car to go there.
We'd suggest giving yourself a full day for this trip--especially because the camp and the ghetto are so spread out and it takes a lot of time to see everything. You can walk through the ghetto where all of the Jewish people were banished to live and you can also walk through the concentration camp. It's all extremely heavy but it's a living part of history.
This is not a great place to go if your kids are older than toddlers (and truthfully, it's not the easiest place to go at any age). That said, if you find yourself in Prague, it's something you will never forget.
Naiya was the perfect age for us to explore this town because I wore her the entire time. If we were to travel to Prague now that she's a bit older, it would probably be a bit harder to keep her entertained but it would still be worth it.
Photography: Puf Creatif