The 360-degree view
The widest panorama of Prague from anywhere: castle, river, seventeen bridges and the Old Town roofs in a single turn.
Dennis G. Jarvis — CC BY-SA 2.0 · donald judge — CC BY 2.0 · Falk2 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter Stehlik PS-2507 — CC BY 3.0
Petřín for the wide, distant panorama; the Old Town Hall tower for close detail over the square. If you can do both, do both; if only one, Petřín for photographers and the town hall for seeing the city's core.
Yes — the slope paths are pretty and shaded, and take roughly 25 to 35 minutes uphill. Walking down is far easier: ride up, then walk down towards the Lennon Wall and the Lesser Town.
The spiral stair is open at the sides and can unsettle anyone uneasy with heights. There is a small lift for an extra fee, but its capacity is limited — expect a wait at busy times.
An hour for the tower alone; three if you add the maze, the gardens and the walk down. In spring and autumn the hill deserves a whole afternoon.
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The Petřín tower is Prague's small Eiffel Tower, and that is not a journalistic comparison but the actual story: a delegation from the Czech Tourist Club visited the 1891 Paris World's Fair, came home dazzled by the Eiffel Tower, and decided to build their own. Theirs went up in a matter of months at about 60 metres — roughly a fifth of the original — but it stands on the summit of Petřín hill, which puts its top at close to the same height above sea level. The climb is 299 spiral steps inside an open iron frame, with a small lift for those who need it. From the top Prague opens out through a full 360 degrees: the castle and cathedral, the river with its seventeen bridges, the roofs of the Old Town, and on clear days the hills of central Bohemia beyond. Getting there is half the pleasure: a funicular climbs the hill from Újezd in the Lesser Town and runs on an ordinary public transport ticket. Around the tower are rose gardens, a mirror maze and an orchard — and in spring the whole slope comes into cherry blossom. Make it a full afternoon rather than a quick stop.
The widest panorama of Prague from anywhere: castle, river, seventeen bridges and the Old Town roofs in a single turn.
A slow climb up the slope with the Lesser Town opening below — an experience in itself, not merely transport.
The whole slope is gardens: roses in summer, and in April a cherry blossom that makes Petřín the loveliest place in Prague for two weeks a year.
A small mock-Gothic building beside the tower holding a maze of distorting mirrors — twenty minutes children love.
Petřín hill summit, Prague 1