Prague is a city of hills and towers, and the payoff for every climb is a sea of red roofs, church spires and bridges over the Vltava. Kids get to count steps, ride elevators and spot the castle from across the river. Here's what we checked, from the 299 steps of Petřín Lookout Tower to the picnic lawns of Riegrovy Sady.
Petřín Lookout Tower is a steel lattice tower built in 1891 as a one-fifth copy of the Eiffel Tower. Kids climb 299 wooden steps to the top cabin at 51 meters, with a gallery and binoculars at 20 meters to break up the climb. On a clear day the view takes in the whole city and much of Bohemia. The basement holds a small exhibition on the hill's history.
A 216-meter TV tower with giant crawling babies, fiberglass sculptures by artist David Černý, climbing its steel shafts. Fast elevators run to an observation deck at 93 meters with three cabins: one on the world's great towers, one with bubble chairs that play street sounds from below, and one showing Czech art.
The garden at the base has a minigolf course and, in winter, an ice rink.
The largest castle complex in the world spreads across 45 hectares of courtyards, palaces and gardens on the hill above the Vltava. Kids can walk the small, colorful houses of Golden Lane, climb the St Vitus Cathedral tower, and see the Old Royal Palace and St George's Basilica.
Uniformed guards stand at the gates, and the changing of the guard draws a crowd.
Vyšehrad is a hilltop fortress above the Vltava, with ramparts to walk, the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, and quiet parks with views over the whole city.
Kids can run the lawns, climb on a playground themed around old Czech legends, and join a guided tour of the casemates, over a kilometer of underground passages leading to Gorlice, a vast hall that holds statues from Charles Bridge.
Letná Park spreads across 25 hectares of lawns, mature trees and a long plane-tree avenue on the hill above the Vltava, with wide views over the Old Town and its bridges. Kids get a children's playground, room for inline skating and skateboarding, and the giant Metronome on the old Stalin monument plinth.
By the National Technical Museum, a wooden carousel from 1892 still runs, its horses covered in real horse hide.
Riegrovy Sady is an 11-hectare hillside park of open lawns, paths and playgrounds. The western slope looks across the city center to Prague Castle, a favorite picnic and sunset spot for locals, who call the park Riegrák.
The Bohemians and Sokol Vinohrady sports grounds sit inside the park, and the Rajská zahrada garden joins it to the north toward Žižkov.
Charles Bridge is a 516-meter stone footbridge over the Vltava, linking the Old Town to Malá Strana. Thirty statues and statue groups of saints line its railings, and fortified towers stand at each end.
No cars have crossed since 1965, so kids can walk the whole span, and a stone staircase near the Malá Strana end leads down to Kampa.
The main square of the Old Town, edged by the Týn Church and the Old Town Hall. On the hall's Gothic tower, the medieval astronomical clock puts on its show every hour, when the twelve apostles file past above the dial.
Kids can ride a futuristic elevator or climb the tower for views over the square, and guided tours go down into the Romanesque-Gothic vaults under the hall.
A cable railway that climbs Petřín Hill from Újezd in Malá Strana, with a middle stop at Nebozízek and the top station by the lookout tower, the mirror maze and the rose garden. The ride takes about three minutes up a steep wooded slope, with views to Prague Castle.
New glass-heavy cars arrived in 2026: when they pass halfway, one winks and the other changes color.
Prague is a city of hills and towers, and the payoff for every climb is a sea of red roofs, church spires and bridges over the Vltava. Kids get to count steps, ride elevators and spot the castle from across the river. Here's what we checked, from the 299 steps of Petřín Lookout Tower to the picnic lawns of Riegrovy Sady.
Petřín Lookout Tower is a steel lattice tower built in 1891 as a one-fifth copy of the Eiffel Tower. Kids climb 299 wooden steps to the top cabin at 51 meters, with a gallery and binoculars at 20 meters to break up the climb. On a clear day the view takes in the whole city and much of Bohemia. The basement holds a small exhibition on the hill's history.
A 216-meter TV tower with giant crawling babies, fiberglass sculptures by artist David Černý, climbing its steel shafts. Fast elevators run to an observation deck at 93 meters with three cabins: one on the world's great towers, one with bubble chairs that play street sounds from below, and one showing Czech art.
The garden at the base has a minigolf course and, in winter, an ice rink.
The largest castle complex in the world spreads across 45 hectares of courtyards, palaces and gardens on the hill above the Vltava. Kids can walk the small, colorful houses of Golden Lane, climb the St Vitus Cathedral tower, and see the Old Royal Palace and St George's Basilica.
Uniformed guards stand at the gates, and the changing of the guard draws a crowd.
Vyšehrad is a hilltop fortress above the Vltava, with ramparts to walk, the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, and quiet parks with views over the whole city.
Kids can run the lawns, climb on a playground themed around old Czech legends, and join a guided tour of the casemates, over a kilometer of underground passages leading to Gorlice, a vast hall that holds statues from Charles Bridge.
Letná Park spreads across 25 hectares of lawns, mature trees and a long plane-tree avenue on the hill above the Vltava, with wide views over the Old Town and its bridges. Kids get a children's playground, room for inline skating and skateboarding, and the giant Metronome on the old Stalin monument plinth.
By the National Technical Museum, a wooden carousel from 1892 still runs, its horses covered in real horse hide.
Riegrovy Sady is an 11-hectare hillside park of open lawns, paths and playgrounds. The western slope looks across the city center to Prague Castle, a favorite picnic and sunset spot for locals, who call the park Riegrák.
The Bohemians and Sokol Vinohrady sports grounds sit inside the park, and the Rajská zahrada garden joins it to the north toward Žižkov.
Charles Bridge is a 516-meter stone footbridge over the Vltava, linking the Old Town to Malá Strana. Thirty statues and statue groups of saints line its railings, and fortified towers stand at each end.
No cars have crossed since 1965, so kids can walk the whole span, and a stone staircase near the Malá Strana end leads down to Kampa.
The main square of the Old Town, edged by the Týn Church and the Old Town Hall. On the hall's Gothic tower, the medieval astronomical clock puts on its show every hour, when the twelve apostles file past above the dial.
Kids can ride a futuristic elevator or climb the tower for views over the square, and guided tours go down into the Romanesque-Gothic vaults under the hall.
A cable railway that climbs Petřín Hill from Újezd in Malá Strana, with a middle stop at Nebozízek and the top station by the lookout tower, the mirror maze and the rose garden. The ride takes about three minutes up a steep wooded slope, with views to Prague Castle.
New glass-heavy cars arrived in 2026: when they pass halfway, one winks and the other changes color.
