While we enjoy exploring outside cities, a trip to the Czech Republic wouldn’t be complete without time in Prague. This historical and vibrant city had so much to offer. We tried to see as much as possible, over 4-5 days we spent in the city, but there were definitely some parts we missed. However, one benefit of a big city is some of the amenities and unique places it offers. In addition to exploring the historical sites, we made sure to hit up some kid-friendly destinations! This our list of the Top 10 Things to do in Prague with Young Kids! Kid-Tested too!
No. 10 – Jewish Museum & Cemetery
This ended up being the most difficult site for us to see – mostly because of our off-timing -- finally on our third attempt we were able to get in. [The first time we tried it was Saturday, which the Synagogues are closed for the Holy Day and the second time it was a Jewish holiday, so they were closed that day as well.]
We purchased the ticket that would allow us to see the two synagogues, the old cemetery & the Ceremonial Hall. The first synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, was a memorial to the 80,000 Czech Jews who died between 1939-1945. Seeing all the names on the wall was incredibly humbling and then even had a display of children’s art that was collected from one of the Jewish ghettos during the period. While schooling was prohibited for the Jewish children, the Jewish elders in the communities tried maintain some normalcy for the children and art was one of the ways that they expressed themselves. Some of the pictures were hopeful, while others were very sad to see.
In between the synagogues is the Old Jewish Cemetery, which is one of the oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds in the world. It was even named by National Geographic as one of the top ten cemeteries to visit around the world. The earliest grave dates back to 1439 and it was the place for burial for many Jewish families. Over the next 300 years, although it was expanded, it wasn’t big enough to meet the demands of the Jewish community; so eventually they started burying on TOP of one another. There are some graves there that are 10 deep. The last body to be buried there was in 1787, which is mind boggling! However, some of the trees in the cemetery actually have grown around the tombstones.
The Klausen Synagogue was more of a museum of the Jewish religion and practices and some of the traditions that they hold as a Jewish community, which was nice to learn about and expand upon our learnings of European Jews, which has mainly focused on the travesties of WWII.
While this wasn’t an activity the kids got totally jazzed about, it was a good educational experience for them.
No. 9 – Town Square & Astronomical Clock
Located only a few blocks from the Jewish section of the Lesser Town, is the Main Town Square and Astronomical Clock. From this spot, there are horse carriages that depart from the area, as well as all the lively cafes and other eating places around. It was just a vibrant place for people to hang out and enjoy.
At the Town Hall, there is the Astronomical Medieval Clock, which dates back to 1410. On top of the hour, the clock has a parade of the Apostles; the kids found it very amusing the skeleton pulls at the clock bell as well.
No. 8 – Prague Castle & Changing of the Guard
The Prague Castle grounds are huge – it is actually the largest castle grounds in the Czech Republic. While you don’t need a ticket to enter the grounds, you do have to go through a little security check. Then if you want to go inside the buildings of the castle, as well as Alchemy Lane, you have to purchase a ticket. We were running short on time that day, so we didn’t end up buying the ticket, but there was still plenty to see from the outside. We made our way towards the back of the castle grounds and then walked along the gardens on the side of the castle walls. From there you got an amazing view of the city of Prague below.
We also had missed the official Changing of the Guard Ceremony that happens at noon each day, but luckily we happened to be at the front of the castle during the top of the hour, so we could watch the guards changeover. This happens hourly from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the summer and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the winter. While it wasn't the full fanfare of the noon change, it was still fun to watch the procession and ceremony.
No. 7 – St. Vitus Cathedral
Located within the castle grounds was the St. Vitus Cathedral, which the first rotunda was built by Prince Wenceslas (yep, the same ‘Good King Wenceslas’ as the Christmas carol!) in 925. After 1060, it was converted into a basilica. One nice thing about the cathedral was that you could view it from the back without having a ticket. However, if you want to walk closer to the front of the church then it is included as part of the castle ticket package. The stained glass windows were one of the more impressive parts about this Cathedral in our opinion and the large courtyard next to it was the perfect opportunity for the kids to release some steam!
No. 6 – Kozel Beer Brewery Tour
Our original plan was to take the train down to Pilsen for the Pilsner Urquell beer brewery tour. However, after investigating it further, we found out that regardless of vaccination status we’d have to take a Covid test, as well as the kids. That seemed like a lot of extra money, so we looked into opportunities to do a brewery tour around the Prague area. We found the Kozel Beer Brewery tour in the village of Velke Popovice, about 40 minutes outside of Prague. We purchased brewery tour tickets online. (It sounds like there were some issues with the website tickets shortly after our visit, which a phone reservation would work instead.)
The tours are offered in Czech, unless there are enough other people who understand English. In addition to our family of four, there were two other gentlemen on the tour with us. The tour was provided in Czech, but we were given an English written guide to read as we went to from station to station. However, the guide gave us a brief summary in English as we went between tour stops, which was a nice gesture. For the first bit of the tour it was a focus on the history of Kozel brewery and the brewery process. Then about ½ way through we stopped for a drink. They had both the dark beer and their lager on tap. The difference with the Czech dark beer is that it is actually less dense and lighter than a traditional North American dark beer. Alex even tried a Czech specialty that is translated to ‘The Cut’ which is a mix of the dark and light beer.
Then the last bit of the tour we were able to see the assembly line of the kegs being filled, as well as the bottles. There are over 40,000 bottles filled per hour and they run the assembly line 365 days a year! The kids really enjoyed watching the assembly line process and it was interesting to watch when there was backlog of bottles or one that broke or was mislabeled. The tour concluded with a visit to visit Olda the Goat, who is the mascot for Kozel Beer. He was quite friendly and just wanted everyone to rub and scratch him!
While the tour doesn’t include a lot of history about the brewery after WWII, we did ask our guide about what happened to the brewery during Soviet times and after. He shared that after WWII anyone who spoke German or had German heritage was removed from the Czech Republic due to the Potsdam Agreement, so the people who had contributed to the Kozel brewery could no longer be there. Then shortly after, the Soviet government took over the brewery. When Soviet times ended in 1989, all businesses were offered back to the original families who owned them, but because the Ringhoffer family didn’t have any one who wanted to take the business back, the brewery went up for auction. Today the brewery is owned by Asahi Brewery in Japan, and are actually within the same brewery group as Pilsner Urquell, but the beer is still made and managed by Czechs.
No. 5 – Food & Drink
If you are exploring Prague be prepared to see lots of Chimney rolls. There was one particular section between the Lesser Town and Charles Bridge that it was just one vendor after another. Considering the chimney rolls are considered Hungarian (with an original origin of Transylvania) I was surprised to see so many. However, they made for a tasty treat! The chimney rolls differed here than in some of the other places we had seen them as they put a vanilla or chocolate sauce inside. We even had a hungry wasp who flew right into the roll and got covered with sauce!
While the kids liked the chimney rolls, Daddy preferred the drinks around town! There were several places where he could grab ½ liter of beer for 30 kC (1.40 USD or $1.75 CDN). He could even grab one from the bar and take it out on the sidewalk to drink it. It was fairly common to see groups gathering outside the pub and enjoying a pint.
No. 4 – Charles Bridge
This bridge connects the Old Town and Lesser Town of Prague across the Vltava River. Construction on the bridge began in 1342 and was completed by 1402. Later statues of saints were created to decorate the bridge. There was so much activity on the bridge that there was always something to observe and watch! However, there were a couple of unique spots around the bridge that we particularly enjoyed – especially the kids. On the northwest side of the bridge, where it was dammed, there were a big family of muskrats living on the wooden branches gathered there. There were so many lying about and swimming – it was entertaining to watch them for a bit! There were also tons of pigeons that gathered and lived in the area as well. Supposedly swans also live/visit the area, but we only saw one from a distance.
Then on the southeast side of the bridge there is a fun little playground to explore! They had a wide variety of equipment, but the part we enjoyed most as parents was the amazing view of the bridge while the kids played!
No. 3 – Museum of Miniatures
While this museum is literally just a couple rooms big, we really enjoyed checking it out! It is one of the largest displays of micro miniatures in Europe. The kids enjoyed going from microscope to magnifying glass looking at each of the little displays. For us adults, it was equally impressive. The detail on these little miniature pieces was so impressive. There was a miniature zoo on a strand of hair, a mini Eiffel Tower within a cherry seed pit and a portrait of Jesus on a seed. There were even pictures on a sesame seed. While it was a quick visit, it was definitely unique and we all enjoyed it! The museum is located up top on the hill on the grounds of the Strahov Monastery along with a café, so there is lots to do in the area if you want to make more out of the visit. We happened to be there while the monastery was closed for lunch, but we did enjoy lunch at the café outside which brewed its own beer and cider.
No. 2 – Prague LEGO Museum
Our kids are big LEGO lovers, so when we saw that there was a LEGO museum in Prague we thought it would be a fun thing to check out! The museum housed the displays from one individual and the collection was quite impressive! There were even interactive components to the display where you could press a button on the outside and then the LEGO creation would do something – like the train go around the track. My personal favorite part was all the LEGO creations that showed some of the main buildings of Prague. They even had one LEGO display where on the inside it looked like a mini doll house with individual rooms, people, etc.
The kids were very impressed by the displays, but I think their favorite part was the LEGO play room! They had a room dedicated to letting the kids play and make their own creations. The kids haven’t been able to play with LEGOs while we have been travelling, so this was a special treat for them!
No. 1 – Prague Zoo
Typically, we don’t go to zoos when visit other cities, just because there are so many other things to do that are more unique to the area than going to the zoo. However, the kids had been asking to go visit a zoo for a few weeks, so we started to look into the Prague Zoo. Upon looking it up, we realized that it has consistently ranked in the Top 10 Zoos in the world on TripAdvisor for the past 5 years. That was enough to convince us to break routine and go check it out.
The zoo definitely didn’t disappoint! There were a wide variety of animals on display – including gorillas, penguins, seals, elephants, giraffes, orangutans and so much more! The zoo was located on a hillside so the distance between animal enclosures was short from place to place and they had an amazing kids playground. One unique part the kids enjoyed was an interactive display where they could run to get their time clocked and compare their speed to other zoo animals. They even had a little kids train, as well as a single chairlift that took you from the bottom of the zoo up to the top portion. The great thing about the chairlift was there was no price gouging – it was only 25 kC or $1.14 USD or $1.45 CDN to take it up to the top. Plus, admission to the zoo for a family (2 adults + up to 4 children) was 800 kC or $37 USD or $46 CDN.
There are definitely TONS of other things to do and explore in Prague with kids; however, hopefully this list might help find some unique spots in the city and keep your kids happy and enjoying their visit in Prague!
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