Old Town Square

Staroměstské náměstí has been Prague's main marketplace since the twelfth century, and nearly every chapter of Czech history has been played out on its cobbles. It is ringed by buildings from every era. On the east side, behind a row of arcaded houses, rise the black, many-pinnacled spires of the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the great Gothic church that was the centre of the Hussite reform movement, and next to it the Rococo Kinsky Palace, where the National Gallery shows its collections and where Franz Kafka went to school. The white Baroque Church of St. Nicholas, by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, stands on the northwest corner, often hosting classical concerts. In the middle, the brooding Art Nouveau monument to Jan Hus, unveiled in 1915 on the five hundredth anniversary of the reformer's death at the stake, faces down the square. Nearby, a slender Marian Column, torn down in 1918 as a symbol of Habsburg rule and rebuilt in 2020, divides opinion to this day. On the south side, the Old Town Hall's tower carries the Astronomical Clock, and set into the pavement in front of it are twenty-seven white crosses marking the Protestant nobles executed here in 1621. Look also for the meridian line in the paving, which once told Prague the time by the shadow of the Marian Column. Visiting is free and the square is open at all hours, but it changes character through the day: at dawn it is nearly empty, by midday it is packed with tour groups, and in the evening the floodlit church spires make it magical. From late November 2026 to 6 January 2027, the main Christmas market and the city's great Christmas tree fill the square.

The square is beautiful, but it is also the most touristy place in Prague, and it pays to know the traps. The restaurant terraces on the square charge high prices for ordinary food, and some add surcharges for bread, music or service; check the menu carefully or simply walk a few streets away. Trdelník, the sugar-dusted pastry cylinder sold from stalls here, is a recent tourist favourite rather than a Czech tradition, so treat it as a snack, not a cultural experience. Exchange booths around the square advertising zero commission often give poor rates, and pickpockets work the crowds at the clock. None of this should stop you from enjoying the square; it just means sitting on a bench rather than a terrace, and eating elsewhere.

Working the square: come at least twice. In the early morning, before eight, you can walk across it almost alone and photograph the Týn Church without crowds. In the evening, the spires are floodlit and the atmosphere is festive. In between, use it as a crossroads. Karlova leads southwest toward Charles Bridge along the old Royal Way; Pařížská runs north into the Jewish Quarter; Celetná leads east to the Powder Tower and the Municipal House, the Art Nouveau masterpiece; and the lanes south lead to the Havelská market and Wenceslas Square. The Týn Church is entered through a passage between the arcaded houses, and has limited opening hours; inside lies the astronomer Tycho Brahe.

In Advent, the Christmas market turns the square into a village of wooden stalls selling mulled wine, roast ham, sausages and crafts, around a tall tree brought from a different Czech region each year. It runs from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, and is busiest in the evenings and at weekends. Come in the late afternoon on a weekday to see the lights come on with fewer people. For a view down onto the square, climb the Old Town Hall tower; for a quieter coffee, find a café in the side streets or the courtyard of Ungelt, the old merchants' yard behind the Týn Church.