Petřín Hill and Lookout Tower

Petřín is the green hill that rises above Malá Strana, and it is where Prague goes to breathe. Its slopes are a patchwork of orchards, woods, lawns and gardens, crossed by paths that look out over the river at every turn, and on its summit stands the Petřín Lookout Tower, a steel lattice tower built for the Jubilee Exhibition of 1891 and inspired by the Eiffel Tower, which members of the Club of Czech Tourists had admired in Paris two years earlier. It is about sixty-three metres tall, but because the hill itself is high, its gallery is at roughly the same altitude as the top of the Eiffel Tower. Some three hundred steps spiral up to the viewing platforms, and there is a lift for a small extra charge. The view is the finest panorama in the city: the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral right alongside, the red roofs of Malá Strana below, the river and its bridges, the Old Town's spires and, on clear days, far into the Bohemian countryside. Next door, the Mirror Maze, built for the same exhibition, is a playful little pavilion of distorting mirrors and a diorama of a battle from the Thirty Years' War, much loved by children. The hill also holds the Štefánik Observatory, the Rose Garden, the Hunger Wall built in the fourteenth century on the orders of Charles IV, and, at its foot, the Memorial to the Victims of Communism, a line of bronze figures dissolving as they descend the steps. The good news for 2026 is that the Petřín funicular, closed for two years after an accident in 2024, reopened on 22 September 2026 with new cars, so the easy way up is running again. The Tiqets ticket linked here combines the tower and the mirror maze.

Getting up: the funicular runs from Újezd, a short walk from the tram stop of the same name, to the top of the hill, with an intermediate stop at Nebozízek, where a restaurant terrace has fine views. Since the reopening, a single paper ticket costs 100 CZK, or 90 CZK in the PID Lítačka app, and 24-hour and 72-hour Prague transit tickets remain valid. One quirk of the new cars: they stop at Nebozízek only on the way up, so to go down from there you ride up to the top first and then descend, still on one ticket. Expect queues at the bottom station on fine weekend afternoons; walking up through the orchards takes about thirty to forty minutes and is lovely in spring, when the cherry and apple trees are in blossom.

Working the visit: go up the tower in the late afternoon for the best light, or on a crisp, clear winter morning for the longest views. The stairs are a steady climb with two viewing levels, and the upper platform is exposed, so bring a layer. The mirror maze takes fifteen minutes and is best with children. Then walk along the ridge toward the Strahov Monastery, whose Baroque library halls are one of the treasures of Prague, and down through the monastery gardens to the castle, which makes a superb half-day loop. Alternatively, wander down through the Rose Garden and the orchards back to Malá Strana.

Petřín is also one of Prague's romantic places. Czech couples traditionally kiss under the blossoming trees on the hill on the first of May, by the statue of the Romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha, whose poem May is a national classic. In summer, the lawns fill with picnickers, and in autumn the woods turn gold. Families should note that the tower has no stroller access beyond the base and the summit paths are gravel, but the funicular and the playgrounds near the top make it an easy outing.