Strahov Monastery and Library

Strahov Monastery sits at the highest point of the castle district, a ten-minute walk uphill from Prague Castle, and it rewards the climb many times over. Founded in the twelfth century and still home to a community of Premonstratensian canons, the monastery is a cluster of churches, courtyards and Baroque buildings, but most visitors come for one thing: the Strahov Library, which holds two halls that regularly appear on lists of the most beautiful libraries on earth. The Theological Hall, built in the early 1670s, is a low, intimate gallery under a curving stucco ceiling painted in the 1720s with frescoes on the theme of divine wisdom, with a collection of antique globes in front of its shelves. The Philosophical Hall, built at the end of the eighteenth century, is grander and taller, its walnut shelves rising two storeys to a vast ceiling painting by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, completed in 1794, depicting the spiritual development of mankind. Between them is the cabinet of curiosities, acquired in 1798, a glorious jumble of natural history and oddities: stuffed animals, shells, wax fruit, historic weapons, two basilisks faked from the bodies of garfish, and iron cannonballs from the shelling of the monastery in 1742. One thing to know before you go: to protect the frescoes, furniture and old bindings from humidity and dust, ordinary visitors look into both halls from the doorways rather than walking through them. Only special guided tours, which are limited, go inside. Even from the doorway, the halls are breathtaking. The official site lists the library as open daily from nine to five, with tickets sold at the St Roch box office by the main gate or online.

Beyond the library: the monastery courtyard is free to wander, and the Basilica of the Assumption, with its Baroque interior, is often open for a look through the grille or during services. The real bonus, however, is the Strahov monastery brewery, which revives a brewing tradition going back centuries and serves its own beers, including seasonal specials, in a restaurant and courtyard garden right inside the gates. It is the obvious place for a lunch or a beer after the castle, and a must for beer lovers. Behind the monastery, the Strahov gardens and orchards slope down towards Petřín and Malá Strana, with a panorama across the red roofs, the castle and the spires of the Old Town that many locals rate as the best free view in the city.

Working the visit: the library takes thirty to forty-five minutes, including the corridor exhibits and the curiosities; it gets busy in the middle of the day, when tour groups arrive from the castle, so come early or late. Photography may involve a fee or restrictions, so check at the ticket desk. The library and the monastery buildings involve some steps, and the cobbled lanes of Hradčany are steep. The guided tours that enter the halls are worth trying for if you are passionate about libraries, but places are limited and cannot be guaranteed.

Fitting it in: the smartest castle-district route starts at Strahov and works downhill, rather than climbing up from Malá Strana. Take tram 22 or 23 up to the Pohořelec stop, visit Strahov, walk past the Loreta and the Černín Palace to Prague Castle, then descend through the castle and down the Old Castle Steps or Nerudova street into Malá Strana. In the afternoon you can also walk from the Strahov gardens across Petřín hill to the lookout tower and down by funicular.