Vyšehrad

Vyšehrad is the place where Czech history becomes legend. According to the old chronicles, it was here, on a rocky bluff above the Vltava, that Princess Libuše had her vision of a great city whose glory would touch the stars, and sent her men out to found Prague. Historians suspect the fortress is actually younger than Prague Castle, but it was certainly a seat of Czech rulers in the eleventh century, and Charles IV later made it a stop on the coronation route. Today Vyšehrad is a large walled park on the clifftop, defended by Baroque brick ramparts built by the Habsburgs, and it is free to enter and wander all year round. Inside the walls are some of the city's most quietly beautiful sights. The Rotunda of St. Martin, a tiny round Romanesque chapel from the eleventh century, is the oldest surviving building in Prague. The neo-Gothic Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, with its two slender spires visible from far down the river, has a lavishly painted Art Nouveau interior. Next to it, the Vyšehrad Cemetery is the resting place of the nation's great artists, among them the composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, the painter Alfons Mucha and the writer Karel Čapek, with elaborate graves and the Slavín, a communal tomb for distinguished Czechs. The ramparts give wonderful views up the river toward the castle and over the rooftops, and the old gates and lawns make it ideal for a slow walk. Underground, the casemates, a network of brick tunnels, hold several original statues from Charles Bridge and lead to the vast Gorlice hall; they are visited on ticketed tours booked through the monument's own portal.

Vyšehrad is the perfect antidote to the crowds of the Old Town. It is mostly visited by locals, families with children, joggers and couples, and on a weekday morning you may have the ramparts almost to yourself. Smetana opened his great cycle of symphonic poems, Má vlast, with a piece named after this rock, and on a misty morning, looking down at the river from the walls, it is easy to see why. In summer, there are open-air concerts and events, and in winter the bare trees reveal even wider views.

Getting there and around: the easiest approach is metro line C to Vyšehrad station, then a ten-minute walk past the Congress Centre to the Táborská gate; the more scenic route is to take the tram along the river to the Výtoň stop and climb the steps up the cliff. The inner area between the Leopold and Cihelná gates is a pedestrian zone. An information centre at the Leopold Gate has maps and tour bookings, and the casemates and Gorlice tours, the basilica and the Old Burgrave's exhibition have small fees, while the grounds, the cemetery and the ramparts are free. Respect the cemetery as a working one; it is quiet, and visitors come to pay tribute at the graves of Dvořák and Smetana.

Make it an afternoon. Walk the ramparts clockwise for the river views, visit the cemetery and the basilica, find the rotunda, and finish at sunset on the western wall above the river, a favourite local spot with a wine or a beer from one of the park's seasonal kiosks. From the river side, you can then walk north along the embankment past the cubist houses below the rock, a short detour for architecture lovers, and continue toward the Dancing House and the New Town.