Prague feels like the kind of city where, if you turn down the wrong little street after dark, you might accidentally walk into an alchemist’s laboratory, a forgotten medieval cellar, or a café where someone has been waiting for you since the 16th century.
If you’re drawn to the mysterious, the old, the bohemian and slightly magical side of Prague, save this list:
🜁 Speculum Alchemiae — an actual alchemical site hidden in the Old Town, with underground spaces, secret passages and the history of Prague’s alchemists. One of the places that feels less like a museum and more like stepping into another century.
🔮 Klementinum — one of the most beautiful Baroque complexes in Prague, with its breathtaking library, astronomical tower, historic instruments and a fascinating connection between astronomy, science, theology and the esoteric traditions of the time.
🜂 Faust House — an old Prague house surrounded by one of the city’s most famous legends. It became associated with Faust and with alchemists connected to Rudolf II’s Prague, including Edward Kelley. The story says that the Devil eventually came to collect Faust — leaving a hole in the ceiling.
🜄 Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague — a more theatrical journey into Prague’s legendary world of alchemy, magic and Rudolf II. Perfect if you want to dive deeper into the city’s alchemical mythology.
⚔️ Prague Castle, Golden Lane & Daliborka Tower — explore beyond the grand cathedral and look for the darker details: medieval towers, old prison cells, torture chambers, tiny houses and the legends surrounding Rudolf II’s Prague.
🜃 Old Town Underground — beneath today’s streets lies another Prague. Medieval foundations, Romanesque rooms and old underground spaces reveal the city that existed before the streets were raised to their present level.
🌙 Vyšehrad — ancient fortress, legends of the beginnings of Prague, the mythical Princess Libuše, old fortifications and a cemetery filled with the graves of Czech artists, writers and cultural figures. Go toward sunset if you can.
🍻 U Krále Brabantského — one of Prague’s oldest traditional taverns, tucked away beneath Prague Castle. Dark, medieval-looking interiors, low ceilings, candlelight and a history stretching back centuries. Legend has it that even Mozart visited — and the place still feels wonderfully rough around the edges.
🪨 The stalactite wall at Wallenstein Garden — hidden inside the beautiful gardens of the Senate, the artificial grotto wall is covered with thousands of limestone formations, stalactites, strange shapes and grotesque faces.
🜍 Prague Astronomical Clock — don’t just wait for the figures to move. Look at the astronomical and zodiac symbolism, the medieval understanding of the cosmos and all the strange details hidden in one of Prague’s most famous monuments.
📚Strahov Monastery & Library— one of Prague’s most extraordinary places for anyone fascinated by old knowledge and forgotten worlds. The monastery dates back to the 12th century, while its magnificent Philosophical and Theological Halls hold thousands of historic books, manuscripts, globes and scientific instruments beneath breathtaking frescoed ceilings. Look closely at the ceiling paintings and the shelves of ancient books — this is the kind of place where it feels as though knowledge itself has been collected and preserved for centuries. And hidden among the collections are works connected to philosophy, theology, astronomy, medicine and the natural sciences — a beautiful reminder of a time when the boundaries between science, religion, philosophy and the mysterious were far less clearly drawn.
St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta) at Prague Castle — the huge Gothic cathedral that can definitely give you Notre-Dame vibes, although it’s considerably more elaborate in some respects. Prague’s enormous Gothic cathedral rising above the city like something from a medieval legend. Its stained glass, towering vaults, tombs, chapels, gargoyles and countless carved details make it worth looking at slowly rather than simply taking the obligatory photo outside. Inside, the atmosphere shifts between breathtaking beauty and something much darker — saints, kings, death, demons and centuries of symbolism carved into stone. And when you look up at the gargoyles and grotesque creatures watching from the walls, it becomes very easy to understand why Gothic architecture feels almost otherworldly.
✨ Café Imperial — grand Art Nouveau elegance, historic mosaics and the atmosphere of old Prague. Think Belle Époque rather than medieval dungeon.
🥂 Café Obecní dům — inside Prague’s spectacular Municipal House, surrounded by Art Nouveau interiors and the world of Alfons Mucha. Perfect for coffee, cake or an elegant afternoon.
🖤 Café Slavia — old literary Prague: artists, writers, actors, dark wood, mirrors and the feeling that someone at the next table is probably writing a novel.
🌀 Grand Café Orient — inside the extraordinary House of the Black Madonna, with its unusual Cubist architecture. A completely different — and very Bohemian — side of Prague.
And perhaps the real secret of Prague is not to follow a map too closely.
Look up at the old houses. Search for strange symbols above doorways. Notice the saints, animals, zodiac signs, skulls and gargoyles. Wander.
Let’s meet @malvinadunder
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