Petrin Hill

Petřín Hill is a 318-metre wooded hill rising dramatically from the left bank of the Vltava River, just west of Malá Strana (Lesser Town). It's essentially Prague's answer to a city park, but on a grander, wilder scale — nearly 60 hectares of orchards, gardens, and forest threaded with walking paths that feel genuinely removed from the urban bustle below. At the summit sits the Petřín Lookout Tower, a wrought-iron structure built in 1891 for the Prague Jubilee Exhibition and modelled on the Eiffel Tower at one-fifth the scale. The views from the top stretch across the red-roofed city to the Bohemian hills beyond.

Most visitors ride the historic funicular railway — the Lanová dráha Petřín, running since 1891 — from the Újezd stop at the base up to the hill's plateau, then explore on foot. There's a Mirror Maze (Bludišiště) built in the same year as the tower, which is genuinely fun and not just a children's gimmick, along with the Štefánik Observatory for stargazing, the Rose Garden, and the ruins of the Hunger Wall, a 14th-century fortification built by Charles IV. In spring, the cherry and apple trees blossom across the hillside in a way that stops you mid-step.

Petřín sits at the edge of the Smíchov and Malá Strana districts and is one of the few places in central Prague where you can lose a crowd entirely just by walking five minutes off the main path. Skip the tower in peak summer midday queues — come early morning or late afternoon instead. The funicular is covered by a standard Prague public transport ticket, which surprises a lot of visitors who expect a separate fee.