One Day on Prague's Right Bank – A City of Clocks, Passages, and Ancient Borders
The right bank doesn’t look down on Prague; it pulls you in between its tenements. Here, the city’s most important stories don’t stand on a single hill but overlap: the medieval streets of the Old Town, the Jewish heritage of Josefov, the broad layout of the New Town, and the riverbanks where modernity has learned to live alongside Gothic towers.
This itinerary skips Prague Castle, Hradčany, Petřín, Kampa, and the Lesser Town—attractions of the left bank. Prague’s right bank begins at the eastern tower of Charles Bridge and encompasses the Old Town, Josefov, the New Town, Vyšehrad, and the eastern banks of the Vltava.
The Route in Brief
Powder Tower → House at the Stone Bell → Ungelt → Old Town Square → Josefov → Rudolfinum → Klementinum → National Theatre area → New Town passages → Wenceslas Square → Riverside
This is a leisurely 7–9 hour walking tour. If you plan to visit synagogues, the Klementinum, or museums, choose no more than one major interior site.
1. Powder Tower: The Ancient Threshold of the City
Today, the Powder Tower stands at a busy intersection. Cars and trams make it easy to treat it as merely a spectacular decoration. Yet for centuries, it marked one of the key entry points to the Old Town. Built in the 15th century on the site of an older gate, its name referred to the gunpowder stored within.
From here began the Royal Route, leading through the Old Town, across Charles Bridge, through the Lesser Town, and up to the Castle. Today, we will walk only its right-bank segment.
Next to it stands the House at the Stone Bell, an Art Nouveau manifesto of Czech ambitions from the early 20th century. The contrast is almost theatrical: the dark Gothic tower beside the bright, decorative façade of the building where the independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in 1918.
2. Celetná and Ungelt: Trade That Built the Old Town
Celetná Street leads toward the Square. Its name is linked to the bread baked here. Today, the shop windows cater to tourists, but the street retains the logic of the ancient thoroughfare.
Before reaching the Square, it is worth turning into Ungelt, also known as the Týn Court. In the Middle Ages, foreign merchants stopped here, paid fees, and stored their goods. It is one of those places that reminds us Prague grew not only from royal politics but also from commerce.
3. Old Town Square: A Place That Was a Market, Stage, and Court
You emerge onto the Old Town Square suddenly. After narrow streets, the space opens up so widely that your eyes don’t know where to rest for a moment. The Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Town Hall Tower, the Baroque St. Nicholas Church, and the tenement façades—each element tries to tell its own story.
The Square was not always a postcard. It was a place of exchange, gatherings, and public punishments. In 1621, 27 leaders of the Bohemian Estates' revolt were executed here. White crosses near the Town Hall discreetly, almost at pavement level, recall the execution.
The Astronomical Clock Without the Legend of the Blinded Master
Prague’s astronomical clock has been operating since the early 15th century, though it has been repaired and rebuilt many times. It shows several ways of measuring time and the positions of celestial bodies. The popular tale of the clockmaker Hanuš being blinded is a legend, not a confirmed historical fact.
If this is your first visit, it is easiest to piece together the city’s basic history on the right bank. The route Prague in a Nutshell covers the most important sites of the Old Town, but instead of listing façades, it shows how successive eras changed the function of streets and squares.
4. Josefov: A District Where Most Streets No Longer Exist
It is a few minutes’ walk from the Square to Josefov. Today’s wide avenues and elegant tenements can be misleading. The old Jewish city was dense, cramped, and significantly poorer. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the buildings were demolished during a major sanitary reconstruction.
What remains are the most important synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery, and the town hall. They do not form an open-air museum; they are fragments of a world whose urban fabric has vanished.
The Stará Synagoga (Old New Synagogue), the oldest active synagogue in Central Europe, dates from the 13th century. Its attic is linked to the legend of the Golem. However, it is worth separating the tale from history: the legend is an important part of Prague’s culture, but not proof of an event.
Guide’s Notebook
You cannot truly get to know Josefov in fifteen minutes. If you enter the synagogue complex and the cemetery, reserve at least two hours.
The district’s evening character is explored in the walk Prague in the Shadow of Legends. Mentions of the Golem, alchemists, or ghosts are told there as urban memory and folklore, not as substitutes for facts.
5. Rudolfinum and the Riverside: Representative Prague
From Josefov, it is worth walking out to the Vltava near the Rudolfinum. This Neo-Renaissance building from the late 19th century is home to the Czech Philharmonic. In front of the building, the view opens up to the left bank: Prague Castle and the Lesser Town. It is a good moment to see how different the two sides of the city are. The right bank is urban and compact; the left climbs in terraces toward the Castle.
6. Klementinum: Learning, Religion, and Views Over the Rooftops
The vast Klementinum complex occupies a large part of the Old Town. For centuries, it was associated with the Jesuits, education, and astronomy. Today, it houses the National Library among other institutions. The tourist route leads through selected interiors and the astronomical tower, but access and opening hours are worth checking in advance.
Even without entering the interior, it is worth walking through the courtyards. They are quieter than Karlova Street (leading to Charles Bridge) and show how large institutions occupied entire blocks of old buildings.
7. From the National Theatre to the Passages
Walking south and east, the Old Town transitions into the New Town. The name is misleading: the New Town was founded by Charles IV in 1348. It was “new” compared to Prague’s older centers, but today it itself is nearly seven centuries old.
The National Theatre rose in the 19th century as a symbol of the Czech national revival. Nearby begins the world of passages: Lucerna, Rokoko, Světozor, and others create an alternative network for the city. Instead of walking on the sidewalk, you can move for several blocks under roofs, between cafes, cinemas, shops, and courtyards.
This is modern Prague—not royal, but bourgeois. Its heroes are architects, entrepreneurs, actors, and people who learned in the 20th century to live in a vertical city: the street at the bottom, trade in the passage, offices above, and a cinema deep inside the building.
8. Wenceslas Square: More Boulevard Than Square
Wenceslas Square has the shape of a long avenue. It was once a horse market, later becoming a place for demonstrations and pivotal political events. It was here in November 1989 that crowds gathered during the Velvet Revolution.
At the top stands the National Museum building and the statue of Saint Wenceslas. At the bottom, the square dissolves into a network of shopping streets. It is not Prague’s most beautiful place, but it is one of the most important sites of Czech public memory.
9. Evening on the Right Bank
You can end the day at Náplavka—the right-bank riverside south of the center—or return to the area near Charles Bridge. After dark, the river acts like a screen: it reflects the lights of the left bank, while the streets of the Old and New Towns remain behind you.
An alternative is a walk in the center combined with a river cruise. The cruise doesn’t replace sightseeing, but after a full day, it allows you to see both banks simultaneously and understand why Prague developed on both sides of the river in such different ways.
Prague’s Right Bank – Frequently Asked Questions
Which districts lie on the right bank of the Vltava?
In the historic center, these are primarily the Old Town, Josefov, and the New Town. Further east are Karlín, Žižkov, and Vinohrady. Vyšehrad also lies on the right side of the river.
Is Prague Castle on the right bank?
No. Prague Castle, Hradčany, the Lesser Town, Kampa, and Petřín are on the left bank of the Vltava.
Can you see the right bank in one day?
Yes, if you focus on the Old Town, Josefov, and part of the New Town. A thorough visit to synagogues, museums, and towers requires another day.
Sources
- Prague City Tourism: https://prague.eu/
- Jewish Museum in Prague: https://www.jewishmuseum.cz/
- Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock: https://prague.eu/
- Klementinum: https://www.klementinum.com/
- National Museum: https://www.nm.cz/
Opening hours and ticket prices may change. Before visiting, check information directly on the institutions' websites.