The baroque palace at the southern end of Charles Square is known as Faust House because, according to the popular German legend, this was where Mephistopheles carried Dr Faust away to hell through a hole in the ceiling. The building also has associations with Rudolf II’s English court alchemist, Edward Kelley, who toiled here in the 16th century trying to convert lead into gold.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.45 MILES
Built over a time span of almost 600 years, St Vitus is one of the most richly endowed cathedrals in central Europe. It is pivotal to the religious and…
1 MILES
Strolling across Charles Bridge is everybody’s favourite Prague activity. However, by 9am it’s a 500m-long fairground, with an army of tourists squeezing…
1.44 MILES
Prague’s most popular attraction. Looming above the Vltava's left bank, its serried ranks of spires, towers and palaces dominate the city centre like a…
1.14 MILES
This museum consists of six Jewish monuments clustered together in Josefov: the Maisel Synagogue; the Pinkas Synagogue; the Spanish Synagogue; the Klaus…
1.61 MILES
Strahov Library is the largest monastic library in the country, with two magnificent baroque halls dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can peek…
1.07 MILES
Prague’s most exuberantly art-nouveau building is a labour of love, with every detail of its design and decoration carefully considered, and every…
1.75 MILES
While this monument's massive functionalist structure has all the elegance of a nuclear power station, the interior is a spectacular extravaganza of…
0.68 MILES
More a broad boulevard than a typical European city square, Wenceslas Square has witnessed a great deal of Czech history – a giant Mass was held here…
Nearby Prague attractions
0.16 MILES
With an area of more than seven hectares, Charles Square is Prague’s biggest – it’s more like a small park, really, and was originally the city's cattle…
0.17 MILES
Stanislav Sucharda’s extraordinary art nouveau František Palacký Memorial dominates Palackého náměstí. It shows a swarm of haunted bronze figures …
0.18 MILES
Presiding over Chalres Square is this 1660s baroque tour de force, designed for the Jesuits by Carlo Lurago.
4. National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror
0.2 MILES
The Church of Sts Cyril & Methodius houses a moving memorial to the seven Czech paratroopers who were involved in the assassination of Reichsprotektor…
5. Charles University Botanical Garden
0.21 MILES
Just south of Charles Square is Charles University’s botanical garden. Founded in 1775 and moved from Smíchov to its present site in 1898, it’s the…
0.24 MILES
This apartment building, designed by the grandfather of the late president Václav Havel, was where Havel first chose to live (in preference to Prague…
0.26 MILES
The Dancing House was built in 1996 by architects Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry. The curved lines of the narrow-waisted glass tower clutched against its…
0.35 MILES
Spanning the Vltava between the embankment and Slovanský Island and cowering beneath a 15th-century water tower, the Mánes Building (1927–30) is a…