Prague’s history and architecture make it a favourite spot for film-makers
Carnival Row Series 2 available from Friday Amazon Prime
Lucy Thackray - 10 February 2023
If you want fairy-tale flourishes ‒ Gothic gargoyles, sky-piercing spires, higgledypiggledy houses skirted by aged cobbles ‒ you come to Prague. Europhiles know it, photographers know it and location scouts know it: exhibit A is Carnival Row, the Amazon Original drama that was filmed here, which first aired in 2019. The show’s second and final season is out this week and follows the same community of mythological creatures who live among humans in a city called the Burgue. Orlando Bloom’s detective Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate and Cara Delevingne’s Vignette Stonemoss will stalk the city’s dark, conspiracyfilled streets one last time, with the dramatic bridges, squares and eerie alleys of the Czech capital given a starring role, too. If you want to follow in their footsteps, you’re in luck. This is a city that really delivers on immaculately preserved history, not to mention stories of all stripes: tragic, whimsical, far-fetched. You’ll need more than a long weekend to really dig into it.
So where to start? You’ll feel most like a time-traveller in quaint Mala Strana, the “lesser town”, best accessed by crossing the city’s number one sight: the Charles Bridge. Though perpetually crowded with tourists and Instagrammers, it’s 516m long and trimmed with 30 towering, glowering statues, meaning there’s enough room and views to go around. Visit first thing in the morning, crossing east to west, for the best chance of a quiet stroll.
The bridge’s time-burnished, charcoalcoloured bricks date back to 1402, when Prague was still part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, making it one of the few remaining medieval bridges in the modern world. Though the heads of pesky revolutionaries are no longer hung here, as they were 400 years ago, it’s still elegantly creepy As you step off the bridge on its western end, Mala Strana’s custard-coloured houses and wooden-signed taverns slope up towards the imposing, Gothic St Vitus Cathedral. It’s the crowning glory of the hilltop Prague Castle complex, where you can tick off a cluster of magical churches, palace buildings and museums with one combined ticket. Start with the enormous, can’t-miss-it St Vitus Cathedral, with its sky-high arches and vast stained-glass panels that create a rollerdisco kaleidoscope every time the sun hits them.
Consider booking a guided tour of this area (hrad.cz/en/prague-castle-for-visitors/ guided-tours); each building has an intriguing story, but the pamphlets and signage are minimal. A guide will help decode each eerie crypt and peeling fresco. The other must-visits up here are the solemn, echoing St George’s Basilica – dating back to a mind-boggling AD 920 – and the Lobkowicz Palace Museum. The latter has plenty of art and musical instruments to peruse, but it’s also the best spot for a view of the city skyline from the upper-floor terrace. Rack up an impressive step count on a morning exploring all of the above, then reward yourself with lunch.
The Czechs may not be famous for their food, but Prague’s hearty pub fare is heaven consumed in a cosy corner on a chilly day. Duck into authentic inns like U Deloveho Krize (Stefanikova 75), descending the staircase into its brick-clad belly to sip beer from a proper tankard. Goulash is the must-try here, a thick, beefy stew with lashings of dumplings and sour cream. Though there’s the odd petite guesthouse on the Mala Strana side of the river, you’re more likely to stay in the Old Town or New Town on the east bank. Here’s where the cool boutique hotels are, not to mention a food and drink scene that zaps you back into modern-day Prague. One of the city’s biggest attractions is the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, which can feel anticlimactic (though the square is worth a visit in festive seasons, such as December’s Christmas markets). You won’t get up close to the clock unless you pay to climb the tower, but either way it’s worth a look for its mysterious dials pointing to the positions of the Sun and Moon, plus the figure of Death at one side. Get there on the hour to see it in motion.
More rewarding is a visit to Prague’s Jewish Quarter, Josefov, on a moving tour of what was once the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe. Sign up for a selfguided audio tour of its six synagogues and peaceful, mossy cemetery (jewishmuseum.cz/en/ info/visit/audio-guides); it’s this almost spellbound, perfectly preserved sense of history – both light and dark – that lures TV and film producers. End your day in one of the trendy bars or curious restaurants on the Old Town side of the Vltava river: there are rustic, hole-in-the-wall wine bars all over, but Hemingway Bar (hemingwaybar.cz/bar-prague), with its pleasing Victoriana decor, is a local institution, where you can easily imagine a clandestine detective’s meeting. Keep an eye out for Philo.
If you want fairy-tale flourishes ‒ Gothic gargoyles, sky-piercing spires, higgledypiggledy houses skirted by aged cobbles ‒ you come to Prague. Europhiles know it, photographers know it and location scouts know it: exhibit A is Carnival Row, the Amazon Original drama that was filmed here, which first aired in 2019. The show’s second and final season is out this week and follows the same community of mythological creatures who live among humans in a city called the Burgue. Orlando Bloom’s detective Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate and Cara Delevingne’s Vignette Stonemoss will stalk the city’s dark, conspiracyfilled streets one last time, with the dramatic bridges, squares and eerie alleys of the Czech capital given a starring role, too. If you want to follow in their footsteps, you’re in luck. This is a city that really delivers on immaculately preserved history, not to mention stories of all stripes: tragic, whimsical, far-fetched. You’ll need more than a long weekend to really dig into it.
So where to start? You’ll feel most like a time-traveller in quaint Mala Strana, the “lesser town”, best accessed by crossing the city’s number one sight: the Charles Bridge. Though perpetually crowded with tourists and Instagrammers, it’s 516m long and trimmed with 30 towering, glowering statues, meaning there’s enough room and views to go around. Visit first thing in the morning, crossing east to west, for the best chance of a quiet stroll.
The bridge’s time-burnished, charcoalcoloured bricks date back to 1402, when Prague was still part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, making it one of the few remaining medieval bridges in the modern world. Though the heads of pesky revolutionaries are no longer hung here, as they were 400 years ago, it’s still elegantly creepy As you step off the bridge on its western end, Mala Strana’s custard-coloured houses and wooden-signed taverns slope up towards the imposing, Gothic St Vitus Cathedral. It’s the crowning glory of the hilltop Prague Castle complex, where you can tick off a cluster of magical churches, palace buildings and museums with one combined ticket. Start with the enormous, can’t-miss-it St Vitus Cathedral, with its sky-high arches and vast stained-glass panels that create a rollerdisco kaleidoscope every time the sun hits them.
Consider booking a guided tour of this area (hrad.cz/en/prague-castle-for-visitors/ guided-tours); each building has an intriguing story, but the pamphlets and signage are minimal. A guide will help decode each eerie crypt and peeling fresco. The other must-visits up here are the solemn, echoing St George’s Basilica – dating back to a mind-boggling AD 920 – and the Lobkowicz Palace Museum. The latter has plenty of art and musical instruments to peruse, but it’s also the best spot for a view of the city skyline from the upper-floor terrace. Rack up an impressive step count on a morning exploring all of the above, then reward yourself with lunch.
The Czechs may not be famous for their food, but Prague’s hearty pub fare is heaven consumed in a cosy corner on a chilly day. Duck into authentic inns like U Deloveho Krize (Stefanikova 75), descending the staircase into its brick-clad belly to sip beer from a proper tankard. Goulash is the must-try here, a thick, beefy stew with lashings of dumplings and sour cream. Though there’s the odd petite guesthouse on the Mala Strana side of the river, you’re more likely to stay in the Old Town or New Town on the east bank. Here’s where the cool boutique hotels are, not to mention a food and drink scene that zaps you back into modern-day Prague. One of the city’s biggest attractions is the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, which can feel anticlimactic (though the square is worth a visit in festive seasons, such as December’s Christmas markets). You won’t get up close to the clock unless you pay to climb the tower, but either way it’s worth a look for its mysterious dials pointing to the positions of the Sun and Moon, plus the figure of Death at one side. Get there on the hour to see it in motion.
More rewarding is a visit to Prague’s Jewish Quarter, Josefov, on a moving tour of what was once the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe. Sign up for a selfguided audio tour of its six synagogues and peaceful, mossy cemetery (jewishmuseum.cz/en/ info/visit/audio-guides); it’s this almost spellbound, perfectly preserved sense of history – both light and dark – that lures TV and film producers. End your day in one of the trendy bars or curious restaurants on the Old Town side of the Vltava river: there are rustic, hole-in-the-wall wine bars all over, but Hemingway Bar (hemingwaybar.cz/bar-prague), with its pleasing Victoriana decor, is a local institution, where you can easily imagine a clandestine detective’s meeting. Keep an eye out for Philo.
LUCY THACKRAY