Charles Square

The largest square in the city, laid out by Charles IV and now a park

Area Nové Město
Type Park
Time needed 30m

Charles Square is the largest square in Prague by area, laid out by Charles IV in 1348 as the cattle market of his new town, and now a long municipal park running north to south in Nové Město. It is not a plaza you stand in but a tree-filled garden with paths, lawns and benches, flanked by traffic on both sides. People come to cross it, sit in it, or reach the buildings along its edges rather than to look at the square itself.

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Getting there

Metro line B (yellow) to Karlovo náměstí, which exits directly onto the southern end; or tram 3, 5, 6, 10, 14, 16 or 24 to Karlovo náměstí or Moráň. From Staroměstské náměstí it is about twenty minutes on foot south through Nové Město, or seven or eight minutes by metro with a change at Můstek. The square is flat, though the ground falls gently towards the river at the western side.

What you see

Walk its length, which takes longer than you expect — it is well over half a kilometre from end to end. At the north end stands the New Town Hall with its tower; at the south, the Baroque Church of Saint Ignatius faces the park across the eastern carriageway, and the Jesuit college beside it is now part of the university. The west side carries the Faust House, a Baroque mansion attached to a long alchemical legend, and the Church of Saint John of Nepomuk on the Rock is visible beyond it up the slope. In the park itself there are nineteenth-century statues of Czech figures, a fountain, mature planes and chestnuts, and a children's playground. The cross street Resslova, leading west from the square's middle, holds the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, where the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich were besieged in 1942.

What to pair it with

The New Town Hall is on the square's own northern edge. Emmaus Monastery and the Dancing House are both about ten minutes away, and the Vyšehrad fortress is a longer walk or two tram stops south.

When to go

Daylight hours only — the park is pleasant at lunchtime, when office workers fill the benches, and after dark it is poorly lit and better walked round than through. Spring and early autumn are the seasons that make the case for it; in winter it is bare and grey. There is never a queue and never a crowd, which is part of the point. Avoid rush hour if you want quiet, as traffic on both flanks is heavy.

What is hard about it

The honest drawback is that there is no single thing to see. The square is a transport interchange and a local park, hemmed in by four lanes of traffic, and the noise reaches most of the benches. Parts of it can look unkempt, and the area around the metro exits attracts drinkers in the evening. Visitors who come expecting a grand historic square in the style of Staroměstské náměstí find a scruffy garden instead, and the fine buildings are on the far side of busy roads rather than around a pedestrian space.

Common questions

How long do you need at Charles Square?

Half an hour to walk its length and look at the buildings on the edges. Less if you are only passing through to the metro.

Is there anything to pay for?

No, the park is free and open. Admission applies only at the buildings around it, such as the New Town Hall tower and the church crypt on Resslova.

Is it safe to walk across at night?

It is a normal city park: lit on the main paths but quiet and unsupervised. Most people use the pavements along the sides after dark rather than the interior paths.