I went to Prague with a rather dangerous confidence that in 3 days I would have time to see if not everything, then at least the most important things, and in the evening I would still have the strength to sit somewhere beautifully with a cup of coffee and talk about how well I did. Naive. By the end of the first day, I realized that Prague is the city where you can go out "literally for five minutes" and two hours later find yourself in an alley, standing in front of a beautiful house and completely not understanding how I got here. But that's why I loved her. I made up a route in advance, broke it down by day, saved the necessary places on my phone, and even had a rough idea of where I would have lunch. The plan looked very convincing until I arrived in Prague. After that, it quickly turned into a set of recommendations that I used according to the principle of "let's see according to the mood." In the end, it turned out even better than I had hoped, because the most pleasant moments of the trip happened just when I was slightly deviating from my own schedule. Prague Chimes On the first day, I decided not to overload with difficult routes and just went to get acquainted with the historical center. I started with the Old Town Square, because I wanted to immediately get to the very Prague that we all saw in the photos.: ancient facades, narrow streets, towers, tiled roofs, and the feeling that the scenery for a historical film had been forgotten to be removed after filming. Of course, I waited for the famous chimes on the square. And for some reason, I decided that something so impressive was about to happen that everyone around me would freeze with delight. In fact, a crowd of people with phones gathered around, including me, and after a few minutes we went on our way to our tourist business. But it's still worth looking at the Old Town Hall, especially if you go up and see the city from a height. After leaving the square, I purposely didn't open the map right away, but went for a walk along the nearest streets. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of the entire trip. In Prague, it is very easy to accidentally turn off a busy tourist route and find yourself on a quiet street with beautiful houses, small cafes and a completely different atmosphere. Then I went to the Charles Bridge. By this point, I had already managed to get a little tired, but as soon as I saw the Vltava River and the ancient towers of the bridge, the fatigue disappeared somewhere. However, there were so many people there that a romantic walk across the bridge sometimes turned into a small survival exercise: someone was taking pictures, someone was stopping in the middle of the road, someone was walking towards you, and you were trying not to hurt anyone and at the same time not to lose your phone. Charles Bridge But in the late afternoon, Prague became especially beautiful. The light gradually changed, the stone buildings took on a warm hue, it became calmer over the Vltava River, and I finally stopped trying to catch everything. I just walked around, looked at houses, went into small shops and periodically stopped for coffee. In the evening, I decided to have dinner somewhere near the center. There was also a small failure here: I chose the restaurant solely on the principle of "it looks pretty," and then I discovered that my body, after a day of walking, did not want a gastronomic discovery, but a huge portion of something hot. In the end, dinner turned out to be completely simple, but after it I felt like a person who really deserved a bed.

On the second day, I decided to go to Prague Castle. I took a long time getting ready in the morning, because, as is usually the case when traveling, I suddenly discovered a huge number of extremely important things: check the weather, see the route, charge my phone, look at the route again and, of course, drink coffee. Prague Castle I got to Prague Castle without any problems, although the climb made me reconsider my attitude to comfortable shoes. In everyday life, I sometimes think that beautiful shoes are more important than practical ones, but after a few hours of walking around Prague, you quickly remember that your feet have their own opinion and are able to express it quite convincingly. St. Vitus Cathedral The main point of this day for me was St. Vitus Cathedral. Even if you don't consider yourself a big fan of architecture, it's hard to pass it by indifferently. There's a huge space inside, stained glass windows, details, stone, and such an atmosphere that you automatically start talking quieter, even though no one asks you to. Small Country After Prague Castle, I went for a walk around the Small Country. This is where I finally understood why Prague is called one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I liked just walking without a specific goal, looking at the colorful facades, courtyards, doors and windows, periodically stopping for a photo. At some point, I decided to trust my intuition again and turned off the usual route. After a while, I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was. The map on my phone showed a beautiful blue dot that was confidently moving somewhere not where I was going. I had to stop, figure out the direction and admit the obvious: sometimes even the most carefully planned route loses out to ordinary attentiveness. The Waldstein Garden After that, I walked to the Waldstein Garden, rested for a while and slowly returned closer to the center. In the evening, I wanted to see Prague from the other side, so I went for a walk along the Vltava River. It was this evening that I remember the most. There were no mandatory attractions that needed to be urgently marked on the list. I was just walking along the river, looking at the city, listening to the conversations of people around me and periodically thinking that three days is still too short for Prague.

On the third day, I purposely left the route a little more free. After two eventful days, I already wanted not to run between the sights, but just to live in the city for at least a few hours. Visegrad In the morning I went to Visegrad. This place turned out to be a pleasant discovery for me, because after the lively historical center, it feels like a completely different Prague. You can safely walk around the territory, look at the ancient walls, enter the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and just enjoy the views of the city. I especially liked that there was no sense of constant racing here. For the first two days, I kept thinking about where to go next, how long the road would take, and what else I needed to see. And here for the first time I just stopped and thought: "But I don't have to go anywhere." The Josefov district After Visegrad, I returned to the central part of the city and went to the Josefov district. I wanted to see the old Jewish quarter, its streets and historical buildings. Prague generally surprisingly combines different eras, and sometimes it takes only a few minutes for the atmosphere around to completely change. In the late afternoon, I reserved for myself the most pleasant thing – an ordinary walk through the center without a route. I bought something to eat, went into a small store, spent a long time choosing a souvenir, which in the end I wasn't going to buy at all, and then I found myself near the Vltava River again. Vltava I spent the last evening on the Charles Bridge. During the day it seemed to me too noisy and crowded, and in the evening it looked completely different. I looked at the water, the old buildings and the lights of the city again and tried to mentally save it all for the next trip. What have I done in 3 days? If I put my route together in a more understandable scheme, it turned out something like this: on the first day I walked around the Old Town, looked at the Old Town Square, the chimes, Charles Bridge and just explored the central streets. The second day was dedicated to Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Malaya Strana and a walk along the Vltava River. On the third day, I left Visegrad, Josefov and a quiet walk through the center without a mandatory list of attractions. Queen Anne's Summer Palace and Royal Garden At the same time, I didn't try to see absolutely everything at all. And this is perhaps the main advice that I brought from Prague: do not turn a trip into a competition with a tourist checklist. It's impossible to get to know the city completely in three days, but you can feel its character if you sometimes put your phone in your pocket and just go wherever you want. I remember Prague not only for its beautiful squares and castles. I remember her morning streets, the smell of coffee, bridges, old houses, stairs, sudden turns, and those very moments when you open a new alley and wonder why you didn't notice it before. I also realized that my ideal route through Prague should definitely leave room for mistakes, because for some reason they often turn into the best memories. Wenceslas Square And if I were offered to spend three days in Prague again, I would probably leave most of the route the same. I would just take my shoes more comfortably, not try to control the time so carefully, and accept in advance that I would definitely get lost at least once. After all, what kind of trip is there without a little adventure?