Staroměstské náměstí

For some odd reason I thought I wrote a review already … multiple listings?
But either way. If you’re in Prague, this is likely going to be one of the areas to visit on your checklist.
In short — this is a very picturesque old European square that’s flanked by some notable landmarks, local and upscale shops and features lots of small kiosks that sell handmade trinkets and local food. The astronomical clock, old town hall are all just steps away. There are also several shopping arcades and markets also within walking distance.
This place gets VERY crowded at times due to the high amount of tourist and local foot traffic. A good deal of shops in the square and within the surrounding blocks are all geared towards tourists but some of the local fare in terms of food was definitely delightful. I really enjoyed the local donut-​like treats, as well as some of the area’s famous pork. Most folks here were generally nice, though some were a bit more surly. Some merchants also get pissed off if you take pictures of them while others were pretty cool, so keep that in mind.
A lot of Prague’s key landmarks are within walking distance from here so it won’t be too difficult to get here and around town if you’re looking to traverse around the city. While I’m not sure if the shopping is super amazing, the beauty of the area definitely makes this part of town a must-​see!

The Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) is a tourist hot spot in Prague, the main attraction being the famous Astronomical Clock at the Old Town Hall (Staroměstská radnice). The clock is a stunning piece of art work, and every hour, on the hour, the clock chimes and the figures on the clock dance around.
Many people are disappointed when the clock goes off, as they are expecting some sort of exciting, action-​packed show. Instead, the chimes, while very audible, are fairly subdued, and the animated characters simply bounce around a couple of inches to either side and up and down. So if you’re expecting something exciting to happen, you’ll be disappointed, but if you can appreciate the clock for its beauty, architecture, and history, you’ll get a lot more out of it. I did see the clock go off a few times, as I happened to be in the area shortly before it was due to go off. I wouldn’t make a huge effort to see the clock in action, but if you’re in the area and there’s ten minutes until the hour, stick around and watch it go off at least once.

Prague’s old town square is an absolutely gorgeous downtown area complete with the famous astronomical clock, castle views and just 360 degrees of history. This place is really special and you’ll often find yourself watching the street vendors and just enjoying the overall ambiance. I heard through the grapevine that Walt Disney was actually got his inspiration for the Disney castle from this exact location and being here for just a couple minutes you’ll promptly find out why, it’s absolutely enchanting! Overall, this is a must see place with views everywhere, eateries/​bars throughout and some sort of performance going on at all times.
Pros–
Beautiful
360deg views of history
Bars and eateries all around
Astronomical clock
Castles
Cathedrals
Street performers
Overall vibe
Cons–
Lots of crowds

Absolutely check out this town square. The astronomical clock is beautiful although we didn’t hang around to see the on-​the-​hour show. I heard it wasn’t all that impressive and not worth lingering in the crowd. Also heard that pickpockets like that area — it’s totally safe, just remain aware as you should in any crowded location.
We came here during Christmas time when they had the markets set up and it was wonderful. Magical, really. They had a giant tree up and everything was so festive and beautiful. So many vendors with so many types of warm, cozy drinks — all sorts of flavors of mulled wine and cider. Yummy snacks and food — MAKE SURE YOU GET THE TRDELNIK — it’s dough spun on a stick. They have one with chocolate on the inside (might be Nutella) and it’s to die for. They also sell all sorts of wares and gifts which I didn’t even really look at.
MAGIC!

We have been to a few Christmas markets but none came very close to this market. Fantastic tree, good food stalls, great hot wine, various ‘Christmas bits and bobs’ stalls and to crown it all off, music. Nice crowd of people and, forget what people say, safe. Wandered around every night of our short stay and we never got bored. There was too much to take in.

It’s an astronomical clock and you can’t miss it if you are at the town square. Come take a photo and wait with the crowd for when the clock goes off and then you can say «been there done that» ;-)) Not really my thing but it’s an impressive piece of architecture in the center of town.

Tout simplement, j’adore !!
Cette horloge astronomique est constamment admirée par les touristes qui attendent qu’elle sonne: à chaque changement d’heure, 4 petites marionnettes s’animent quelques secondes.
J’adore aussi l’emplacement, au cœur de la ville, plein de passants, proche des boutiques, des cafés, des restaurants, de la grande place centrale où on voit souvent des musiciens …
C’est un endroit incontournable en voyage, et très agréable en toute occasions !

Praga tiene dos insignias: Charles Bridge y el reloj astronomico.
Lo interesante y lindo de este reloj es que es el unico astronomico que funciona hasta la fecha.
Segun el guia del tour provee 4 horas. Tiene muchos simbolos, la vida y la muerte, el bien y el mal, todo incluido en un enorme reloj.
Cada hora salen marionetas dentro del reloj y hacen un show cortito. En ese momento todos los turistas con celulares empiezan a grabar el show y toda la situacion puede prestarse para robos rapidos asi que aunque Praga es una de las ciudades mas seguras del mundo, ojito con las aglomeraciones de turistas especialmente estas frente al reloj.

This is the old town square. It is absolutely amazing. There are performers, food stalls, restaurants, beautiful buildings, places to sit and people watch, and much more. This city is beautiful and this huge square has something happening all the time. We walked there on our first day in Prague and there was some type of military awards ceremony going on. We got to see lot of different military outfits and groups. Then the military groups did coordinated maneuvers to pop music. It was so weird! On another day there was a performer in the square garnering a lot of attention.
While in the square, you’ll see the obvious like the clock and the building, BUT make sure to go up the clock tower and get a bird’s eye view of the square and the city.

Utopia is in Staroměstské Náměstí Old Town Square. Exact vibrancy of surrounding area rarely has any other parallel. There is a magnificent ultimate collection of Baroque, Nouveau, and other architectural buildings in stunning visual details. Centuries of glory is a powerful thought.
Independent stores galore all over this area of Staro Mesto, and a comforting lack of chain stores. People from all over the World are walking around in a tourist destination zone, yet there is a traditional modern local vibe present.
Using a camera and taking tons of photos feels like an ethical moral obligation in this area of Prague Czech Republic. A worthwhile highlight epic experience of unique architecture, and vibes of a travel journey.

Retour dans les archives photos pour faire un petit tri et je tombe sur les photos de mon city-​trip à Prague. Donc, pourquoi né pas partager les endroits que j’ai pu visiter? Let’s Go!
On commence avec la place Vieille-​Ville de Prague: Elle est située au cœur du centre historique de la capitale ! Les bâtiments assez anciens, parfois colorés, au sein de la place lui donnent un terrible cachet. De plus, elle est bordé par des commerces connus de tous et «récents» ce qui donne un joli contraste avec le côté «ancien» de cette place. (Nespresso, Starbucks, Hard Rock Café, Cartier, et bien d’autres!)
De celle-​ci on a accès à quasi tous les lieux touristiques possibles! Il y a évidemment beaucoup de restaurants aux alentours, et de L’hôtel de ville, on a une superbe vue sur la ville! (à faire!)

One of the coolest spots in Prague and one of the coolest spots in Europe!
When you first walk into the square, you’re happily overwhelmed: the Týn church & it’s twin spires & all the towers are incredible in the daytime & even more beautiful at night when they’re light up – one thing about European countries is that they know how to light a monument PERFECTLY. (Check out Notre Dame & the Eiffel Tower at night sometime.) There’s also the tower of the Old Town Hall, the Astronomical Clock & the Jan Hus Statue. LOTS of history here.
There will also be 100s-​1000s of people hanging out. Lots of performance artists! One guy was even using a long string on the end of 2 rods to make gigantic bubbles.
The Týn church IS accessible from the square — in front of it is a row of archways. Find the third one from the left & walk up the alley to the end. The interior is a great thing to see.
The clock tower of the Old Town Hall is also a must-​see. This is the tower with Prague’s famous Astronomical Clock on the south side. More on the clock in a moment but pay the few korunas to take the elevator or stairs up to the top of the tower, the vista from there is spectacular, GREAT for pictures!
The clock itself is VERY old & when you stand looking at it, you can’t see the movement BUT go there at the top of the hour & you’ll see a brief show of the puppets moving around, bells ringing & the 12 apostles moving by the doors at the top. The pamphlet they sell inside the tower that has a history of the clock is worth the few korunas — it’s plastic-​covered & durable & has everything you need to know about the clock itself.
BE VERY CAREFUL in the immediate vicinity of the clock — pickpockets LOVE that spot! General rule for traveling anywhere in Europe is never EVER carry a wallet in your back pocket or take your eyes or hands off a shoulder bag, backpack or purse! Thieves in Europe are GOOD. They’ll lift a wallet or something inside a bag so deftly you won’t know it’s gone until the next time you reach for it.
Looking for food? As you face the Old Town Hall (looking roughly West) there are vendors, similar to food trucks, just to the right. Food there is good & inexpensive. Get something to eat & sit at one of the pedestal tables or take it to the Jan Hus Statue & sit on the edge (if you can find some room!!) & chow down.
Movie buffs: if you’re like me & you like finding movie shooting locations, this is the square that Tom Cruise ran into while escaping the «Akvarium» restaurant after causing a deluge! The restaurant does NOT exist but the square is the same one.

Prague’s Old Town square looks straight out of Disneyland.
The magnificent Týn church, the beautiful astronomical clock and well preserved buildings in the wide open plaza. The numerous bars and restaurants around the periphery. Let’s not forget the classic horse carriage rides — despite the rip off touristy prices — Prague doesn’t get any more romantic than this.
Definitely worth at least an instagram selfie.

Great feeling down here. This is where it all happens. This is where the tours start and people meet and directions are given from here. You can just look around and see something amazing in every direction.

Jedno z nejznamejsich a nejnavstevovanejsich mist v Praze a take centrum deni. Misto s ohromnou historickou hodnotou a skvelou atmosferou. Najdete zde take znamy Orloj, mnoho restauraci, hospudek a kavaren.

La grande place de la vieille ville de Prague est juste merveilleuse.
Ses pavés, ses piétons…Elle est certes trrrèèèès prisée par les touristes, mais bon, elle n’en perd pas pour autant son charme.
On aime:
— l’architecture gothique de St Nicolas et l’horloge astronomique
— ses artistes, chanteurs, magiciens, qui déambulent sur la place et vous transportent également…
— les cafés, les passants…
— sa proximité avec les autres quartiers de Prague à visiter. Avec un emplacement aussi central, on est obligés d’y passer régulièrement.
J’aime m’y prélasser, me mettre à la terrasse d’un café et regarder les gens passer avec une bonne bière à la main.
Un incontournable sans aucun doute, qui permet de prendre de superbes clichés par la même occasion.

I have been to many main squares in major European cities and this is one of the better ones.
It really has a bit of everything, both good and bad, but it is certainly a must see for a first visit to Prague.
Bars. — there are loads of them, they are over priced due to the high volume of tourists. Just have one drink and sit in the square outside a bar and watch the world go by. Definitely a good people watching spot.
Street entertainers. There is amazing fire eaters and musicians. Well worth ten mins of standing watching them. There is also some awful ones. Like the native American Indian impersonator — hilarious but dire — anybody who has seen him will know what I mean.
To add to this there is amazing architecture on the buildings, cool statues, the astronomical clock and street food type stalls selling local delicacies.

The Old Town Square is a great space in, clearly, the Old Town of Prague. A wide open plaza, we were lucky enough to visit during the winter «Old Town Fair.» We stopped back to the Square multiple times during our time in Prague to partake in the delicious sausages, hot wine, and various other treats from the fair stalls, as well as to do some shopping at the stands of various artisans. Music was often around and it was just a great atmosphere, even in the cold weather! I have a feeling that the Old Town Square is great in any weather.

Der zentrale Platz vor dem Rathaus und inmitten der Altstadt, umgeben von den zahlreichen alten, sehr schönen und sehr gut erhaltenen Häusern, ist ein Erlebnis. Das wuselige Treiben lädt zum Staunen ein.
Vorsicht, hier gibt es einige derjenigen, die unbemerkt an Ihre Geldbörse wollen.

Der Altstäder Ring ist der grösste Marktplatz der Prager Altstadt. Er hat eine Gesamt Grösse von 9 000 qm.
Bereits im 12. Jahrhundert herrschte hier grosses Markttreiben. Die Kaufleute wohnten hier in ihren alten Holzhütten, und boten am Tag ihre Waren an.
Heute steht in der Mitte des Platzes das Denkmal von Jan Hus. Dieses Denkmal wurde 1915 zum 500. Todestag aufgestellt.
Der Theologe, Prediger und Reformator, der von 1369– 1415 lebte, wurde 1415 als Ketzer der Katholischen Kirche verbrannt. Darauf brachen Unruhen aus die zum 1. Prager Fenstersturz führten.
Im Frühjahr und Sommer finden hier regelmässig Märkte statt. Die angrenzende Gastronomie hat Tische und Stühle vor den Läden, so dass man dem Treiben auf dem Platz zuschaun kann.
Im Winter ist allerdings «tote Hose» wenn alles unter einer Schneedecke liegt, wie unsere Fotos zeigen. Es geht hier z.Zt. nur eine Schneeballschlacht.