The best of Mala Strana: Prague neighbourhood guide

Mala Strana is Prague’s prettiest and most enjoyable neighbourhood. It’s made for aimless strolling, but crams in a few unusual attractions, too.

What is Mala Strana all about?

Prague is sometimes built up as one of the world’s most romantic cities – but the reality often doesn’t match that expectation. Staying in the main Stare Mesto or Nove Mesto areas can be fun – this is where Prague is at its most energetic, and it’s where a lot of the top architectural set pieces can be found. But the swoony side of the city is on the other side of the river, in the shadow of the castle.

Mala Strana is where Prague does romantic wonderfully well. Cosy restaurants with vaulted ceilings, often in semi-secret cellars, mix with squiggly warrens of courtyards, hillside parks and handsome stone buildings. Away from the main drag, it’s a thorough delight to mooch around – and the ‘hood contains many of the city’s most endearing oddities too.

A walk through Mala Strana’s highlights

The entrance point to Mala Strana is inevitably the statue-drenched Charles Bridge which overlooks the Vltava River. From there, the temptation to just aimlessly poke around is strong, but if you simply must have structure, start at the Lennon Wall. Opposite the French Embassy, during the Communist era this wall became a heavily graffitied shrine to John Lennon. Every time the slogans and Lennon pics were removed, more appeared as a symbol of defiance. Now it’s thoroughly covered in peace signs, Beatles logos and more, while buskers stand alongside, inevitably playing McCartney compositions.

Stroll along towards the Kafka Museum. It doesn’t explore the most famous Czech author, Franz Kafka, in a conventional literary museum way. Instead it covers the ground while deliberately bringing in the disorientating, nightmarish effects of Kafka’s books through the layout and presentation.

If you need some headspace after that, the Petrin hill is one giant park, and it’s where the locals go to stretch their legs. Highlights include the thought-provoking Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the bottom, the funicular to the top plus the views of monasteries, embassies, church spires and hidden courtyards from the semi-forested northern end.

Mala Strana’s top attraction

For unexpected excellence, the Karel Zeman Museum is hard to top. Even if you’ve never heard of film director Zeman or filmed his movies, the influences on other directors – particularly Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam and Ray Harryhausen – are immediately apparent. His heavily stylised production design and special effects ingenuity were so far ahead of their time. And it’s the latter that make the museum brilliant. It goes into the techniques used to mix animation and live action, create monsters and concoct fantasy worlds way before computer trickery was available.

Where to eat in Mala Strana

There is plenty of good dining in Mala Strana – something no doubt aided by having plenty of embassies in the area.

Hergetova Cihelna is Prague’s hottest riverside restaurant right now, with plum views of the Charles Bridge, several distinctive dining areas, a sizable terrace and a commendably child-friendly policy for a joint that positions itself at the classier end of the scale. The five course tasting menu is the blowout option.

U Modre Kachnicky turns its walls and wooden doors into elaborately artworks, then focuses the menu resolutely on duck dishes. Try the roast duck with apples, raisings, honey and gratinated potato.

Shopping in Mala Strana

Mala Strana’s shopping has got considerably better over the last few years, with tacky souvenir shops being gradually replaced by those selling items with genuine craftsmanship behind them. Two examples are on main street Mostecká, where S&A Jewellery Design specialises in brooches, ear rings and pendants made from amber. Nearby Manufaktura is a celebration of Czech design, ranging from locally-made table cloths and oven gloves to cosmetics made with thermal salts.

But there are several shops in the district worth a peek, covering everything from wooden marionettes to coloured glassware.

Mala Strana accommodation recommendations

The Aria is a stellar example of how to do hotel theming and come out looking sophisticated. Musical notes are worked into the mosaic flooring, specially-commissioned artwork caricatures the great composers and pop acts, the piano is tinkled in the restaurant over afternoon tea and dinner, and elegantly reserved rooms are named after musical styles.

The Mandarin Oriental is inside a sumptuously converted 14^th century monastery. It’s tastefully unflashy inside, but has large rooms by Prague standards, beautiful vaulted ceilings and makes good use of the historic courtyards and cloisters to make it feel like a calming retreat..

For something simple, bright and comfortable that doesn’t stretch the wallet too much, U Schnellu does the rooms above a restaurant thing pleasingly effectively. It’s a small, family-run joint in a prime location.

More Prague travel

For a big range of Prague tours and experiences, head here.

Other Prague articles on Planet Whitley include:

• Four great places to eat and drink in Prague.
• Is a day trip from Berlin to Prague realistic?
• Where to drink in Prague away from the tourist traps.
• Five great Prague attractions for solo travellers.
• Is there a direct train from Prague to Cesky Krumlov?

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links. Book through them, and I earn a small commission.