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Hotel / Tip for a stroll -

The Royal Route

Coronation processions have been long gone, but their greatness lives on on the walls of the splendid buildings, in the unique atmosphere of the narrow streets and in the stones that form the mysterious old paths. The Royal route used to link the gates of Old Prague, the Jewish Town, Lesser Quarter and the Prague Castle.

The Royal Route line starts at the Powder Tower (see picture below), in front of the Municipal House and finds its way through Celetna Street down to the Old Town Square.

The Best way to get to the Powder Tower from Perla Hotel is to head to the left from the reception, reach the end of Perlova street, turn left onto street 28.rijna and continue straight to street Na Prikope, which will lead you directly to the Powder Tower on your left side. The distance from the hotel is 600m (2000 ft), about 10 min. of a pleasant stroll.

On Celetna, one of Prague’s oldest streets, stands the evidence of the glorious past represented by the beautiful historical houses decorated with breathtaking murals, symbols and façades. The most interesting façades are At the Three Kings, At the White Lion, At the Black Sun and At the Vulture. Another fascinating feature not to be missed is the Cubist façade on the House of the Black Madonna, which dates back to 1912 and houses a branch of the Czech Museum of Fine Arts with a permanent exhibition on Czech Cubism.

On each side of the Celetna Street a great variety of souvenir shops can be found: amber, garnet, porcelain or wood dolls and toys, painted glass and of course the famous Bohemian crystal.
The Royal route then leads into the Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti). If you fancy some exercise besides the well known attractions (The astronomical Clock, the Tyn Church, the statue of Jan Hus), you can climb up the Tower of the Old Town Hall and enjoy the view of the historical centre of Prague from the Prague Castle on one side and Vysehrad on the other. At the Tower you can also create your very own souvenir (a 20 CZK coin is needed).

If you follow the silvery path through the narrow streets down Karlova Street you wil soon be able to admire the famous Charles Bridge. Please do pay attention to your bag and belongings as you walk through the beautiful narrow streets. While we understand that these surroundings are indeed very intreaguing to visitors, we would encourage you not to get carried away and make yourself an easy target for the possible pickpockets operating in these areas.

Walking along the Charles Bridge you will get the chance to have your portrait or caricature done by one of the many artists waiting for you on the bridge. It is particularly in the early evening when jazz bands and different artists and singers have live performances that the town and the bridge seem to have come to life. When passing the statue of St. John of Nepomuk people often make a wish and touch the statue ( it is very hard to miss this location as there are usually many tourist in a line waiting for their turn to have their wishes fulfilled).
Then the Royal route goes up to Lesser Town Square (Malostranske namesti) and continues through Nerudova Street, another magnificent place of historical Prague. The way up the Castle may seem a little bit demanding to some, but it is unquestionably worth every step.

The old path ends at the Matthias gate at the Prague Castle with a breathtaking view over Prague. After exploring the castle and the Castle Gardens you can set off on your way back, down the Castle Stairs (Zamecke Schody) to Lesser Town Square.

We wish you a pleasant journey exploring Prague's unique history and architecture.