Prague is so beautiful and festive in December,
and it is also highly walkable. One of my favorite things was the architecture. The buildings reminded me of victorian doll houses. They were colored like Easter eggs, with soft pink undertones. Then you have gothic churches and archways everywhere that somehow fit together.
Prague is a 2-hour flight from where I am in Denmark. My girlfriend Sascha who lives in Luxembourg raved about Prague, and we decided to make a girls weekend of it. We visited on the first weekend in December, which is when all of the Christmas markets debut. Throughout the city, in every little city center, there were markets filled with Christmas spirit!
Get in the Christmas Spirit!
Underneath the white tents covered in ornaments were delicious Christmas treats and all kinds of Christmas décor. One thing Prague has come to be known for recently is the “trdelník," and we found these in every market.
“Trdelník is a kind of spit cake. It is made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and walnut mix” -wikipedia
I ate a whole trdelník, and absolutely enjoyed every second of it! When you get them off the grill, the center is warm and chewy and the outside is crispy and sweet. We also had to get some mulled wine, which so nicely contrasted the freezing weather! It was super cold outside, it snowed on day 1 and it mostly rained all day on day 2.
It's Cheap!
One of the reasons I was interested in Prague was for its notoriously cheap prices. I have to say, we stayed in the nicest hotel ($75/night), ubered everywhere (a 30 minute taxi was like $5), and enjoyed the most delicious steak dinners with drinks for around $15.
If you are looking to eat your way through a city on a budget, I have to recommend Prague. I am the worst about taking food pictures; I always forget because it looks to good! But here are a few of the dishes I snagged photos of.
I also got a really nice pedicure for $15 while I was waiting for Sascha's flight to land. And later, in the old town market I even scored a pair of genuine leather gloves for $10… seriously, my mom would have died. Leather is the US is ridiculously expensive! The leather and fur shops in Prague are next level.
To spend 60 seconds in Prague, see my video below.
3 Must-See Things
If you’re headed to Prague in December, you don’t really need to draft up a big itinerary. There are only a few things you have to see. And the rest of your time can be spent wandering from market to market with a mulled wine in hand.
St. Vitus Cathedral
This is one of the iconic images from Prague, I also heard people calling it the “Prague Castle” which was a little confusing. But is it the same landmark. This church is just absolutely something to see. It is a classic gothic cathedral, it has the sharp points and stained glass but what I especially loved was the detail around the windows.
Anytime I am in a new city, I love to find the highest point so I can orient myself. This church is situated above the city, so you can see out over the water and into the old town. This a good place to start your trip. Go in the morning, so there will be less people.
Old Town Market
This is what Prague in December is all about. People travel from all over Europe to hangout here during the holiday season. The old town is filled with street food vendors, ornament makers and musicians. There is a giant Christmas tree in the center of it all. And the smells will just knock you out. Besides the sweet smells, there were a lot of savory ones—we saw whole pigs being cooked over coals.
We just happened to stumble into the best restaurant for a view while we were there. We asked a local for a rooftop bar (always ask locals) and they pointed us to Hotel U. It’s sort of hard to find, but after taking an elevator to the seventh floor, you pop out onto a terrace that gives you a perfect view of the market down below. The service was meh (like everywhere in Europe), but the food was amazing and we took my favorite photos from there.
Charles Bridge
This bridge has been in Prague since 1357. And is one of those iconic stops you have to make. You can walk across this bridge, however we walked the one parallel to it because it was the best way to photograph it. While we were there, there were TONS of swans on the water down below.
I hope to make it back to the Czech Republic with Rasmus someday. I actually would really like to see the countryside in spring. Also, you have to be careful when traveling Europe. Oftentimes tourists are targeted. We had a bit of a scary run in, see my other blog post We Almost Got Kidnapped!
*On a funny note- Czech people don't hate Trump (like the rest of Europe does). Apparently, Trump's ex wife Ivana was Czech LOL! I had two Uber drivers tell me that they quite liked Trump.
Have you been to Prague? What were your favorite stops?