Where to stay in Prague

What’s not to like about Prague? From the splendour of Gothic Prague to Art Nouveau and Modernist masterpieces, from traditional pubs to a thumping clubbing scene, everyone can find their thing in the Czech capital. Likewise, there's somewhere to stay for everyone. Prague made our list of the best cheap places to travel in the world. Here's our guide to where to stay in Prague.

The information in this article is inspired by The Rough Guide to Prague, your essential guide for visiting Prague.

Hradčany: stay in the oldest Prague neighbourhood

If you can bag a room up at Prague Castle, the world’s biggest and one of Prague’s top attractions, you’ll have the Czech capital’s best sightseeing right on your doorstep – and the city at your feet. Those expecting hordes of tourists on this promontory overlooking the city centre may be surprised how tranquil and almost rural this Prague neighbourhood can feel.

On catching your first sight of Prague Castle from across the Vltava River you will be taken aback by its vast size. Not for the rulers of Bohemia a simple stone stronghold: rather, a citadel as big as a small town, its numerous fine buildings an imposing reminder of the power of royalty through the centuries.

From its beginnings some 1,000 years ago, it developed to perform important ceremonial functions in addition to its protective ones. In recent times, part of the castle was renovated to house the office of the president of the Czech Republic.

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• Best for Baroque touches with a view: Questenberk. Housed in a former Baroque chapel, the Questenberk boasts twenty-first century bedrooms with smart decor. Some quarters have unrivalled views.
• Best for a slice of rural life brought to the city: U Raka. In the Nový svět area of Hradčany, this wonderfully bucolic hotel in a little half-timbered, eighteenth-century cottage would be more at home in the Czech mountains.
• Best for family stays: Golden Star. Set in an impressive Baroque building below Prague Castle, Golden Star offers panoramic views over the Old Town, Lesser Town, and Prague Castle which is a 5-minute walk away. Old Town and Charles Bridge are within 15 minutes on foot. 

Find more accommodation options to stay in Hradčany.

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Malá Strana (Lesser Town): the best area for families

Prague’s original left bank settlement is a Baroque feast. Palaces and townhouses almost pile on top of each other as they scramble up to reach Prague Castle. Though the main tourist route passes through here, many of Malá Strana’s crooked lanes and steep streets have an authentic air of old-world tranquillity.

Lying below the castle and stretching to the banks of the Vtlava River is Malá Strana, the Lesser Quarter or Little Quarter. The area was first settled in the 13th century when Otakar II invited German craftsmen to settle in Prague. Several fierce fires destroyed the early town, so although the street plan remains faithful to Otakar’s original instructions, the majority of the buildings date from a later period.

Following the CounterReformation in the mid-17th century, Malá Strana became fashionable with courtiers and aristocrats, and their money was invested in mansions replete with Renaissance and Baroque details. This is still a residential area, a factor which gives it an intimate atmosphere tangibly different to that of Staré Město just across the river.

• Best for retro style: Sax. Wholly incongruous with the area’s Baroque pomp, these funky digs sport groovy 1960s retro styling with 1970s psychedelic wallpaper and vintage-style furniture.
• Best for gardens and views: Golden Well Hotel. Tucked into the hill below Prague Castle, next to the terraced gardens, the Golden Well offers incredible views across the rooftops of Malá Strana.
• Best for boutique stays: Residence U Černého Orla. Set in an elegant Baroque house, the Residence U Cerneho Orla combines stylish rooms with modern comfort. Charles Bridge is just 328 feet away.

Find more accommodation options in Malá Strana.

Nové Město (New Town): where to stay in Prague for foodies

If you are looking where to stay in Prague for the Art Nouveau architecture New Town is a place for you. The gritty, mostly nineteenth-century New Town is Prague’s busy commercial heart. It is centred around the famous Wenceslas Square.

Fans of twentieth-century architecture are wowed by the Art Nouveau, Cubist and Functionalist architectural parade. With a wide selection of eateries, this is also the best district to find yourself at mealtimes.

Charles IV gave the go-ahead for the building of the New Town (Nové Město) in 1348 when overcrowding in the Old Town was becoming an acute problem. Although much of the first stage of building has been swept away in subsequent redevelopment, the New Town has many important attractions. It is also a focus for hotels, and entertainment in the form of theatres, nightclubs and cinemas.

Na příkopě is the street that was the traditional dividing line between the Old Town and the New Town. It was built over the old moat, the defensive structure around the Old Town and links to the Powder Gate at its eastern end. Today it is pedestrianised, and is one of Prague’s most important retail streets, lined with modern shops, restaurants, casinos and exchange offices.

• Best for most-desired rooms in town: Dancing House Hotel. Prague’s most controversial chunk of post-communist architecture has been turned into a show-stopping hotel by former Czech footballer Vladimír Šmicer. In fact, the Fred Royal and Ginger Royal suites in the building's towers are now two of the most desirable hotel rooms in the capital.
• Best for style-meets-spa: BoHo. One of Prague's most stylish hotels offers rooms in shades of grey that you never even knew existed. There’s also an in-house restaurant and crisp wellness facilities.
• Best for budget stays: White Wolf House Hostel & Apartments. White Wolf House Hostel & Apartments is located a 2-minute walk from Prague Astronomical Clock, 300 yards from Old Town Square and 1.2 miles from Prague Castle.

Staré Město (Old Town) and Josefov: best area for first time visitors

When the first-timers are looking where to stay in Prague they often want to bed down in the Old Town, the real heart of the city’s medieval core. And they are in luck: hotels created from Gothic and Baroque structures abound in the streets that radiate from the magnificent Old Town Square. However, it’s worth being aware that the former Jewish Quarter has very few beds.

While political power was invested in Hradčany, the Old Town (Staré Město) – a cluster of streets on the opposite bank of the river – was the commercial heart of Prague. The city sat on important trading routes, east–west from Krakow into Germany and north–south from Vienna to Warsaw. As the Bohemian groschen became one of the major currencies in Europe, so the city began to take on a grander appearance.

Today it offers streets of architectural delights from the medieval to the Baroque. Old Town Square, at the heart of the Old Town and once the main marketplace for the city, is a good place to embark on a visit.

• Best for modern vintage: Astoria Hotel. Housed in a stylish building of the 1920s right in the heart of Prague's Old Town.
• Best for luxury at the heart of things: Ventana. Located right in the thick of the Old Town action, this luxury boutique hotel has spacious rooms, excellent breakfasts and impeccably regimented staff. Think marble-and-tile bathrooms and a library illuminated with crystal chandeliers.
• Best for family stays: Myo Hotel Caruso. Caruso is an exclusive boutique hotel, located in the heart of the Czech capital in the Josefov Quarter, formerly the Jewish Quarter, of the Old Prague. The hotel is within walking distance of Prague’s main attractions.

Find more accommodation options in Staré Město and Josefov.

Vinohrady: the neighbourhood of restaurants and bistros in Prague

The largely residential districts east of the city centre with their nineteenth-century tenements and long boulevards have become a nightlife hotspot over the last decade. Vinohrady is known for its neighbourhood restaurants and bistros, while more working class Žižkov is a bar-hopping mecca. What the districts lack in sights they make up for in atmosphere, which is especially exciting after dark.

Take metro line A to Jiřího z Poděbrad station, and you will emerge in the increasingly fashionable, densely built-up quarter of Vinohrady, somewhat dingy in places but full of atmosphere and historical charm, which makes it one of the best places to stay in Prague. Nearby is the Modernist Church of the Sacred Heart, built in 1932, which has a distinctive, tombstone shaped clocktower.

• Best for location and friendly vibe: Anna. Smartly appointed rooms, friendly staff and a decent location make this a popular Vinohrady choice. It's also convenient, with trams and the metro close by.
• Best for luxury and elegance: Le Palais. Plush late nineteenth-century hotel overlooking the Nusle valley, with the Belle Epoque theme continued throughout the lobby and rooms.
• Best for budget stays: Onefam Míru. The family-run Onefam Míru is a 10-minute walk from Václavské Namesti and Prague’s Old Town. The spacious rooms and dormitories come with hardwood floors and a shared or private bathroom with shower. 

Find more accommodation options in Vinohrady.

Žižkov: where to stay in Prague for bar-hopping

The district of Žižkov, known for its working-class credentials – at one time it was a hotbed of sedition – and vast number of local pubs. The hill that rises to the north of the district is home to the National Monument, a large block of granite that houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On the way up the hill you pass the Army Museum with interesting displays on the role of the Czech army during the two world wars.

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• Best for family: Hidden Art Boutique Residence. Set in Prague, within 1.8 km of Historical Building of the National Museum of Prague and 4.1 km of Municipal House, Hidden Art Boutique Residence offers accommodation with free WiFi.
• Best for location: Hotel Golden City Garni. This independently-owned Hotel Golden City Garni in the well-preserved area of Zizkov, close to the centre of the city, is a great base for exploring Prague.
• Best for boutique stays: Theatrino Hotel. Hotel Theatrino is located in the quarter of Zizkov in central Prague, with its many fashionable restaurants, bars and the TV tower with an observation deck 305 feet high. Famous Wenceslas Square is only 4 tram stops away.

Find more accommodation options in Žižkov.

Karlín: Prague's charming off-the-radar area

The district of Karlín cannot boast without the major historical landmarks that other districts of Prague are famous for. But if you don't mind seeing an alternative part of Prague beyond the old architecture, churches and castles, Karlín is a great place to spend time and one of the best places to stay in Prague, thanks to rapid development that has transformed the area into one of the most dynamic areas of the city.

Although the area is quietly becoming one of Prague's most attractive neighbourhoods, it hasn't always been this way. The Karlín district experienced one of the worst floods in the Czech capital in 2002 when the Vltava River burst its banks.

The flooding of the area caused many of the buildings to be damaged. Although there was a real estate boom in Prague at the time, premises in Karlín were much cheaper than in other parts of the city. This housing situation in the area has naturally attracted members of the creative and artistic community. This has led to the creation of Karlín Studios, home to affordable artistic ateliers, and an attendant gallery.

The charm of Karlín remains the same even as the neighbourhood continues to grow. Here you can still enjoy the intricate plasterwork of the nineteenth-century pompous apartment blocks and take in the beautiful views from the top of Vítkov Hill.

Having been an industrial area in the past, the air quality here has now improved thanks to the development of cycling culture. You can still sample the local national cuisine in a pub or pop into a modern coffee shop for a cup of locally roasted coffee.

• Best for comfort: Hotel Royal Prague. Hotel Royal Prague is set in Prague in the district of Karlín, 2.3 km from Prague National Museum. The hotel is located just 3 subway stations from the centre, only 50 m from subway and tram station Křižíkova. Hotel Royal Prague features a free WiFi throughout the property. Guests can enjoy the on-site bar.
• Best for budget: Adeba Hotel. Hotel Adeba can be found 2 metro stops or 3 tram stops from the very centre of Prague, and only a 5-minute walk from the Florenc Central Bus Station. There is a spa centre with sauna and hot tub on site.
• Best for family stays: Hotel Mucha. Located 656 feet from the Florenc Metro Station, the Hotel Mucha offers easy access to the heart of Prague. The spacious and modern rooms feature free WiFi and tea/coffee makers.

Find more accomodation options in Karlín.

The Czech Republic is famous for more than just its capital. Read our guide to the best things to do in the Czech Republic.

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Ready for a trip to Prague? Check out the snapshot The Rough Guide to Prague. If you travel further in the Czech Republic, read more about the best time to go to the Czech Republic. For inspiration use the itineraries and our local travel experts. A bit more hands on, learn about getting there, getting around the country and where to stay once you are there.

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Top image: Old Town Square © Creative Travel Projects/Shutterstock.