How to experience Dan Brown's Prague before it hits Netflix

Imagine standing on Charles Bridge without a single person around, or stepping inside the Klementinum’s stunning Baroque library. At Praguephoria in Malá Strana, you can experience both on a virtual-reality carriage ride and guided tour that brings many of the settings of Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets to life.

With Netflix currently filming its new Robert Langdon series right here in Prague, it’s a fun and different way to explore the book's world before seeing it on screen. You start off in a historic carriage wearing a VR headset and then take a guided walk through the streets, squares, and landmarks tied to the story.

You don’t need to be visiting Czechia's capital to be curious about the places Langdon explores. Whether you’ve just finished the book or have friends coming to stay, the evening offers a reason to take another look at streets you might usually hurry through. Here’s what the experience includes, and how you can step straight into the story yourself.

Praguephoria’s team 3D-scanned Prague’s historic monuments and built them into a virtual-reality journey. You take your seat in a historic-style carriage, put on a headset and watch the city come into view. The company found a way to keep the experience alive that is fully humane: no horses, just the feeling of the ride, where the carriage itself stays still, but the experience makes you “feel” like it’s in motion.

Throughout the ride, a black lion narrator tells stories from Czech history. Four guests ride in each carriage, with audio available in English, Czech, German, and Spanish, alongside five new languages currently being introduced and tested: Italian, French, Russian, Polish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

The biggest advantage is getting to see some of Prague’s most popular landmarks from a whole new perspective – without crowds, and, in some cases, access only VIPs like Dan Brown could pull off.

During the virtual ride, you’ll feel like you’re inside the magnificent Baroque library of the Klementinum, which visitors normally glimpse from the doorway. You’ll descend into the underground of Vyšehrad, where original statues from Charles Bridge are kept, and cross Charles Bridge completely empty, the way almost no one gets to see it.

Brown’s latest thriller features Vyšehrad, the Klementinum and Charles Bridge in the quiet before dawn, so for readers of The Secret of Secrets, as well as locals, these places will sound familiar. Seeing them through a headset offers a different perspective before heading out to explore the city itself.

The starting point for the Evening Tour with VR is a few steps from the Church of Our Lady Victorious and the Infant Jesus of Prague, which Langdon visits in the novel. After the 10-minute virtual ride, guests head out for the evening guided walk through Prague, which lasts approximately two-and-a-half-hours.

Each group visits real locations from the book which connects the history, symbols and details behind them. The route includes Charles Bridge, the John Lennon Wall, Čertovka, Křižovnická, the Klementinum, Old Town Square, Kinský Palace and the Jewish Quarter.

The carriage experience is also available on its own for those who prefer a shorter visit. The original 10-minute ride is available for CZK 390 per person, alongside a brand-new extended 20-minute VR journey for CZK 490 per person, which takes visitors to even more iconic locations across Prague, including Charles Square, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, Celetná Street, and Old Town Square.

The experience is suitable for visitors ages 10 and older. Gift vouchers, valid for 12 months, are also available, alongside group bookings for companies and schools.

Praguephoria is an independent experience. It is not affiliated with Dan Brown or the novel.