Spring strolls: Readers reveal lesser-known walking routes through Prague

Walking-tour information guide GuruWalk recently deemed Prague the seventh-best city in the world to explore on foot, outranking Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Vienna.

Here are some additional stats: Prague boasts 200 hundred parks, to say nothing of its exquisite gardens and nearly 5,000 hectares of forested areas. The real dilemma is, of course, where to begin. We turned to the experts, our readers, who shared their inside tips for where to ramble on. Did we miss your favorite? Add it to the list!

Most of you chose Stromovka and Letná as your favorite leafy green spaces for strolling in the Czech capital. Vyšehrad and Petřín were also nominated. Honza P. mentioned another favorite green lung, Grébovka, which gets points for being “surrounded by Vršovice, which offers amazing restaurants, cafés, and other venues.” Another reader said it “smells less like weed than other parks, so it’s my only option in the city.”

Lija had a lot to say about her home park, Vítkov, with its various trails, amazing views, and long, car-free stretches for jogging.” It never really gets old because of that view. There are paved trails, dirt paths, and two long tunnels!” She also suggests “weaving back and forth over the bridges and Náplavka in the early morning, before the crowds are out."

“For a pleasant weekday, we usually pick Divoká Šárka or Radlická,” says Emilia D. Conor chooses nearby Děvín, a prominent hill in Prague straddling the border between Hlubočepy and Radlická with its southern, eastern, and northern slopes bordered by the arc of the Prague Semmering railway line.

Also on Lija's list Prokopské Valley (Prokopské údolí) in Prague 5. She calls it “a great respite on a hot summer day, as it’s shady and green.” She also recommends Klanovice forest. “There is a train station in the middle of the woods and long stretches to feel like you are out of the city. A downside for some might be that it is quite flat. But there is lots to see, even a wildlife park in the middle!”

Evelina also voted for an area in Prague 5, Cibulka, which she called "absolutely beautiful, big, green, and good walking paths." In the Košíře district of Prague, the area comprises a former farmstead and a dilapidated castle ruin with a lookout tower.

Chiming in for locations out of the center, David N. voted for Dolní Počernice Park and Pond. The pond, the largest in the territory of the capital, shares space together with the castle park, which also houses a stone fortress. Another reader suggested Dívčí hrady with its viewpoints of the city, the river, Vyšehrad, and Podolí and Przewalski’s horses grazing.

“On weekends, we aim for less crowded places on the edges of town, like Klanovice or Komořany, which are large enough that it’s easy to find a quiet route. Hostivař and Kunratický les are great for short walks any time of year,” writes Emilia D.

Readers also offered some surprising tips for those who like their strolls with a side of history. Marianne C. recommends the residential area of Baba, located high on a hill close to the Dejvicka metro station, northwest of the center of Prague. “Baba contains 33 villas built between 1928 and 1933 by famous architects like Josef Gočár, Ladislav Žák, and Adolf Loos.”

She also recommends a walk through the Bohnice district in the north of Prague, which includes an abandoned cemetery, a pet cemetery, and a walk in the large park of the Psychiatric Hospital. Her favorite walk ends in sídliště Bohnice, a housing estate.

"Here, you will see the most extended residential block of flats in Prague, 300 meters long with 18 entrances. Bohnice neighborhood is off the beaten tourist track, and you will meet virtually no tourists. The district's character differs entirely from Prague's Baroque and Art Nouveau centers. Sídliště Bohnice is where ‘ordinary’ Praguers live."