Visiting Prague [Part 4/5]: Charles Bridge and Little Quarter

We are finishing visiting the four major districts of Prague in today's post, which will further explore the Little Quarter in which you will also find the Charles Bridge, one of the more prominent sights from Prague. This is a part of the city that has hardly any new buildings since the 18th century. It was founded in 1257 and built on the slopes below the Castle Hill with magnificent views across the river to the Old Town. 

This is a multi-part travel series. Other parts include:
Part One: Old Town Square
Part Two: Jewish Quarter and the river Vltava
Part Three: Prague Castle and Gardens
Part Four: Charles Bridge and Little Quarter
Part Five: A Night in Prague

click on the images for a bigger view

The day started out early as we departed with the metro to the Malostranske namesti station, which brings you to the Little Quarter district. There were many people out already and since this is a very popular part of the city, be prepared for crowds. But there are also many little corners here, in which you can find rest from the busy streets.

Vojan Park in Prague

We discovered this little park by accident while roaming the streets. The whole park is walled in, and only a small entrance through one of the side streets gives you a complete view of the place. Everything was in full bloom and we took this opportunity to get some rest from walking.

It was a great day anyway, but the tranquility here was a huge contrast to the busy city life that is surrounding it. I highly recommend spending a couple of minutes here any taking a stroll.

Roaming the streets of Little Quarter

Besides the Charles Bridge, which will be discussed later in this post, other sights worth visiting in the Little Quarter district are: the Wallenstein palace, which was the first secular building of the Baroque era in Prague, and it also includes wonderful gardens; then you have the Church of St. Nicholas (see below), Vojan Park, and the Petrin Park which can be reached by a funicular railway (beware, entrance to the funicular is crowded with tourists, come early). The Petrin Park gives you a great overview of the whole city.

Church of St. Nicholas

In the image below you can see the Church of St. Nicolas looking down onto the Little Quarter district. Building began in 1703 and the last touches were placed in 1761. It's a grand church and a place definitely worth a visit, much like the  St. Vitus church in the Prague Castle district.

The Charles Bridge

Prague's most familiar monument was founded by Charles IV in 1357, hence the name, and it connects the Old Town district with the Little Quarter district. In the images that follow, let us take a stroll down the bridge, all the way across the river Vltava, and to the entrance to the Old Town. Again, there are a lot of people here, so beware of crowds and pickpockets. 

At the beginning of the walk you will not be crossing the river, but parts of the Little Quarter district. Charming sights like the next image are very common, and you can easily spent too much time observing the streets from here.

Many of the statues on the bridge are copies, and the originals are kept in the National Museum. The entrance to the bridge on both sides is marked by the Bridge Tower. Below is a view of the Manus Bridge that we visited in part two.

The bridge is very wide, and gives plenty of space for exploration. Besides the statues you will find local artists selling paintings and making caricatures, as well as souvenir stands.

The bridge gives plenty of opportunities to get some unique views of the city, like in the image below, the Prague Castle and the orange roofs of the houses below are almost like a painting.

In the image below you can see one of the many statues on the bridge. This one depicts the Madonna and St. Dominic and St. Thomas.

Eventually we crossed the bridge and entered the Old Town district that we explored in part one of this series. The huge gates of the Bridge Tower were an impressive sight up close. 

The final part of this series will show Prague at night. It's a magical time when the city lights up and everything transforms yet again. So I hope to see you back for the finale.

End of Part Four
To be continued...

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