4 Best Sights in Prague, Czech Republic

A jumbled collection of tiny, ancient, brightly colored houses crouched under the fortification wall looks remarkably like a set for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Purportedly, these were the lodgings for an international group of alchemists whom Rudolf II brought to the court to produce gold. But the truth is a little less romantic: the houses were built during the 16th century for the castle guards. By the early 20th century, Golden Lane had become the home of poor artists and writers. Franz Kafka, who lived at No. 22 in 1916 and 1917, described the house on first sight as "so small, so dirty, impossible to live in, and lacking everything necessary." But he soon came to love the place. As he wrote to his fiancée, "Life here is something special, to close out the world not just by shutting the door to a room or apartment but to the whole house, to step out into the snow of the silent lane." The lane now houses tiny stores selling books, music, and crafts, as well as including some exhibitions on former residents and their professions (including some tucked away to the left of the entrance). The houses are cute, but crowds can be uncomfortable, and the fact remains that you are paying money for the privilege of walking down a narrow street. Within the walls above Golden Lane, a timber-roof corridor (enter between No. 23 and No. 24) is lined with replica suits of armor and weapons (some of them for sale), mock torture chambers, and a shooting gallery.

As you exit Golden Lane, you will also have an opportunity to visit Daliborka on the same ticket. This round cannon tower dates back to 1496 and gained notoriety through the centuries for its use as a brutal prison. Some of the instruments of torture used on its inmates, including the knight Dalibor of Kozojedy (for whom the tower is named), are now on display.

This is the main thoroughfare connecting Old Town Square and Náměstí Republiky; it's packed day and (most of the) night. Many of the street's façades are styled in the classic 17th- or 18th-century manner, but appearances are deceiving: nearly all of the houses in fact have foundations that, astonishingly, date back to the 12th century. Be sure to look above the street-level storefronts to see the fine examples of baroque detail.

This steep street used to be the last leg of the "Royal Way," the king's procession before his coronation (naturally, he rode a horse rather than climbing). It was named for 19th-century Czech journalist and poet Jan Neruda and has a historical quirk: until 18th-century reforms, house numbering was unknown in Prague. Before this, each house bore a name, depicted pictorially on the façade. Check out No. 6 here, U červeného orla (At the Red Eagle), and No. 12, U tří housliček (At the Three Fiddles), where the Edlinger violin-making family once lived. Two palaces designed by baroque architect Giovanni Santini (who lived at No. 14), are worth pausing at: the Morzin Palace, on the left at No. 5, has an allegorical "night and day" façade created in 1713 by Ferdinand Brokoff, of Charles Bridge statue fame. Across the street at No. 20 is the Thun-Hohenstein Palace, with its eagle gateway designed by the other great bridge statue sculptor, Mathias Braun. Keep an eye out for the winding passageway under the arch of No. 13, a typical feature of this quarter; note No. 33, the Bretfeld Palace, where Mozart and Casanova stayed when Don Giovanni had its world premiere in 1787.