Czech Republic · Hlavní město Praha · Prague
Malá Strana, Prague — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Malá Strana is Prague's Lesser Town, the old quarter that climbs the west bank of the Vltava below Prague Castle. Baroque palaces, walled gardens, and cobbled lanes fill the slope between the river and Petřín hill. The quarter is compact. Its heart is Lesser Town Square, where the green dome of St. Nicholas Church stands over the surrounding rooftops.
About Malá Strana
Where to stay in Malá Strana
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Staying in Malá Strana places you on the castle side of the river, a short walk over Charles Bridge from Staré Město. The quarter grows quiet after dark, once the day crowds thin and the cobbled lanes empty out. Most beds sit inside former Baroque palaces, run as small hotels or guesthouses rather than large modern chains.
Rooms are limited. Choose the area for sightseeing on foot, with Prague Castle above and Petřín hill rising at its back. Anyone wanting a wider spread of chain hotels or late-night bars will find more across the Vltava in Prague.
About Malá Strana
What are the main landmarks in Malá Strana?
The quarter's defining monument is St. Nicholas Church, the great Baroque church whose dome and belltower rise over Lesser Town Square. A few streets south on Karmelitská, the Church of Our Lady of Victories holds the wax figure of the Infant Jesus of Prague. Down by the Vltava, the Franz Kafka Museum sits near the foot of Charles Bridge.
Above the rooftops, Prague Castle crowns the hill, its grounds enclosing St. George's Basilica and, in the royal garden, Queen Anne's Summer Palace. Farther along the ridge stand the Loreta shrine and Strahov Monastery, while Petřín Lookout Tower marks the wooded hill to the south.
What is the history of Malá Strana?
Malá Strana was founded as a royal town in the thirteenth century, laid out on the slope below Prague Castle by the Bohemian crown. Its early population were mostly German-speaking settlers invited to the new town. Fire and war repeatedly scarred the quarter, and much of what survives dates from a Baroque rebuilding led by the noble families who raised palaces here.
The domed St. Nicholas Church grew into the great work of that period. In the late eighteenth century the Lesser Town was joined with the other historic quarters into a single city of Prague.
Where is Malá Strana?
The district occupies the left bank of the Vltava, wedged between the water and the castle hill above. Charles Bridge crosses from here to Staré Město on the opposite shore. A grid of steep lanes lies below.
Nerudova Street climbs from Lesser Town Square toward Prague Castle, while Karmelitská runs south past the Church of Our Lady of Victories, and Kampa island sits along the riverfront behind the narrow Čertovka channel.
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Updated July 2026