Czech Republic · Hlavní město Praha · Prague
Old Town, Prague — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Old Town, or Staré Město, is the medieval core of Prague, curled into a bend of the Vltava on the river's east bank. Its center is Old Town Square. There the Old Town Hall, with its astronomical clock, faces the twin Gothic towers of the Church of Our Lady before Týn. It is the oldest of the towns that later formed the city.
About Old Town
Where to stay in Old Town
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Staying in Old Town drops a visitor straight into Prague's sightseeing core, a few steps from Old Town Square, the astronomical clock, and the Church of Our Lady before Týn. Grand hotels and small guesthouses fill converted burgher houses along the lanes. Almost everything is walkable.
The river crossings to Malá Strana take only minutes on foot. Nights turn loud around the square and calmer toward the Josefov edge, so light sleepers should choose a street back from the center.
About Old Town
What are the main landmarks in Old Town?
Old Town Square anchors the district. On one side stands the Old Town Hall, its tower carrying the astronomical clock that draws crowds on the hour; opposite rise the twin Gothic spires of the Church of Our Lady before Týn. At the eastern edge, the Powder Tower guards the old gate where the medieval road left the walled town.
North toward the river, the Jewish Museum in Prague marks the Josefov quarter. Across the Vltava, Prague Castle crowns the far bank.
What is the history of Old Town?
Old Town is Prague's oldest quarter. It grew in the Middle Ages around a market at a crossing of the Vltava, and merchants, kings, and pilgrims all passed through its gates on the road to the castle. The Old Town Hall was raised in the fourteenth century to govern the merchant town.
For centuries it stood as a separate town, alongside Josefov and the settlements across the river, before they were joined into one city of Prague.
Where is Old Town?
Old Town sits on the Vltava's right bank. The river curves around its western and northern sides, so water forms two of the district's edges before the ground turns inland. Josefov, the old Jewish quarter, lines the northern riverbank. New Town wraps the southern and eastern edges, where a medieval moat once ran and broad avenues now trace the line.
Malá Strana and Prague Castle rise across the water.
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Updated July 2026