Czech Republic · Hlavní město Praha · Prague
Žižkov, Prague — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Žižkov is a dense district on the hills just east of central Prague. It takes its name from Jan Žižka, the Hussite commander whose forces won the 1420 battle on the Vítkov ridge that rises along its northern edge. One structure fixes the skyline: the Žižkov Television Tower. Long a working-class quarter, it now draws visitors with a heavy concentration of pubs and small music clubs.
About Žižkov
Where to stay in Žižkov
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Choosing Žižkov means trading a central address for lower room rates and a stronger local pulse, one metro stop or a short tram ride from the historic core. Its pubs and clubs run late. Light sleepers should favor the quieter blocks up the hill over the streets around the main squares.
The district's signature sight is the Žižkov Television Tower, whose observation deck and upper restaurant look back over the whole city. Beds here mean converted tenement blocks and a few design hotels rather than palace grandeur. Sightseers still reach the National Museum and the Old Town in minutes by tram.
About Žižkov
What are the main landmarks in Žižkov?
Within Žižkov itself, the one true landmark is the Žižkov Television Tower, a 216-meter mast that stands as the tallest structure in Prague. Just past the southern boundary, on náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad in Vinohrady, rises the brick Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord, with the Basilica of St. Ludmila a short walk on at náměstí Míru. The district's own streets are quieter.
Neighborhood churches and old cemeteries stand in for headline museums. Those sit in the historic core a few tram stops west, led by the National Museum. Climb the tower and the entire city lays itself out below, center and suburbs together, on a clear day.
What is the history of Žižkov?
The name honors Jan Žižka, whose Hussite army routed a crusader force on the Vítkov ridge above the valley in 1420. For centuries the slopes stayed vineyards and fields outside the walls of Prague. Rapid tenement building in the late nineteenth century turned them into a crowded workers' quarter, and Žižkov was chartered as its own town in 1881.
The city absorbed it into Greater Prague in 1922. Its labor politics were strong enough to earn the nickname 'Red Žižkov'.
Where is Žižkov?
Žižkov occupies a ridge-and-valley wedge in eastern Prague, climbing from the rail cutting near the main station up to its own hilltop. The Vítkov ridge cuts it off from Karlín. To the south, across náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, it grades into Vinohrady; to the west it borders Nové Město, the New Town, and the old core.
Trams and a metro line run down its main streets toward the center of Prague.
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Updated July 2026