11 Prague Hotels on the Quiet Bank of the Vltava

The Old Town Square is the most beautiful square in central Europe and it does not go quiet. Bars around it run until three or four in the morning, stag groups have been a fixture for two decades, the cobbles amplify everything, and the buildings enclosing the space bounce sound back into it. A room facing that square in July is a room you will not sleep in.

Four hundred metres west, across the Charles Bridge, Malá Strana is silent by ten. Same city, same view of the same castle, and a completely different night.

Why the left bank is the answer

Prague's geography is unusually simple. The Vltava runs north through the middle. On the right bank sit the Old Town and the New Town, which hold the square, the astronomical clock, the Jewish quarter and almost all of the nightlife. On the left bank sit Malá Strana, the Lesser Town, and Hradčany, the castle district, which hold the castle, the palace gardens, the baroque churches and very little noise.

They are connected by the Charles Bridge, which takes eight minutes to walk and is empty at seven in the morning and solid from nine until dark.

Staying on the left bank means you cross that bridge twice a day at the hours when it is worth crossing, and you go home to a quarter where the loudest thing is a tram.

The eleven below are grouped by bank.

Malá Strana and the castle district

The left bank. Baroque palaces, walled gardens, the castle above, and quiet after ten.

Augustine Hotel, Prague occupies a group of buildings including a functioning fourteenth-century Augustinian monastery, with a garden, a brewery in the cellar that the monks originally ran, and the most peaceful setting in the city.

Mandarin Oriental, Prague sits in a set of baroque houses below the castle with a spa, a garden and rooms looking up at the palace walls. It is the most comfortable hotel on this bank.

Golden Well occupies a seventeenth-century building on the castle steps with a walled garden and a small room count. It is the most personal stay in Prague and the views are the best in the city.

Aria Hotel Prague sits on a Malá Strana square in a restored palace with a rooftop terrace, a music theme running through the rooms and a very good restaurant.

Alchymist Grand Hotel and Spa occupies a group of houses near the Charles Bridge with a spa, painted ceilings and an interior that is more theatrical than the rest of this bank.

Pytloun Kampa Garden Hotel Prague sits on Kampa island beside the river with a garden running to the water and the quietest position in central Prague. It is the value pick on the left bank.

The right bank, away from the square

The Old Town and the riverfront, chosen carefully. There are quiet corners here and the square is not one of them.

Four Seasons Hotel Prague occupies a riverside building facing the castle across the water, with the best views from the right bank and the most consistent service in the city.

Andaz Prague, By Hyatt sits in a converted 1920s building near the river with a rooftop, contemporary rooms and a good bar. It is two streets from the square and insulated from it.

Hotel Paris Prague is the 1904 art nouveau landmark near the Municipal House, with a facade and a cafe that are worth seeing regardless of where you stay.

Almanac X Alcron Prague occupies a functionalist 1930s building on Wenceslas Square with a rooftop restaurant and the largest rooms in the New Town.

The Emblem Prague Hotel sits in the Old Town in a converted building with a rooftop terrace and small design-led rooms at a lower rate. It is the best value on the right bank.

What we have left off

The hotels directly on and around the Old Town Square are excluded, including several with genuinely beautiful rooms. The noise from the bars beneath them runs until three or four in the morning through the summer, and no amount of glazing solves a cobbled square that acts as an amplifier.

What to do

Cross the Charles Bridge at seven in the morning. It is the difference between a photograph of a bridge and a photograph of a crowd, and it takes one early alarm.

Do the castle complex early too, and prioritise St Vitus and the Golden Lane. The Strahov library above it is small, extraordinary and usually empty.

Walk the Petřín hill for the view, or take the funicular up and walk down through the orchards.

Eat away from the centre. Vinohrady and Karlín have the restaurants that Czechs use, and the beer in an ordinary pub is better than anything served in the tourist streets at four times the price.

The Municipal House, the Mucha museum and the Jewish quarter's synagogues each take an hour and are the things visitors most often skip.

Practical notes

Václav Havel airport is 30 to 45 minutes by taxi or the airport bus to the metro. There is no train link.

May, June, September and early October are ideal. July and August are hot and extremely crowded. December has the markets and is cold and beautiful. January and February are cheap, grey and quiet.

Trams are excellent and the metro is fast. Both banks are walkable and the hills on the left bank are real.

Questions people actually ask

Is the Old Town Square really that loud?

In summer, yes, until the small hours. In winter it is considerably quieter. Either way, the left bank is the safer booking.

Is Malá Strana inconvenient?

It is eight minutes across the bridge to the Old Town and a tram or a climb to the castle. That is the whole inconvenience.

How many nights?

Three. Two covers the castle and the old town; the third gets you Vyšehrad, Vinohrady or a day out to Kutná Hora.

Is Prague still cheap?

The centre is not, particularly for food. Two streets out it is very good value, and the beer remains among the cheapest in Europe.

If you only book one

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