Prague for the Family: Top Things to Do with Kids
With its towering spires, looming castle and cobbled street, Prague offers so much for children to be excited by and also helps expend their energy. Here are some our favorite ways to enjoy time with kids in the Golden City.
Take a family-friendly tour with Insight Cities
Whether it’s your first time visiting or you just want to learn more about the stories that make Prague, Insight Cities can help you and your kids discover more about the city with a hundred spires. Our guides are certified experts in the topics they cover, and have the personality to keep kids entertained and adults interested.
We offer a special family tour that caters to kids and adults alike. Kids will go on a scavenger hunt for demons in Wallenstein Gardens and for Medieval door signs in Old Town, while adults learn of the city’s myths and legends hidden in plain sight. We can also customize your tour based on your children’s ages and interests so they can take away some truly special knowledge and experience that will stick with them long after you’ve left the city behind. Contact us to book your guided family adventure through Prague
Outdoor activities for kids in Prague
Take the funicular up Petrin Hill
Petrin Hill is worth the ascent for awe-inspiring sights of Prague when you gain the top, but that steep hill can be tough for little legs to climb. Taking the funicular up makes the climb a treat while also provides unique sights of the city below, making for a charming ride.
Visit the Mirror Maze
Atop Petrin Hill, just a few steps from Petrin Tower, stands a 19th-century Mirror Maze offering a bit of funhouse-style entertainment. Resembling a small castle on the outside, the inside contains a labyrinth of mirrors, including a Hall of Laughter featuring distorting mirrors that reflect a funny-looking self back at you.
Visit Prague Zoo
If you have animal lovers in your family and a day to spare during your stay, Prague Zoo is one of the most beautiful zoos in the world, resembling a lovely park by the bending Vltava with its many animal exhibits, most very well done. This is our favorite respite from the tourist crowds and the city bustle. Featuring over 5,000 animals from more than 600 species, Prague Zoo has just about the entire animal kingdom covered. Among the zoo’s VIP residents are our pride and joy: the second pangolins to be adopted in a European zoo (including the first one born on this continent), orangutans, polar bears, echidnas, and gorillas.
Prague Zoo also has a super playground for kids, with fantastic climbing structures and a chair lift. The zoo, situated on a hill close to the Vltava river, covers 143 acres, so make sure to plan for plenty of time to stroll through as you go in search of your kids’ favorite critters.
Letna Park
Close to Prague Castle, Letna Park hosts an ice rink in the winter and circus festival Letni Letna in the summer. During the warmer months you can walk through the park and have a break at the beer garden that boasts a beautiful view of the city while the kids play in the playground. Alternatively, you can walk from the castle to lunch at Hanavský Pavilion, an exemplar of Prague’s art nouveau architecture, or stroll past the giant Metronome sculpture.
Children’s Island
Across the river from Old Town and just a short meander from Petrin Hill lies Children’s Island. The island’s huge playground includes sand pits and a zipline, with structures suited for both older and younger kids, and sports facilities include a soccer field and basketball and tennis courts. On a sunny summer day you can relax in the shade while the kids work off their extra energy on the playground.
Stromovka Park
A little ways from the main sites in Prague’s old town lies a forest park that comes ablaze with beautiful fall foliage in the autumn. At 250 acres, Stromovka (the former Royal Deer Garden) is Prague’s largest park and is home to its own collection of historical sites, such as a late-Renaissance gate and the Governor’s Summer House. The park also features ponds and is brimming over with playgrounds. There is also a planetarium on the eastern edge for the astronomically inclined.
Insight Cities can help guide you and your kids on an outdoor adventure to discover the secrets of this hilly historic city, with experts in history, art, and keeping kids of all ages engaged. Contact us today to organize your customized family tour.
Indoor Activities for Kids in Prague
Image Black Light Theatre
As a unique Prague tradition, Image Black Light Theatre is a can’t-miss for theater lovers. Combining various theatrical and musical disciplines such as pantomime, black theater, and dance, all Black Light Theatre productions boast unique visual elements that have wowed audiences since 1989. With eye-popping visuals and dazzling musical numbers, the theatre’s productions mesmerize audiences young and old.
Children’s Museum at the National Museum at Wenceslas Square
Nested inside the National Museum atop Wenceslas Square, the Children’s Museum is an extensive exhibition covering three halls and ten themes. The first hall features an interactive wall containing a set of games controlled by throwing balls, with each game covering a theme like senses or development. The centerpiece of the second hall is a giant globe representing a fantasy planet, and the third hall is full of books, tools, and activity sheets for kids to synthesize what they’ve learned. Photography-curious kids can stop by in the dark room to learn about analog photography and the science of light.
Lumia Gallery Prague
Lumia Gallery is a digital art gallery featuring light installations in darkly-lit rooms, evoking imagery from the Black Light Theatre, and the space invites interactivity from visitors of all ages. Wander through tunnels of light, observe fascination LED projections, and play with interactive installations that allow you to manipulate what you see.
Hamleys Prague (now The Playground)
Formerly Hamley’s, The Playground continues the indoor playland’s legacy, with a Venetian carousel, a mirror maze, an arcade and VR room, and laser tag. The Playground has also added a butterfly house on the top floor for amateur lepidopterists.
Seasonal Activities for kids in Prague
Letni Letna
Prague’s annual circus festival Letni Letna is a two-week spectacular of contemporary circus acts and theater performances. The event attracts audiences and performers from all over the world, with cream-of-the-crop acrobats, dancers, and other performers headlining the festival. The vast majority of performances are open-air, or take place under big tents situated in Letna Park, taking full advantage of the warm August evenings. As an international festival, Letni Letna features many English-friendly performances and includes a program for kids.
Paddle boats on the Vltava River
If you and the kids need a break from walking the city streets in sweltering summer heat, rent a paddle boat to take on the Vltava to drink in unique views and relax on the water. Visit Slovansky Ostrov to rent the boat for an hour or two.
Want to learn even more about this Central European capital, and what makes this beautiful city so captivating? Take a tour with us at Insight Cities. We have guides that not only know their local history but also know how to make history and the sites relatable to kids. Get in touch at info@insightcities.com to organize a custom tour.