Petrin Hill & Tower

In 1889, a group of Czech tourists visited the World Exhibition in Paris, saw the Eiffel Tower, and thought: we need one of those. Two years later, Prague had its own version — a 63.5-meter steel lattice tower perched on top of Petrin Hill, built in just four months for the 1891 Jubilee Exhibition. It's a fraction of the Eiffel Tower's height, but because it sits on a 327-meter hill, the viewing platform is actually higher above sea level than the top of its Parisian inspiration.

The tower was supposed to be temporary. A hundred and thirty years later, it's still here, and climbing its 299 steps has become one of Prague's essential rituals. On a clear day, you can see over 100 kilometers from the top — allegedly all the way to the Snezka peak in the Krkonose Mountains, though you'd need binoculars and extraordinary luck with the weather.

Petrin Hill itself is Prague's green lung: a wooded hillside laced with walking paths, orchards, gardens, and the remnants of the medieval Hunger Wall, built by Charles IV in 1362. The name "Hunger Wall" isn't metaphorical — Charles commissioned it as a public works project specifically to employ Prague's poor and starving during a famine. It's one of the few medieval public welfare projects still standing in Europe.

Take the funicular railway up and walk down. The gardens are gorgeous in spring, the hilltop observatory is quietly excellent, and there's a mirror maze near the tower that has been delighting children and confusing adults since 1891. Petrin is Prague's antidote to the crowds below.