New Town (Nové Město)

Why go

Despite its name, Nové Město dates to Charles IV's fourteenth-century expansion. Its open squares and long streets feel different from the tight lanes of Old Town. Wenceslas Square leads to the National Museum, while Charles Square and the New Town Hall reveal another part of the original plan; Národní and the riverside add later political and cultural layers.

What to look for

• Wenceslas Square follows the line of a former horse market toward the National Museum.
• Charles Square and the New Town Hall recall the district's medieval plan.
• Národní Street marks a historic edge between New Town and Old Town.

The full story

Charles IV founded New Town in 1348 outside the older city's walls. The name still describes its relationship to Old Town, although both districts are centuries old. His plan set out large market spaces and a street grid on a scale unlike the medieval core. Wenceslas Square began as a horse market; Charles Square anchored another part of the expansion. Over time, government, commerce, theatres and museums gave the area new roles, and its streets became sites of public protest. The useful way to read Nové Město is through those layers: follow the generous spaces Charles laid out, then notice how later Prague built its civic life along them. This district is too extensive to absorb in one stop, so its squares and connecting streets work better as a framework for a longer walk.

Useful to know

• Treat New Town as a broad walking area, not a single point on a map.
• Choose one axis first: Wenceslas Square to the museum, or Charles Square toward the riverside.
• Add Národní if twentieth-century civic history is your focus.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.