Charles Bridge at dawn

Charles Bridge is the symbol of Prague and, for most of the day, a river of people: portrait painters, musicians, tour groups, queues in front of the statues. The same bridge at six in the morning is empty. Nowhere else in the city does shifting your hours make so much difference.

Why it changes so much

The bridge is narrow and both ends are destinations: the Old Town Square on one side, Malá Strana and the climb to the castle on the other. Crowds flowing both ways bottleneck here. Early, you get thirty statues, mist, and the sound of the Vltava.

Direction

Start on the Old Town side and cross towards Malá Strana. The climb to the castle begins right where you arrive, and a morning ascent is both cooler and quieter.

Misty mornings

On autumn and winter mornings the fog lifts off the river and the tops of the bridge towers disappear. It is the best-known image of Prague and it is pure weather luck — try more than one morning.

One small note

For coffee, turn into the streets at the Malá Strana end. The places that open early on the Old Town side are mostly aimed at visitors and priced accordingly.