Praguers cross the New Town under cover: a web of early-20th-century arcades (pasáže) with cinemas, cafés and shops runs through the blocks off Wenceslas Square. This walk links the Koruna palace, the Světozor passage with its art cinema and the hidden Franciscan Garden, the Lucerna palace built by Václav Havel's grandfather, the Art Nouveau U Nováků store and the functionalist Fénix palace.
Best time: Late afternoon or a rainy day; finish with a film at Světozor or Lucerna
The route, stop by stop
- 1Koruna Palace and its glass dome
Late Art Nouveau palace (Antonín Pfeifer and Matěj Blecha, opened 7 March 1914) at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Na Příkopě, one of the first reinforced-concrete buildings; it held the famous self-service 'Automat Koruna' buffet, now gone. 10 min.
- 2Světozor passage and Kino Světozor
Cinema opened 8 December 1918 under the passage of the Czech Bank palace (1914-1918, Osvald Polívka) at Wenceslas Square and Vodičkova; Kinoautomat ran here in 1968; an art-house premiere cinema since 2004. 20 min.
- 3Franciscan Garden
The Světozor passage leads into the Franciscan Garden (stored place), a quiet green court a minute from Wenceslas Square. 15 min.
- 4Lucerna Palace and Passage
Built 1907-1921 by Vácslav Havel, grandfather of President Václav Havel; one of Prague's first reinforced-concrete buildings with a glass-roofed passage; national cultural monument since 2017. Kino Lucerna, opened 3 December 1909 (453 seats), is one of Europe's oldest working cinemas. David Černý's 'Kůň' (1999), St Wenceslas astride his dead horse, hangs where the passage forks; Lucerna Music Bar is in the basement. 30 min.
- 5U Nováků Palace
Art Nouveau department store at Vodičkova 34 by Osvald Polívka (1901-1904), one of the first department stores in Bohemia, named after the Novák brothers' tailoring and textile business; protected monument since 1958. 10 min outside.
- 6Palác Fénix
Functionalist commercial palace at Wenceslas Square 56, built from 1927 for the Viennese Phoenix insurance company; its passage holds shops, restaurants and the Studio DVA cinema and theatre. 15 min.
More walks in Prague
- Royal Way: Powder Tower to Prague Castle
- Josefov: synagogues of the Jewish Quarter
- Strahov and Loreta down to the Malá Strana gardens
- New Town riverside to Vyšehrad
- Castle gardens to Letná and Holešovice
- Vinohrady and Žižkov: parks, Plečnik and Vítkov
- Karlín: barracks, basilica and the flood-revived quarter
- Holešovice: slaughterhouse market, courtyards and DOX
- Cubist and Rondocubist Prague
- Střešovice and Břevnov: villas, trams and a monastery
- South Vinohrady to Vršovice: Mírák, Grébovka and Gočár's church