Petřín Hill
A miniature Eiffel Tower on top of a wooded hill, with all of Prague below.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Difficulty
●●○○○
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The Petřín tower was built in 1891 for the Jubilee Exhibition, two years after the Eiffel Tower and modelled on it, at one-fifth scale. It is only sixty-three metres tall, but it stands at three hundred and eighteen metres above sea level: so its top is at roughly the same height as its model's.
The hill itself is a large wooded park, with a mirror maze and a rose garden. The funicular up it is part of the city transport network and takes an ordinary ticket.
Getting there
Funicular from Újezd, on an ordinary transport ticket. Tram 22 serves the foot of the hill.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
The tower is climbed by a spiral staircase of two hundred and ninety-nine steps; the lift is small and usually queued. The funicular closes for several weeks a year for overhaul.
Other places in Prague
Charles BridgeSixteen Gothic arches, thirty baroque statues, and the Vltava underneath since 1357.
Prague CastleThe largest castle complex in the world, with St Vitus Cathedral inside it.
Astronomical ClockSix centuries of mechanism that walks the apostles past on every hour.
Josefov, the Jewish quarterSix synagogues and a cemetery where twelve thousand stones overlap across twelve layers.