PRAGUE
Fri 30 Oct 2026
Happy Halloween! Grab a lantern, we’re off to Prague.
On Tuesday we threw coins in the Trevi and ate our weight in carbonara. This week the nights are drawing in, so we’re heading somewhere with a few more ghost stories.
Prague is made for this time of year: misty mornings on Charles Bridge, gothic spires, candlelit cellars and a legend on almost every corner. Wrap up warm and bring your appetite.
Halloween around the world
Ireland. Halloween grew out of Samhain, the Celtic festival marking the start of winter. Derry hosts Europe’s biggest Halloween festival, 28 Oct to 1 Nov this year, with a parade and fireworks on the 31st.
Scotland. Children go “guising”, dressing up and performing a song or joke at the door in exchange for treats.
Mexico. Día de los Muertos, on 1 and 2 November, fills homes and cemeteries with marigolds, candles and ofrendas to welcome loved ones back for a visit.
Czech Republic. On 2 November, Dušičky (All Souls’ Day), families light candles on graves, and cemeteries glow after dark.
48 HOURS IN PRAGUE
Ghost stories, gothic spires and goulash
Day one: Old Town and the Golem
Morning. Get to Charles Bridge early, ideally before 8am, when the mist is still on the river and it’s just you, a few photographers and thirty stone saints. Then wander into Old Town Square and catch the Astronomical Clock striking the hour. Look for the skeleton, Death, ringing his bell as the apostles parade past the little windows.
Afternoon. Look for a pub offering a denní menu, the weekday set lunch, usually soup and a main. Try svíčková, beef in a creamy vegetable sauce with bread dumplings and cranberries. Then explore Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter. Legend says the Golem, a clay giant made by Rabbi Loew, still lies in the attic of the Old New Synagogue.
Evening. Join a ghost walk through the Old Town lanes after dark, full of headless knights and tragic lovers. Then warm up in a cellar pub with a Czech lager poured with a thick creamy head. Locals like it that way, so don’t send it back.
Day two: The castle and the hills
Morning. Walk up to Prague Castle, one of the largest ancient castle complexes in the world. The main circuit ticket is 450 CZK and covers St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane, a row of tiny colourful houses where Kafka once wrote. Go early, as the queues grow fast.
Afternoon. Wander down through Malá Strana, then ride the Petřín funicular, newly reopened after a two-year rebuild, up through the orchards to the little lookout tower that looks like a mini Eiffel Tower. Down by the river, the John Lennon Wall is a colourful stop on the way back.
Evening. Head to Vyšehrad, the hilltop fortress full of old legends, for views over the river as the lamps come on. Its cemetery, where Dvořák is buried, is beautifully atmospheric at dusk. Finish with goulash and dumplings in a cosy pub, and a trdelník if you must. It’s more tourist treat than Czech tradition, but nobody’s judging.
Local tip: The Czech Republic uses the koruna, not the euro. Pay in crowns, and when a card machine asks if you’d like to pay in euros or pounds, always choose CZK, as you’ll pay less. Avoid the street money changers around the Old Town.
TODAY’S HACK
Do Europe by rail pass
Prague is a brilliant base for hopping around by train. Direct trains reach Dresden in about 2 hours 15 minutes, Vienna in about 4 hours, Berlin in about 4 and a half hours and Budapest in about 7 hours.
How to do it
Pick the right pass. Interrail is for people who live in Europe, and Eurail is the same idea for everyone else. A flexible pass gives you a set number of travel days within a month, so one pass covers several cities.
Check the maths. A pass tends to pay off with three or more long journeys, while a single short hop is usually cheaper as a normal ticket.
Book seats where you need them. Many fast and night trains need a paid reservation on top of the pass, and they sell out, so book early.
LOST IN TRANSLATION
“No”
NOH
WHAT YOU HEARD
“No.”
WHAT THEY MEANT
“Yeah.”
In casual Czech, “no” is a relaxed way of saying “yeah”, so a waiter replying “no, no” to your order is agreeing with you, not refusing. The proper word for yes is “ano” (AH-no), which sounds even more like “no” to English ears. And a cheerful “děkuji” (DYEH-koo-yee), thank you, always earns a smile.
Tuesday’s photo: It was Burano, the little island in the Venetian lagoon, about 45 minutes by water bus from Venice. Its houses are painted in strict, approved colours, and the island has been famous for its needle lace for centuries. Well done if you got it.
GUESS WHERE?
Where in the world is this?
Reply with your guess and we’ll reveal the answer next week. Photo: George M. Groutas, CC BY 2.0
That’s everything from me this week. I’m writing this with a mug of something warm and the heating finally on, so tell me your plans. Are you dressing up, carving a pumpkin or hiding from trick-or-treaters? Hit reply and let me know where you’re headed next. See you soon!