The first few weeks I was in Prague, everyone told me that I HAD to go to Prague Castle. Tour guides, new friends, and teachers insisted that it has the best view of the city and a beautiful church to boot. So, after checking with my favorite online travel guides to see if it is as beloved by tourists as it is by locals (it is), my roommates and I navigated our way to the top of the castle. After seeing it, I had to agree that it is beautiful and breathtaking and everything everyone said it would be. But it is not my favorite castle in Prague.

I discovered my favorite castle in Prague a few weeks ago when a few friends and I were wandering down the bank of the Vltava River after having a picnic lunch by the edge of the water. We noticed a structure overlooking the river from the top of a nearby hill that we had always seen from our apartment and decided to finally investigate it. After reaching the top of the hill, we deduced that we had found the much less famous other castle in Prague called Vyšehrad. Why it is less famous is beyond me because it is one of the most serenely beautiful places that I have ever been. Rather than overlooking the city center, the Vyšehrad overlooks the outer areas of Prague as well as famous sights such as Petrin Hill and the Prague Castle. Yet the locals that I know all admit that they have yet to visit the sight.

Though it is not located in the city center and might require some wandering beyond the beaten path, it is so worth visiting. This haven offers a more peaceful environment than anywhere else I have been within the city limits of Prague, and with a picnic and a blanket, it promises the perfect escape from the bustling city without going very far at all.