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Prague with Kids: Cruising the Vltava River

One of the things we like to do when visiting a city by a body of water is go on a sightseeing cruise. It’s a wonderful way to see a city despite it being full of tourists. We’ve also used it as an orientation to see where the attractions are located. Prague’s Vltava River (pronounced vuhl-tuh-vuh) cuts across the city center and is the country’s longest river. There were several river cruises that range from a sightseeing tour or ones offering lunch and dinner or live music. We saw various types and sizes of boats for these cruises with indoor and outdoor seating areas.

Prague river cruise boat

We decided on a two-hour cruise as our first activity. Unfortunately, this didn’t include a tour guide narrating the attractions we were passing or audio guides. We used the river map and our guide books to spot attractions and read their descriptions. There were less than 20 passengers on the boat with us which made it more relaxing. We saw many interesting things along the way in addition to Prague’s waterside attractions.

Prague river cruise Boats

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral’s spires dominated the skyline and the river has one of the best vantage points to admire these historic sites. The Prague Castle complex includes courtyards, churches, museums and is considered the city’s historical and political center. This is also the official residence of the Czech Republic’s president.

Prague Castle

There are 18 bridges that cross the Vltava in Prague. The most famous is the medieval, 14th century Charles Bridge. It connected the Old Town area with the Lesser Town (Mala Strana) and the Prague castle complex.

Prague Charles Bridge2

This pedestrian bridge has 30 statues lining it and an interesting array of street performers and vendors. We caught a glimpse of the busy activity on the bridge from the boat. Many of the passengers (including my kids) were more than happy to wave back to the people waving at us from the bridge.

Prague Charles Bridge statues

We loved seeing the ornate and unique building facades we passed.

Prague building facade

The many historic and colorful buildings along the Vltava provided an ideal way to see rows of diverse architectural styles Prague is famous for without all the walking.

Prague river bank

The city escaped major structural damages from World War II bombings so many of its buildings have retained their old world glory.

Prague buildings

Prague’s predominantly Baroque, Gothic and Art Noveau architectural styles are such a big draw for this city. While seeing it up close was wonderful, seeing it from the water and from a distance also made me fully appreciate their beauty even more.

Prague buildings4

This was the stunning National Theatre glistening under the sun. We didn’t get to go inside but pictures of its interior looked just as beautiful.

Prague National Theater

We also saw some modern architecture including the Dancing House or Nationale-Nederlanden building. This curvy, glass building was completed in 1996 and stood out among the historic buildings. It portrayed a couple dancing and has also been nicknamed Fred and Ginger (after dancers Fred Astair & Ginger Rogers). The top floor is home to a French restaurant (Celeste) while the rest of the building are occupied by offices.

Prague Dancing House

Sometimes, it’s the little things that get my kids’ attention. They were excited when they saw this flock of swans on the river bank. We never did make it back to see them up close.

Vltava river swans

The Vltava River has commercial and recreational traffic but also part of Prague’s rich history. It’s hard not to notice the flood closures, navigation channels and weirs along the river. Weirs are river barriers used to alter the water flowing to prevent flooding, divert water and make them more navigable. Prague was flooded a few weeks before our visit when water went above the weirs but luckily, everything was back to normal when we were there.

Prague Vltava river weir

My husband and kids’ favorite part during our cruise was crossing the Smíchov floodgates or Smíchov Canal lock by Children’s Island. This is the busiest canal lock along the river and used for river cruising traffic so we waited here for several minutes. The locks bypassed the weirs. It had top and bottom gates used to allow vessels to travel from one water level to another. This is an animation that shows how the locks work and gives a far better picture and description than I could.

When we traveled upstream, we entered a gate and a chamber where we saw our boat rise as the chamber was slowly filled with water. The openings on the gates allow the water to flow in and out of the chamber adjusting the water level. As soon as we reached the desired water level, the gates opened for us to continue our cruise.

Prague Smíchov Canal

In reverse, we saw our boat go down as the water level was lowered on our return trip.  This was the difference in water height from the wall barrier.

Prague Smíchov Canal

For my husband, the engineer, this was worth the cruise and an added bonus. The kids thought this was “so cool”. My seven-year-old son was fascinated with the mechanics here and thought the water disappearing was “like magic”.

Prague Smíchov Canal

It was hard not to miss the two dominant spires of Saints Peter and Paul Church on a cliff. This area is known as Vysehrad. It was once a castle and fort used as a royal residence until 1140 before the rulers moved to Prague Castle. We visited a large park in here and it was a lovely escape from the busy and crowded streets of Prague.

Prague Vysehrad

The Vysehrad tunnel was used as a tram passage and one of the more elaborate tunnels we’ve seen.

Prague Vysehrad tunnel

We sailed past Vysehrad and turned around a few miles later. Along the way, we saw Prague’s attempt at a beach resort.

Prague river resort

We also saw other versions of cruising the river.

Vltava river cruise

Cruising on the Vltava river allows you to see what options you have to enjoy life on the river. How about staying at a “boatel”? This particular one had over 80 rooms.

Prague Botel

We saw a few floating restaurants and ones that offered dining along the river. We ate at this Italian restaurant called Marina Grosseto Ristorante which was a boat built on top of a cargo ship. It was located by the start/end of the cruise and had great food, service and big portions for reasonable prices.

Prague Marina Ristorante

The Vltava river tour allowed us to see Prague’s sights from a different perspective. It was also relaxing. There was a lot to see along the way and our kids actually didn’t complain of boredom or fell asleep. In our family, that’s a great gauge for good value for our money. No matter what type of cruise you prefer, we do recommend a cruise along the Vltava river to enhance your Prague experience and visit.

Prague river cruise

Cruising Vltava River Tips & Basics

  • Depending on your interest and time restrictions, look into narrative tours. The narrative tours will give more insight into the various attractions along the river. But, most of the 1-hour tours don’t go on the canal locks.
  • Many of the tours start along the landing stage under Cechuv Bridge.
  • Read reviews carefully. There are many river cruise options and many companies offer them with many add-ons.
  • We did the Two Hour City Cruise from Grayline Tours. Price: $21 US (16 euros) with no discounts for kids over 2 years old.
  • Check your hotel for discounts and coupons on these river cruises.
  • Reserve ahead if you’re set on a particular cruise or time. We walked up the ticket window for the 4:30 PM cruise and got lucky.
  • Look into a combined city bus tour before or after the river cruise.

Our other river/canal cruises:

 *Have you taken a cruise on the Vltava River? What are your favorite river cruises?

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Prague cruise

42 thoughts on “Prague with Kids: Cruising the Vltava River”

  1. I would absolutely want to go on this cruise too. But, I like what you shared about not having a guide or audio. In a foreign country I would definitely want that. Great pictures! :)

  2. We also love cruises! We went on one in Amsterdam in July and really enjoyed it.

    Now you inspired me to go back to Prague and follow in your footsteps! :)

  3. They are always advertising European river cruises over here, and I have a couple of friends who have done one. Your post certianly confirms it is a great way to travel. Fabulous pics – thanks.
    Happy travels and have a great week.

  4. I really like that Fred and Ginger House. You’re right. It really does stand out. I’ve never been through a canal lock and have always wanted to experience one. My kids and hubby would be fascinated, too.

  5. I agree, things look so much better on the water of the key attractions especially when you can see some wonderful reflections or things you would never see coming from a water vantage point.

  6. Hi Mary, thanks for taking me on your cruise on Vltava! I didn’t do the cruise thinking it was too touristy. But it looks so beautiful and gives different perspective of the sights. Wow, that attempt on the beach is interesting:) If your family enjoyed the canal locks then you should do the Panama Canal! Love love the last photo with the kids. So adorable!

    1. Thanks Marisol! Cruising on the Panama Canal has been on my travel wish list for a long time. Crossing my fingers for it to happen soon. I know what you mean about that beach resort. It was surprising to see it.

  7. It’s no wonder that tourists flock to Prague — it’s amazing! For years, I had wanted to go there and when I got my chance, I wasn’t disappointed. You really got some great pics that take me right back there. By the way, I would have been waving back at the people on the bridge, too. :)

    1. Thanks Cathy! When we got on the bridge, it was fun to wave to the passengers too. We loved Prague and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Glad to virtually take you back there.

  8. Great tour, Mary. Looks like everyone had fun.
    I love the architecture, the lovely mix of it and how ornate some are. Beautiful.
    I agree: a river tour, like the hop on buses, do help orient you. The first time I did one was in London. Will definitely do it again.

  9. I’m envious of the fact you’ve been to Prague. I’m not much of a city girl as you can imagine but this one fires up my imagination and I think a cruise is a fantastic way to get your bearings. Also great that everyone enjoyed it so much. But where’s the sunshine??

  10. I love river cruises – seeing a city from the water gives an entirely different perspective than what you get from walking the streets. And I especially want to see Prague – it’s so high on my wish list that I don’t know why I’m even thinking about going anywhere else!!

  11. This brings back so many memories. I did a river cruise when I was there last year. We
    did the one under one of the bridges and small boats. It was a good cruise, but not
    as in-depth as this one.

  12. So many Europe post this week on travel photo thursday! I emigrated to Australia from Europe without having explored this magnificent continent. Prague is also high on my list.

  13. How much fun it looks going for a cruise down the River, and the gates would keep kids entertained for ages!
    The Dancing House or Nationale-Nederlanden building really looks out of place compared to the older buildings, but I really like the differences :)

  14. I haven’t had the chance to go cruising when I was there. Maybe because it wasn’t the right season? I haven’t seen any river cruises at that time. Would have loved to take it though. You’d definitely see a different view of Prague on a boat! (Sad to say I haven’t seen the Dancing House. It’s beautiful.)

  15. I visited Prague a couple to times and totally love this city. For some reason, I never did a river cruise and regret that now. You for sure saw a lot during those 2 hours and had the opportunity to take great photos.

  16. River sightseeing tours can be very bad or very good. I do like seeing a city from a river, though; gives a different perspective. Never thought to do one in Prague before, so that’s a good idea for next time. I’ve been meaning to take my youngest daughter to Prague (although I’ll have to find something horse-related to get her interested these days).

  17. What a fun way to see Prague! I love anything involving boats and ferries (and recently just did the Chicago Architecture river boat tour). Prague is a lovely city and it must have been such fun to see it from the water. Thanks for sharing!

  18. Thanks so very much for posting this info. I am about to head to Prague with my one year old for 2 days, and was wondering about how best to see the city. I had not even thought of a crusei – so i am off now to look them up and hopefully find one with narration.

  19. Thanks so very much for posting this info. I am about to head to Prague with my one year old for 2 days, and was wondering about how best to see the city. I had not even thought of a cruise – so i am off now to look them up and hopefully find one with narration.

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