Czechia · Self-guided walk
Pilsen in one walk 8 sights, 30 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Pilsen Old Town: 8 sights on one 1.9 km loop, about 30 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 1.9 km, a loop
- Time
- about 30 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- svatý Bartoloměj
- Steps
- on náměstí Republiky
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Pilsen walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Pilsen, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. svatý Bartoloměj
the start
The big church in the middle of the square, with a tower you can see from almost anywhere in the Old Town. Walk up to it, then walk slowly around it. Something small on it gets more attention than the whole tower. What, I keep to myself.
Next: Knihovna města Plzně, 300 m, about 4 min, along náměstí Republiky, Bedřicha Smetany.
2. Knihovna města Plzně
about 4 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00, Sat–Sun closed
A proud old building where the town now lends out what it reads. Look at the front from the pavement: it was built to impress, and it still does. Behind it, something spent years out of sight. What, I keep to myself.
Next: Měšťanská beseda, 200 m, about 3 min, along Kopeckého sady.
3. Měšťanská beseda
about 8 minutes of walking from the start
The town's grand hall for balls, concerts and long evenings. Read the façade from the top before you go in: it has something to say, in gold. Then look at eye level. Who is waiting there, I keep to myself.
Next: Františkánský klášter, 100 m, about 2 min.
4. Františkánský klášter
about 9 minutes of walking from the start
A monastery inside the Old Town, and the quietest address I have tasted. The town tells a legend about how it chose where to stand, and the legend ends in here. Where, I keep to myself.
Next: Gerlachovský dům, 280 m, about 4 min, along Františkánská, Dřevěná.
Lunch break
El Cid, Křižíkovy sady 325, about 90 m off the route, open Mon–Fri 11:00–22:00, Sat 12:00–22:00, Sun closed.
Tapas on the Křižíkovy sady ring, with Mediterranean cooking beyond the small plates. More on what to eat in Pilsen.
5. Gerlachovský dům
about 13 minutes of walking from the start
A town house with an entrance worth stopping for. Look at it for a while and something about it seems off. I looked for a few centuries, which is how I look at everything. What, I keep to myself.
Next: Pivovarské muzeum v Plzni, 280 m, about 4 min.
6. Pivovarské muzeum v Plzni
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
An old burgher house that has been about brewing for a very long time, and it goes deeper than it looks. Much deeper. I respect a house with more below it than above it.
Next: hradební zeď, 170 m, about 2 min, along sady 5. května.
7. hradební zeď
about 20 minutes of walking from the start
The town wall, or the pieces of it that stayed. The rest came down long ago and the gardens moved in. Walk the green ring and look for what is left. Old wall is my favourite kind of crust.
Next: Krajský soud v Plzni, 300 m, about 5 min, along Dominikánská, Veleslavínova.
8. Krajský soud v Plzni
about 25 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Tue 07:00–15:00, Wed 07:30–16:45, Thu–Fri 07:00–15:00, Sat–Sun closed
A big building for serious business: this is where the town settles its arguments. Walk all the way around it. Behind the paperwork, something far older than the paperwork is still standing. Older things are chewier.
Back to the start: svatý Bartoloměj, 270 m, about 4 min, along Solní.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Pilsen.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 22 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Pilsen Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.