Things to Do in Lesser Town

Wallenstein Garden peacocks and frescoed arcade

You'll hear the birds before you see them; a metallic shriek ricochets off the manicured hedges. The garden smells of boxwood and freshly clipped turf. The Sala Terena's dripping-stalactite fresco feels cool even on a July afternoon. Sit on the low wall. Watch the albino peacock fan a tail that catches the light like crushed pearls.

Kampa modern art crawl

Start at the riverside park where neon-yellow penguins stand sentry on the Vltava stones. Duck into Museum Kampa's glass-fronted café for a slice of poppy-seed koláč that stains your tongue violet. The canvases smell faintly of linseed and the floorboards creak like an old ship. Worth it for the Kupka abstracts that swirl like spilled wine.

St. Nicholas Church organ recital

Inside, the nave is a chalky explosion of marble cherubs and gilded vines. When the 4,000-pipe organ erupts the air vibrates against your ribcage. Candle wax and centuries-old incense mingle into something almost spicy. Come for the Tuesday-night student recital. Donation only, and they usually play Bach with the lights dimmed so the frescoed ceiling fades into shadow.

Hike up the New Castle Stairs at sunset

The stone steps are worn into shallow bowls. Your calves protest while the scent of grilled sausages drifts up from a backyard grill someone left open. Halfway up you'll glimpse red-tiled roofs bleeding into copper spires and hear tram bells echo across the river like distant xylophones. At the top the wind tastes of pine and diesel, a weird Prague cocktail.

John Lennon Wall graffiti session

Chunks of layered paint flake off under your fingertips like psychedelic scabs. Someone's left half a jar of acrylics. The sour smell mingles with wet limestone. Add whatever you want. By morning it'll be half covered anyway. A busker usually strums Czech covers of Beatles songs, the chords bouncing off the sooty brick and back into the Maltese square.

Nerudova strip. Former burgher houses turned boutique guesthouses, you'll smell fresh bread from the 5 a.m. bakery delivery

Kampa island canal-side; quiet enough to hear mallards land at dawn, still 5 min walk to the castle

Around Malostranské náměstí for mid-range elegance without the Hradčiny price tag

Vlašská back-lanes; budget pensións tucked behind embassy walls, look for the faded communist neon signs

Upper New World (Novy Svět) for fairy-tale solitude. Street lamps hiss and the only night noise is your own footsteps

Near the Lennon Wall if you crave late-night bars and don't mind buskers rehearsing at 2 a.m.