Vltava Evening Dinner Cruise with Buffet and Live Music Prague

Čech Bridge and the Old Town embankment

The cruise starts from the pier on Dvořákovo nábřeží, right beside Čech Bridge at the northern edge of the Old Town. Built in the early 1900s, Čech Bridge is the city's Art Nouveau jewel, decorated with bronze torch-bearers on tall columns, and it links the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter with Letná Park on the opposite bank. From the water you see the long green slope of Letná and the giant metronome at its top.

If you are wondering how to get to the dinner cruise pier, it is about ten minutes on foot from Old Town Square along Pařížská Street, and the Staroměstská metro station and several tram stops are close by. Arrive early enough to board at least 15 minutes before departure, as the boat leaves on time.

Charles Bridge by night

The highlight of any Charles Bridge dinner cruise is the moment the boat slides beneath its Gothic arches. Construction of the bridge began in 1357, and for centuries it was the only crossing of the Vltava in Prague, linking the Old Town with the Lesser Town and the road to the castle. Its sandstone parapets carry a long line of baroque statues of saints, and Gothic towers guard both ends.

By day the bridge is packed with people, but seen from the river after dark it becomes calm and dramatic, its towers and statues lit in gold and reflected on the water. Step out onto the open deck as you approach for the best photos, then watch the Lesser Town rooftops and Kampa Island slip past on the left bank.

Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral above the river

High above the Lesser Town, Prague Castle is listed as the largest ancient castle complex in the world, a thousand-year-old seat of Bohemian princes, kings and today's presidents. Its silhouette is dominated by the Gothic spires of St Vitus Cathedral, begun in the 14th century and only completed in 1929. At night the whole ridge is floodlit, and from the river the view opens up gradually as the boat turns.

This is the image most travellers have of Prague, and the evening cruise shows it at its best, without the climb up the castle steps. If you also want to explore the castle courtyards, the cathedral and the Golden Lane on foot, combine this cruise with Prague Castle tickets on another day of your stay.

National Theatre and the Dancing House

Further upstream the route usually passes the National Theatre, its golden roof shining on the right bank where the Old Town meets the New Town. Opened in the 1880s and funded by collections from ordinary Czechs, it carries the inscription 'The nation to itself' and remains the symbol of Czech culture. Next to it stretches the elegant riverside of the New Town with its 19th-century apartment blocks.

A little further on stands the Dancing House, a curved glass-and-concrete building from 1996 whose two towers seem to lean into each other like a pair of dancers. It is one of the most photographed modern buildings in Prague, and from the boat you see it lit up at the water's edge.

Vyšehrad and the upper Vltava

Depending on river traffic and the locks, the boat may continue towards Vyšehrad, the rocky fortress hill that rises steeply above the right bank. According to legend it was the first seat of Czech rulers, and today its ramparts enclose the neo-Gothic Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, whose twin spires appear above the trees, and a peaceful park with wide views over the river.

The exact route can change on the day, but the cruise always lasts the full three hours, turning back towards Charles Bridge for a second look at the illuminated city. For the best time to take a Prague evening cruise, book a date close to sunset in spring or autumn, when you see the city change from dusk to night.