Golden Lane, known in Czech as Zlatá ulička, is an iconic, tiny street located in Prague Castle. The colorful small houses give it a unique charm and it is very popular among tourists coming to Prague.
And here it is on the map:
About
There is a story that Golden Lane was inhabited by alchemists during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II. He was a patron of alchemists and astrologers, and as many people of his time, he dreamed of discovering the Philosopher's Stone. In reality though, the lane owes its name to the fact that goldsmiths used to live there. It was even called Goldsmith Lane (Zlatnická) in the 16th century and only later renamed to Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička).
From 1916 to 1917, the famous German-language writer Franz Kafka lived in the house No. 22. Golden Lane was popular also among other writers. House No. 12 was a meeting place of Czech writers: František Halas, Jaroslav Seifert and Vítězslav Nezval.
Since the 1950s, Golden Lane is no longer inhabited. In the colorful small houses you will find souvenir shops and cafés.
Getting To Golden Lane
Golden Lane is very easily accessible. It is within walking distance of the tram stop Pražský hrad (lines: 22, 23, 41) and walk from there. You can switch on Street View to learn the way (just drag and drop the orange man icon).
It is also possible to get off at Malostranská metro/tram station but you have to climb up the Old Castle Stairs. To get to Malostranská you can take the metro line A or one of several tram lines stopping there. See the map above and click on the tram icon near Malostranská. If you or your companion require a wheelchair, this is obviously not the right option.
There are a number of other bus/tram options and you can use the above map to find the most convenient one for your itinerary. If you click on a bus/tram stop you will see the lines that stop there.
You need to buy a ticket to enter Golden Lane. The entrance fees are listed here and the opening hours can be found here. After closing time, you may access Golden Lane without paying an entrance fee, but you won't have the possibility to see the interiors of the houses.
