Editorial
Prague stacks its best views on hills and old rooftops. Castle on one side, the Old Town spires on the other, the Vltava cutting through the middle. The four below are the rooftop bars that check out as real, currently open, and worth the elevator ride. James Harlow cut the list hard and dropped six names that turned out to be basement bars, guest only hotel terraces, or rooms with no roof at all. What is left earns the view from the worst seat up there.
T-Anker sits on the roof of the Kotva mall by Republic Square, and the south side elevator up is worth it for the 650 square meter terrace alone. James Harlow rates it the best cheap seat in town: a 12 tap tower of rotating Czech and world craft, beers from 39 koruna for a small glass, and a clean look at the Old Town clock tower. Order whatever is on the rotating tap and a burger. Open daily 11am to 10pm. Go on a weekday afternoon before the after work crowd lands.
Cloud 9 tops the Hilton Prague, 40 meters over the Vltava, with two outdoor terraces and a wall of panoramic glass for the nights it turns cold. The list runs to gin and tonics built on premium spirits, so this is a dressed up cocktail room, not a beer stop. Live music lands Thursdays, DJs Friday and Saturday. Open daily 5pm to 11pm. Best for a date or a slow nightcap above the river, not a rowdy session.
Terasa U Prince crowns Hotel U Prince on the fifth floor, staring straight across Old Town Square at the Astronomical Clock and the Tyn spires. The terrace is partly roofed and heated, so it trades year round, which most Prague rooftops cannot claim. Cocktails and Czech Italian plates, casual dress, but book ahead because it fills fast. Come at dusk when the square lights up. The worst seat here still beats most of the city.
Terasa U Zlaté Studně sits on the Golden Well Hotel right under the castle walls in Mala Strana, and the panorama is the whole city laid out below. This is a fine dining terrace first, three levels of it, two heated and one indoor. The open roof runs April through October and pours Moet and Remy Martin until midnight. Book well ahead for lunch or dinner. Go for a special night, not a casual pint.
Every bar here was checked against three independent sources for being real, currently open, and an actual rooftop before it kept its place. Six entries from the old draft were cut. Black Angel's is a basement speakeasy, not a rooftop, and Zinc and Red Pif are ground floor bars. The Radisson rooftop has not opened yet, Hotel Pod Věží's terrace is for guests only, and Sky Bar Prague did not check out as a named venue.
Terasa U Prince on the fifth floor of Hotel U Prince looks straight across Old Town Square at the Astronomical Clock and the Tyn spires. It is partly roofed and heated, so it works in any season.
Terasa U Prince trades year round with a heated, partly covered terrace, and Cloud 9 at the Hilton runs through winter behind panoramic glass. Most other Prague rooftops, including the open deck at U Zlaté Studně, close from late autumn.
Terasa U Zlaté Studně sits right under the castle walls on the Golden Well Hotel in Mala Strana and lays the whole city out below. Its open terrace runs April through October.
T-Anker on the roof of the Kotva mall by Republic Square pours rotating Czech craft beer from 39 koruna on one of the largest terraces in the city. It is open daily from 11am to 10pm and stays casual.