Václav Havel's Prague: a walking route through the places of his life

Václav Havel is a name that opens Prague up for visitors who know little else about Czechia. The city is full of places that tie into his life: the arcade his grandfather built, the theatre where he started as a stagehand, the square where he addressed the crowds in November 1989, the castle where he moved a few weeks later. A day's walk can follow most of it.

This guide is a route through the places that matter, with a little context at each stop. Opening hours and entry rules change, so check each venue's own website. His life story is told separately in Václav Havel: from dissident playwright to president.

The man in brief

Havel was born in Prague on 5 October 1936 into a well-off family of builders and film entrepreneurs. After 1948 the communists confiscated the family's property, and his background made it hard for him to study. He worked as a laboratory assistant and, from 1960, as a stagehand at the Theatre on the Balustrade (Divadlo Na zábradlí), where he began writing plays. He became a leading Czech dissident, a signatory and spokesman of Charter 77 (see Charter 77 explained), and served prison time. The events of 1989 are described in the Velvet Revolution explained.

Stop 1: Lucerna Palace

Lucerna, off Wenceslas Square, was built by Havel's grandfather, Vácslav Havel, and completed in the early 1920s. It is a large Art Nouveau complex with an arcade, a concert hall, a cinema and a music venue. The family lost it after 1948, and it was returned to the Havel family after the revolution. The Havel family business, which also had a hand in the Barrandov film studios, shaped Prague's cultural life in the interwar years.

Walk through the arcade and you will find David Černý's sculpture of the equestrian statue of St Wenceslas hanging upside down from the ceiling, a joke at the expense of the official monument that stands outside. The building is open to the public, and cinema and concert programmes are published by the venues.

Stop 2: Wenceslas Square

The square outside is the stage on which the revolution played out. In the last week of November 1989 hundreds of thousands gathered there. Havel and Alexander Dubček spoke to the crowds from a balcony of a building on the square, which has become the best-known image of those days. The square is also the place where Jan Palach set himself alight in January 1969 in protest at the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and a memorial for Palach and Jan Zajíc is set into the pavement near the top of the square, by the National Museum.

The square is still a place of demonstration and celebration, and the revolution anniversary on 17 November is marked there.

Stop 3: Reduta and the jazz tradition

A short walk away on Národní street is the Reduta jazz club, one of the oldest in Prague. Havel was a lover of rock and jazz, and the club is remembered for the evening in January 1994 when he took US President Bill Clinton there and Clinton played the saxophone. The visit was a symbol of the new relationship between Prague and Washington. Check the club's website for its programme if you want to hear music.

Havel's tastes also included the Czech underground, and the band The Plastic People of the Universe, whose trial in 1976 helped spark Charter 77. The story connects to Czechoslovakia under communism.

Stop 4: The Theatre on the Balustrade

Close to the Charles Bridge, on Anenské náměstí in the Old Town, is the Theatre on the Balustrade, where Havel worked from 1960. His first full-length play, The Garden Party, was staged there in 1963, followed by The Memorandum in 1965. The theatre is still active and has kept a connection to the Havel name. Productions are mainly in Czech.

Nearby, you can also reach the Havel Library, which holds archives, runs exhibitions and organises discussions on democracy and human rights; its location and visiting rules are on its website. The library is an organisation that preserves the Havel legacy and also works with partners abroad.

Stop 5: Prague Castle

The castle, seat of the Czech head of state, is where Havel moved at the end of December 1989. He opened parts of it to the public, hosted concerts and set an informal tone that surprised visitors; stories of the president riding a scooter along the castle corridors are well known. The Castle complex, with St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace and the Golden Lane, is a major sight in its own right. The presidential offices and the Spanish Hall are open only on certain occasions, so consult hrad.cz.

The castle is also a reminder of how fast a dissident playwright became head of state: six weeks separated the first demonstration from his election.

Memorials and the wider city

Havel's death on 18 December 2011 brought thousands of people to Wenceslas Square and to the castle, where candles were lit and a book of condolence was opened. His funeral was held at St Vitus Cathedral, which in Czech practice is reserved for occasions of national importance. In the years since, his name has been given to a number of places, institutions and prizes, in Prague and abroad, including the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, awarded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with partners including the Václav Havel Library (as of 2026; check the Library's website). The best way to follow how the city remembers him is to read the notices at the places above, since small plaques and exhibitions appear and disappear.

For a calmer stop, spend an hour in the quiet streets around Anenské náměstí, where the theatre stands. The small square is quiet, and the courtyards leading off it show a Prague that tourists on the Charles Bridge route often miss.

Beyond the centre: the airport and Hrádeček

Prague's main airport at Ruzyně was renamed after Havel in October 2012, the year after his death. The airport's name is a reminder of his role, and visitors arriving by air will see it on signs. Details on getting from the airport to the centre are in Prague Ruzyně airport: how to get to and from the city.

Outside Prague, Havel's country house Hrádeček near Trutnov in the Krkonoše foothills was a meeting place for dissidents and artists in the communist years. It is private property, so it is not a visitor attraction in the normal sense.

Reading more

Havel's essays, including The Power of the Powerless from 1978, and his prison letters to his wife Olga are available in English translation and make good companions for a walk. The context of his dissent is covered in the Prague Spring and 1968 explained, and the Rudolfinum, a short walk from the Old Town, is the home of the Czech Philharmonic.

Frequently asked questions

When was Václav Havel born and when did he die?

He was born in Prague on 5 October 1936 and died on 18 December 2011.

Which Prague airport carries his name?

Prague Ruzyně airport, renamed Václav Havel Airport Prague in 2012.

Can I visit the room where he worked as president?

Prague Castle opens parts of the complex to the public. Access to presidential offices is limited, so check hrad.cz.

Where can I learn more about his work?

The Václav Havel Library in Prague holds archives and exhibitions and has an English website.

Start at Lucerna, which opens early, and plan the rest around the theatre you want to see in the evening.