Tram 22: experiencing Prague off the Beaten Track at street level
One of the best ways to experience Prague off the Beaten Track is not on foot, but from a tram. Line 22 crosses the city from Bílá Hora to Hostivař, passing castles, squares, and residential districts along the way. Seen from street level and in motion, Prague reveals itself as a lived-in city, not just a collection of sights.
Most visitors experience Prague on foot — climbing hills, crossing bridges, ticking off landmarks. But there is another way to get to know the city, one that locals use every day and that quietly connects centuries of history with ordinary life.
Running from Bílá Hora in the west to Hostivař in the east, tram 22 is one of Prague’s longest and most iconic routes. Stretching over twenty kilometres, it crosses the city from edge to edge. It’s not technically the longest tram line in Prague, but it is certainly among the most ambitious — and arguably the most scenic. For this episode of Prague off the Beaten Track, now part of Czechast, the tram itself becomes the destination.
A winter ride through everyday Prague
This journey takes place on a winter day. The sky is grey, the roads are icy in places, traffic is slow, and the weather is anything but inviting. But that is precisely the point. This is not Prague on a perfect postcard day. It is Prague as it is — trams running, people commuting, the city functioning despite the cold. That everyday rhythm is what makes tram 22 such a powerful lens through which to view the city.
From battlefields and forests to monasteries
The ride begins at Bílá Hora, a quiet residential area today, but also the site of the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 — a turning point in Czech history. Just next to the tram loop lies Obora Hvězda, the Star Game Reserve, a forest park built around a Renaissance hunting lodge shaped like a six-pointed star. It would be a perfect place for a walk. But not today. I am boarding tram 22, which leaves every 8-10 minutes on weekdays and even more frequently during the rush hours.
Within minutes, the tram passes Břevnovský klášter, founded in the 10th century and considered the oldest monastery in Bohemia. It is a humbling moment: tram 22 casually links places that are a thousand years old with completely ordinary life unfolding just outside the window.
Thresholds, power, and Prague Castle
As the tram comes Pohořelec, it passes through a place that has long served as a gateway into Prague. Pilgrims once walked this way toward monasteries and churches. Soldiers marched toward the Castle. Condemned prisoners were led along this route toward execution sites beyond the city walls. Pohořelec was a threshold — between countryside and city, hope and fear, arrival and departure.
And then, almost without warning, Pražský hrad appears outside the window. One of the most extraordinary things about tram 22 is that you don’t climb, you don’t queue — you simply glide past the seat of Czech kings, emperors, and presidents. From a moving tram, the Castle feels less like a monument and more like a living part of the city.
Baroque streets and a national stage
The descent toward Malá Strana follows a narrow, winding track that feels almost too tight for a tram. Trees line both sides before the route opens into the Baroque heart of the Lesser Town. At Malostranské náměstí, the monumental St. Nicholas Church dominates the view — a fleeting but powerful glimpse of High Baroque Prague before the tram moves on again.
Crossing the Vltava on Most Legií, the city opens up. To the right stands the Národní divadlo, its gilded roof shining above the river. It is both a landmark and a symbol — of Czech culture, identity, and self-confidence.
Streets of memory and unexpected scale
The tram continues along Národní třída, the street where the Velvet Revolution began in November 1989. Today, trams glide past cafés and theatres, but the street remains a powerful reminder that history in Prague often happens right at street level.
A few minutes later, the route opens into Karlovo náměstí, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe. From the tram, its true scale finally becomes clear — a vast green space surrounded by traffic, hospitals, offices, and everyday life.
From elegant neighbourhoods to everyday Prague
Leaving the historic centre behind, tram 22 climbs into Vinohrady, with its wide streets, late-19th-century apartment buildings, and calmer pace of life. At Náměstí Míru, the neo-Gothic Church of Saint Ludmila towers above a busy transport hub.
Further east lies Kubánské náměstí, where Vinohrady gradually turns into Vršovice — an area that once marked the edge of the city and is now firmly part of its wider centre.
The final stretch passes through Strašnice and Zahradní Město, the Garden City. Green, calm, and residential, it is a reminder that tram 22 connects not just monuments and history, but the places where people actually live.
End of the line
After more than an hour on board, the journey ends in Hostivař. West to east. Castles to housing estates. History to everyday life. And that, perhaps, is the real magic of tram 22.
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Czechast, Radio Prague International
Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
