I have thousands of photos of Prague at home. When I go through them, some bring back the whole day — how cold the railing on Střelecký ostrov was, the smell of coffee from a paper cup, what we talked about on the way. Others tell me nothing. They’re technically better, but empty. And the difference isn’t the lens.

The difference is whether I was actually there, or just taking pictures there.

You know the feeling. You arrive somewhere you’ve read has great views. Before you’ve even looked around, you’re seeing Prague through six inches of screen. Hunting for a composition, checking exposure, trying another focal length. Twenty minutes later you leave with twenty photos — and the feeling that you were never really there.

The most important tip in this guide isn’t about light or composition.

Look first. Then shoot.

Prague isn’t a backdrop. It has a mood, and it changes within the hour. A morning on Kampa is different from a morning on Letná — not because of the light, but because of the people, the sounds, the pace. Give it a few minutes and take it in. The composition then comes on its own, because you know what you want to say.

Try it the other way round from what you’re used to. Arrive with the camera in your bag, not in your hand. For the first ten minutes, don’t shoot anything. Walk around, sit down, watch. Notice where the light falls, where people walk, what you can hear. Take the camera out only once you know what you want in the frame and why.

It sounds like a waste of time. It isn’t. You’ll take fewer photos, but you’ll know which ones matter. And above all: you’ll remember the place.

That’s the point. The photo isn’t the goal. The photo is the key to a memory. In ten years you’ll open it and it will give you that day back — but only if that day is actually in you. Just a nice picture of Prague, of which the internet has millions.

For me, the best photos come from days when I wasn’t even planning to shoot. I went for a walk, let the city lead, and the camera only came out when I said to myself: I want to remember this. Not this would make a good shot — I want to remember this.

So when you set off for the first place in this guide, I have one request. Don’t look at Prague only through the viewfinder or the screen. Look at it with your eyes. And then press the shutter — not because that’s what you do here, but because you’re taking something with you and want to keep it forever.

The photos will just be a bonus. The best one.