Image of the most narrow street in Prague from the main road view or traffic light showing green and either side buildings are in the shot to show how narrow the street is.

How To Find The Most Narrow Street in Prague, Czechia!

Streets are a blessed creation, especially for us travellers because without them we couldn’t get between places or discover new corners of cities.

But in all honestly, I barely give them a thought until one presents itself in an unusual way. Which is exactly what Vinarna Certovka did to me because it is the narrowest street of Prague, has a traffic light system and was a fun experience to walk through in Czechia’s capital.

Read on for what to expect and how you can visit this small Prague street too!

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History of The Narrowest Street in Prague

Image of narrowest street in Prague from the main road side showing traffic light and billboard for the adjacent buildings. A Wider shot shows the front of the street too.
Image of Prague narrow street from the canal side looking to pink buildings and restaurant entrance

The ‘street’ is more like a passage or an alley between two buildings and it was never intended to be a street but actually a fire escape. Many streets were like this around Prague and other parts of Europe but only a few stood the test of time and Vinarna Certovka is one of them.

The name ‘Vinarna Certovka’ (also spelled as ‘Chertovka’) is not official for the street but given that the restaurant at one end is called ‘Certovka Restaurant and Terraces’, I’ll stick with this name throughout the article.

Today it’s become a famous street in Prague and somewhat of a Prague hidden gem. I loved walking both ways through the lane and would definitely recommend this for your Prague itinerary to at least say you’ve waited at a traffic light to get through an alleyway!

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Essential Info About This Prague Street

The street is completely free to visit, open 24/7 and the traffic light system always works so you can visit here whenever you like. 

The only thing to note is, given this is the Prague pedestrian traffic lights, you may have to queue and waiting times can be longer due to the other side of the alley also having queues. 

Address: Vinarna Certovka, off U Lužického Semináře, 118 00, Malá Strana, Czechia

Czech translation: Nejuzsi prazska ulicka

Read More: The Perfect 3 Days in Prague!

How Narrow is it?

Image of the most narrow street in Prague between yellow walls
Image of the most narrow street in Prague between yellow walls and green traffic light in top left corner
Image of Shireen walking through Prague most narrow street

At its narrowest, Vinarna Certovka is just 50cm (just under 20 inches), some claim it to be 70cm but I walked through it and it felt so tight! Such a fun experience when I look back on my video I made.

No more than one person can walk through this street at the same time and no one can walk in opposite directions through this small street Prague has owned and used well.

How to Get To The Most Narrow Street in Prague

Starting at Charles Bridge, it takes just 5 minutes to walk to your destination. Follow these instructions to find the narrowest street in Prague:

  • Leaving Charles Bridge on the Mala Strana side, turn left down steps so you leave the bridge and join the road below, to the right of the bridge, next to the Certovka canal
  • You will be on Na Kampe road
  • Turn right onto ‘U Lužického Semináře’
  • Keep walking until you see a small green grass area and keep to the right of it
  • Look for the houses 100/24 and 101/26 and the alley is between these

And voila, you’ve reached the smallest street in Prague… look out or you might miss it 😉

The Prague Narrow Street Traffic Light System

Image of narrowest street in Prague from the main road side showing traffic light and billboard for the adjacent building
Image of narrowest street in Prague black button and information board.
Image of narrowest street in Prague from the canal side with statue, tree next to the red button and information board.
Image of Shireen's right hand pushing the red button for thenarrowest street in Prague red button and information board.

If you come to the alley from the Certovka restaurant and canal-front, there is a small black button with an information board above it on the right hand, inside wall of the lane which gives instructions about pushing if the light is red and walking through when the light is green.

When you approach the street from Luzickeho Seminare side, as per my directions, you’ll notice a big red button on the left hand wall next to a statue of Jesus with an information plaque above it also informing you to wait for the green light.

If the traffic light is red, press the button and wait for the green man on the traffic lights above and ahead. When the light turns green you can walk through. Is this not the best street in Prague?!

You need to take the lights seriously because traffic jams and people collision can be caused (apparently someone also got stuck here once). 

Claims about why the traffic lights were added:

  • For health and safety reasons
  • To keep drunk people in the street in order
  • A marketing ploy by the restaurant to attract visitors

Which is your favourite reason? Whatever is true, I’m glad they did it!

The best way to find the Prague narrow street? Getting an E-Sim to stay connected while in Europe! I use Airalo and it’s cheap, fast and reliable! Use my referral code, SHIREE9313, and we’ll both get USD$3 off the next plan!

Other Narrow Streets in Europe

Is the narrowest street in the world Prague owned? Actually, no. That award goes to Spreuerhofstrasse in Germany!

If you love this quirky travel activity then you should check out the other tiny streets:

  • Spreuerhofstrasse in Reutlingen, Germany (31cm wide)
  • Rope Street in Brasov, Romania (111cm)
  • Parliament Street in Exeter, England (29cm)

What is Nearby?

Now you’ve found the Prague narrowest street, what’s next? Well, there’s the restaurant of course at one side of the lane serving delicious Czech food and on the other is one of the best bookshops in Prague: Shakespeare and Son. 

Being in the Mala Strana area, check out the swan spot with stunning views of Charles Bridge from the waterfront as you’re greeted by swans, grab a beer at the Prague horror bar write a message on the John Lennon wall and then find the peacock hidden garden just a 5 minute walk from the narrow street. Or discover Prague from a local with one of these tours:

Thanks for reading about the most narrow street in Prague!

Here’s some of my other quirky posts you may like:

Squeeze This Narrowest Street Prague Guide In For Later!

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