Best View in Prague: Dancing House (Complete Travel Guide)
One of the biggest attractions in Prague, Czech Republic, is the Dancing House, a building that appears to defy the laws of physics, scoring high on the wow-meter.
Also known as the Fred and Ginger house in Prague or the Tancici dum (its Czech name), the Dancing House was built in 1996 by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic, in collaboration with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.
What once was a vacant land lot on the Vltava river in Prague became this impressive building that you must check out below (and prepare to read more details about it later):
The impressive building – which became one of Prague’s top attractions thanks to its unconventional design, was built thanks to the support it received from Vaclav Havel, the Czech president at the time. Believe it or not, many people were against building it but fortunately they didn’t make a mistake.
Why is it called the dancing house?
Its unique architecture makes it resemble a couple that’s dancing – hence the name. Plain and simple!
But nothing else is plain and simple when it comes to the Dancing House in Prague! It is actually an extremely elaborate structure with multiple elements that aren’t immediately visible to the naked eye, but which become obvious the more you look at it.
For example, did you notice the dome at the top? It also has an unique shape and it’s called the “Medusa dome” thanks to its shape. It also offers some nice views over Prague and the nearby Vltava river for those lucky enough to get there.
Where is the Dancing House and how to get there?
The Dancing House is located on the shores of the Vltava River in the Prague District 2, which is centrally located. The full address is Jiraskovo namesti 1981/6, 12000 Prague 2.
Here it is, marked on a map via Google Maps (I also highlighted the tram station and metro station nearby, as well as a great playground for kids on an island – the place from where you can take beautiful photos of the Dancing House itself while your little ones have fun):
Unless you’re walking around the area and just happen to stumble upon it (like we did during our stay in Prague), you can reach it by bus, tram or metro as seen in the map above.
The Jiraskovo namesti bus and tram station is just in front of the building, while the metro station Karlovo Namesti is 2-3 minutes away.
Above, a view of the Dancing House and the Vltava River from the children’s playground market on the map
Dancing House Opening Hours & Fees
The good thing about the building itself – which operates as an office building, gallery or hotel and also has a glass bar on top and a restaurant – is that you can visit it for free.
So if you really want to get inside, you can do so through the main gate, but you will have to purchase a ticket if you want to visit the Gallery. The gallery is open each day between 10 AM to 6 PM.
The restaurant, which awaits on the top floor, is called Ginger & Fred and offers (pricey) international cuisine options and a great view over the city. The restaurant is open every day between 11:30 AM to 11 PM.
Finally, if you really want to experience the most that the Dancing House has to offer, you can book a room at the Dancing House Hotel. As you can see in the image below, the hotel is absolutely amazing and offers high quality service:
The prices are relatively high if you’re on a budget, but I would consider them fair for the location, quality of the rooms and services. Of course, not all rooms are like the one pictured above, but it’s still the Dancing House you’d be living in. So check it out here.
While the building itself is impressive, I believe that there are far more impressive things to see and do in Prague – but the Dancing House itself is a joy to the eye so it’s worth visiting, especially since its location is close to the city’s center and other attractions.
Most people don’t even bother going inside (because… well… it looks like almost any other building inside) and only spend a few minutes, looking at it from all sides. So for all that and since it doesn’t cost anything (unless you want a more complex experience), make sure to visit it when you get to Prague!
I know you can’t have enough of it, so until you actually get to Prague to visit this impressive building, here are some more photos of it, as seen from outside:
The photos without our watermark by: Clark & Kim Kays, Iulian Ursu, Eugenio, Matteo Piotto.