The Charles Bridge is probably the most recognizable site in all of Prague, and frankly the one that draws the biggest crowds (or at least the most concentrated crowds). During the day the bridge is filled with literally hundreds of tourists and vendors and absolutely no hope of getting a good picture. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, if you want to get a good picture of the Charles bridge, you’ll have to get up super early. Find out when first light is for the time that you’re in town and plan on being there at least an hour before that. There are lots of night clubs in the area, so there will be people around no matter what time you go. After the sun rises, the walkers and tourists show up and around 8AM the vendors show up… so you’ll want to be done well before that. Another interesting view of the bridge is from the main tower. For a small fee (I never actually made it up there but have seen lots of pictures from there), you can take pictures of the bridge from directly above it. Another alternative is to take one of the boat rides and get a view of it from the water. All in all, it is a beautiful piece of architecture any time of day… but if you’d like to have some good pictures of it… you’ll have to work for it!
–Dan Thompson