Vítkov: the ridge, the giant, and the monument
One of the largest equestrian statues on earth, a granite mausoleum, and the green ridge over the city. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Florenc
Start at the metro (B/C) and the bus station behind it. Not the prettiest beginning in Prague, but it's the foot of the climb. Head up towards the green ridge that rises on the Žižkov side; the path onto Vítkov starts from the western end.

2. The climb onto Vítkov
A steady walk up the wooded western nose of the hill. Do it in the morning while it's quiet — joggers and dog-walkers and not much else. The ridge flattens out and the monument appears at the top, which is the point of taking the western approach.

3. The Jan Žižka equestrian statue
The colossal bronze of the one-eyed Hussite general on his horse — among the largest equestrian statues anywhere, and far bigger in person than any photograph admits. Walk a slow circle around the plinth. Žižkov is named for this man; here he is, enormous.

4. National Memorial at Vítkov
The heavy granite slab behind the statue, built between the wars as a memorial and weighed down since with the twentieth century — a communist mausoleum for a time, now a museum of modern Czech history. The roof terrace, when open, gives the cleanest view in the whole walk.

5. The ridge walk
Carry on east along the long flat top of the ridge — grass, benches, the city dropping away on both sides. Karlín below to the north, Žižkov to the south. This is the quiet stretch; nobody hurries here and you shouldn't either.

6. Down to Ohrada
The ridge brings you down to its eastern end above the Žižkov streets. The Ohrada tram is at the bottom, with lines back across the city. A good walk to do early and finish before the day gets going.

Vítkov: the ridge, the giant, and the monument