Vyšehrad: the other castle
The legendary rock above the Vltava — twin black spires, the national cemetery, and the casemates underneath. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Vyšehrad metro to the Táborská Gate
Out of the metro (line C), follow the rampart road past the Congress Centre and through the brick *Táborská* gate. The crowds thin the moment you pass under it — most of Prague forgets *Vyšehrad* exists.

2. Rotunda of St Martin
The oldest building in Prague, an eleventh-century Romanesque *rotunda*, round and stubby and entirely unbothered by the centuries. It's usually shut, but the outside is the point — stand close and notice how small the oldest thing here is.

3. Basilica of SS Peter and Paul
The twin black neo-Gothic spires you can see from half the city. The current shell is 1887–1903 over a Romanesque foundation; the *kostel* interior is painted top to bottom in art-nouveau frescoes. Worth the small entry fee if the doors are open.

4. Vyšehrad Cemetery & the Slavín
The national *hřbitov*, beside the basilica. Dvořák, Smetana, Mucha, Karel Čapek — the people who made Czech culture, in one quiet enclosure. The *Slavín* monument at the far end is the collective pantheon. Take the loop slowly; the headstone sculpture is the show.

5. The casemates & Gorlice hall
Under the ramparts, a tunnel system the Habsburgs cut for defence. The guided way in leads to *Gorlice*, a vaulted brick hall holding several of the original Charles Bridge statues. Cool, dim, and a complete change of register from the cemetery above.

6. The southern ramparts & the Výtoň descent
End on the bastion wall where the rock drops to the river — the bend of the Vltava, the city beyond, the best free view south in Prague. The path down the cliff lands you at *Výtoň*; the tram is waiting.

Vyšehrad: the other castle