Comin' Up Roses

Literature fans might have read about Petrin Hill in Franz Kafka's "Description of a Struggle" and Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," but it's another thing to see its beautiful gardens with the naked eye. Originally a vineyard under Charles IV in the 14th century, the Prague hill now boasts several gardens filled with nature's best.

The hill's most popular parts include the fruit orchards, the Flower Garden and the Rose Garden. The latter is particularly appropriate considering the area's romantic lore. Famed Czech poet Karel Hynek Mácha, author of the love poem "May," has a statue in the garden, and it's a tradition for couples to visit the statue on May 1 to kiss and leave flowers in hopes that Mácha will bless their relationship.

There are several other gardens on the hill as well, all of which are accessible for free and most of which are open all year long. At most, you might need to take the tram up the hill, but wannabe Jack Lalannes can also take the walking path for a good workout. But once on top, it's all about exploring a wide variety of floral beauty against the backdrop of the gorgeous city buzzing below.

At the very least, if you are making a trip to the Lookout Tower or other Petrin Hill attractions, swing through the gardens for a quick look. They might not have the scale and splendor of the castle gardens, but they're certainly more colorful and dazzling.