🧭 Every country, and the places worth the trip NEW 26,489 places written across 243 countries 🎮 Guess the country As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases
Meridiela.
Číst českyThis page is also written in čeština.

Kampa Island

An island separated by a mill stream, with a park, a modern art museum and giant crawling babies on the grass.

Saved in this browser only - no account, nothing sent anywhere. See your map

Typeisland
WherePrague
Nearest cityPrague, Mala Strana
Best seasonApril to October
Time to allowHalf a day
Getting thereBelow Charles Bridge, Mala Strana side; steps down from the bridge
EntryFree; museum ticketed

Kampa is cut off from Mala Strana by the Certovka, a narrow mill channel dug in the Middle Ages, which is why it is an island and why it was full of watermills - one wheel still turns beside the bridge and the channel is called the Devil's Stream. The northern end has houses down to the water and is called the Prague Venice; the southern end is a park along the Vltava with lawns, plane trees and a view across to the old town. The Museum Kampa in a converted mill holds the Meda Mladek collection of Central European modern art, particularly Frantisek Kupka, one of the pioneers of abstraction, and Otto Gutfreund's Cubist sculpture. Outside on the lawn are David Cerny's Miminka, three-metre bronze babies crawling with barcode-slot faces, which are the most photographed objects on the island.

What you actually see

  • The Certovka mill channel - with a working wheel beside the bridge.
  • A riverside park - lawns and plane trees facing the old town.
  • Museum Kampa - Kupka's abstraction and Gutfreund's Cubist sculpture.
  • Cerny's crawling babies - three-metre bronzes on the lawn.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The island floods - it went under in 2002 and again in 2013, and high water closes it. The museum is closed on some weekdays. The park is very busy in warm weather.

Nearby

Charles Bridge is above; the Lennon Wall is a minute away.

What to pack for Kampa Island

Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.

All packing kits →

Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.

← More attractions & fun in Czechia

One postcard a week.

A short Friday email: one place worth knowing about, the story behind it, and what is in season right now. No noise - leave whenever you like.