Prague Expands Dan Brown-Themed Tours Beyond Historic Centre

Guided walks inspired by the novel The Secret of All Secrets by Dan Brown are drawing significant interest from both Czech and international visitors, with more than 680 participants recorded so far.

Prague City Tourism is now expanding the programme with new routes, aiming to take readers beyond the historic centre and introduce locations featured in the book that are less commonly accessible. From April, new tours will include stops at the Bastion U Božích muk and the underground Folimanka shelter, while another route will lead visitors to Prague Castle.

One of the new tours, titled Prague of Dan Brown: A Hidden Laboratory in the Heart of Europe, will explore locations linked to a fictional laboratory at Bastion U Božích muk. The approximately two-hour route focuses on themes such as neurology and extrasensory perception, and includes guided access to the underground Folimanka shelter. The tour is expected to run primarily on Saturday mornings and will be conducted in Czech, with private bookings available in English and other languages.

Video: Prague — City of Secrets

A third route, developed in cooperation with the Prague Castle Administration, will take visitors through sites including Valdštejn Garden, Vladislav Hall within Prague Castle, and St Vitus Cathedral. This tour focuses on the symbolism and mysticism associated with these locations. Both new routes will complement an existing and highly popular tour that includes the Old Jewish Cemetery and the Old-New Synagogue.

Since last year, nearly 100 Dan Brown-themed walks have taken place across Prague, including private tours. This year, scheduled dates have sold out quickly, with additional tours being added in response to demand. Interest has been consistent among both domestic and international visitors.

The novel has also driven increased interest in specific locations featured in the story. According to Dalibor Sadovský, Director of the Prague City Services Administration, visits to the Folimanka nuclear shelter have risen notably. The civil defence shelter, covering approximately 1,332 square metres and with a capacity of up to 1,300 people, is one of the largest underground structures in Prague 2 and represents an important technical monument from the Cold War era. Rising visitor numbers are seen as an opportunity to raise public awareness of civil protection and the historical and contemporary significance of such facilities.

Foto: Prague City Tourism

Since its release last September, The Secret of All Secrets has remained at the top of global bestseller lists. The impact of Dan Brown’s work on literary tourism has been observed previously, most notably in Paris following the publication of The Da Vinci Code, when visitor numbers at the Louvre Museum increased. A similar trend is now emerging in Prague, further reinforced by the author’s visit to the Czech capital during the book’s launch, where he presented the city in a highly positive light.

Further information is available at: prague.eu/cityofsecrets