Things to Do in Prague: Castle, Charles Bridge, Tickets and Hours

In our video we said entry is about 30 euros; the official price is lower. Prague Castle entry to the buildings is with the basic circuit ticket, which you can buy online or at the castle box offices. It covers St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St.

George's Basilica, Golden Lane and Daliborka Tower: 450 CZK for adults, 300 CZK reduced and 950 CZK for a family. It is valid for two days, with one entry to each building. The castle grounds are open daily 6:00-22:00 and the ticketed buildings 9:00-17:00 (official info, October 2026).

We arrived at 18:12 and walked around without paying anything: most of the ticketed buildings had closed, but the courtyards and lanes were open. If you want to see the interiors, get there before 17:00.

When was Charles Bridge built? Building began in 1357, and the date has its own legend: astrologers read the sky and picked 9 July 1357 at 5:31 for the foundation stone, so the digits read 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1.

In our video we said there are close to 70 statues on Charles Bridge; the official count is 30 statues and statue groups along the parapets. Most of them are copies, and some of the originals are in the Lapidárium of the National Museum (official info, October 2026).

One group we didn't show in the video is worth looking for: Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois and Ivan, by Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff. Their order was founded to ransom Christian captives, and on the base a turbaned, moustached Turk guards the chained prisoners; locals simply call the group "Turek", the Turk (official info, October 2026).

In the Christmas weeks a lamplighter turns up in the late afternoon and lights the bridge's gas lamps one by one with a long pole; we were told he starts around 16:00 from the tower on the Old Town side. The rest of the year the lamps switch on automatically; the tradition comes back for Christmas.

Climbing the Old Town Bridge Tower at the Old Town end costs 250 CZK for adults, 170 CZK reduced and 500 CZK for a family; it is open 10:00-18:00 in October and November and 10:00-19:30 in December (official info, October 2026).

The most famous legend of the Prague Astronomical Clock says the master who built it was blinded so he could never make a more beautiful one; in revenge he broke the clock, and it was repaired only years later. Again, we are passing on the story as it is told.

The Apostles appear on the hour from 8:00 to 23:00. The tower gallery, 42 metres up, is 350 CZK for adults, 230 CZK reduced and 750 CZK for a family, with 50 percent off in the first hour after opening.

The tower is open 9:00-20:00 from April to December and 10:00-19:00 from January to March; on 24 December 9:00-15:00 and on 31 December 9:00-16:00 (official info, October 2026).

A detail most visitors miss: the faces and gargoyles sticking out from the facade of St. Vitus Cathedral depict the devil. In the Middle Ages, the story goes, the devil was afraid only of his own image, so they put his face on the outside to keep him away from the cathedral.

The cathedral is included in the Prague Castle basic ticket (450 CZK for adults); the observation tower is separate, 200 CZK for adults and 150 CZK reduced (official info, October 2026).

At Christmas the square hosts Prague's main Christmas market, with a giant tree covered in lights and a platform for the view from above. This market starts on 28 November 2026 and closes on 6 January 2027, later than the neighbourhood markets (official info, October 2026).

We saw the square both in the evening and in daylight: in the evening the tree lights flash in time with the music, and in daytime the square doesn't have the same atmosphere. Dates and hours of the other markets are in our Prague Christmas markets guide .

Entry to Týn Church is free, with a suggested donation of 50 CZK. From March to November it is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-17:00, closed on Sunday and Monday; from December to February it also opens on Sunday 10:30-12:00. You can't look around during Mass, and the entrance is through the passage at Staroměstské náměstí 14 (official info, October 2026).

Adult tickets are 300 CZK; children, students and visitors over 65 pay 220 CZK, and a family ticket for two adults and two children is 800 CZK. The museum is open daily 10:00-18:00 (official info, October 2026).

The Dancing House in Prague opened in 1996, designed by Vlado Milunić and Frank O. Gehry. The glass tower stands for Ginger Rogers and the stone tower for Fred Astaire (official info, October 2026). On the top floor is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city; the view from up there costs extra, and we couldn't find out the price.

One famous resident was Franz Kafka, who used the house at No. 22 for a while; we show its door in the video. When we visited, the houses were closed; normally some are cafés and some are souvenir shops.

Golden Lane is included in the Prague Castle basic ticket (450 CZK for adults); ticketed hours are 9:00-17:00 (official info, October 2026).

The palace is included in the Prague Castle basic ticket (450 CZK for adults, 300 CZK reduced); the ticketed buildings are open daily 9:00-17:00 (official info, October 2026).

Adult tickets are 200 CZK, 130 CZK reduced and 400 CZK for a family. The tower is open 10:00-18:00 from January to March and in October and November, 10:00-19:00 in April and May, 9:00-20:30 from June to September and 10:00-19:30 in December; on 24 December 10:00-14:30 (official info, October 2026).

Concerts take place in Smetana Hall, the building's main hall and home of the Prague Symphony Orchestra. To see the interior without a concert, there is a guided tour of about an hour in English and Czech: 320 CZK for adults, 270 CZK reduced and 660 CZK for a family.

You buy tour tickets at the box office in the building, open 10:00-19:00 (official info, October 2026).

The sculpture is by David Černý. It was installed in November 2014 beside the Quadrio centre above Národní třída metro station and is about 11 metres tall (official info, October 2026).

The passage is right next to Wenceslas Square, so you can add the National Museum at the top of the square to the same walk.

Our hotel, EA Hotel Rokoko, was on Wenceslas Square too, and we reached the Old Town on foot in about ten minutes. Our area-by-area picks are in our guide to where to stay in Prague .