Prague Castle: Tickets, Tours and How to Plan a Visit

The biggest ancient castle there is

Prague Castle has been the seat of power in Bohemia since the 9th century, first for dukes and kings, then Holy Roman emperors, then the presidents of Czechoslovakia and today the Czech Republic. The Guinness Book of Records lists it as the largest ancient castle in the world: almost 70,000 square metres, about 570 metres long and an average 130 metres wide. The word Hrad, the Castle, is used in Czech politics as shorthand for the president and the presidential office.

That unbroken use is what separates it from the ruined or museum castles elsewhere in Europe. Kings still walked these courtyards into office. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept in a hidden room inside the complex, and the changing of the guard at the gates happens because the head of state actually works here.

St Vitus Cathedral first, before the queues form

Go through the main entrance gates and the cathedral fills the third courtyard straight ahead. This Gothic church took almost six centuries to finish: building began in 1344 under Charles IV and the cathedral was only completed in 1929. It is the largest and most important church in the country, the coronation church of Bohemian kings and their burial place, with tombs of Holy Roman emperors inside. The main tower rises 102.8 metres and the building measures 124 by 60 metres.

Do not miss the Golden Gate on the south side, named for its golden mosaic of the Last Judgment, through which kings once entered for their coronations. The cathedral opens with the other buildings at 09:00. Our estimate: give it 45 minutes before the midday crowds arrive, and come back later if the nave is packed.

The Old Royal Palace and St George's Basilica

Leave the cathedral by the south side and the Old Royal Palace runs along the edge of the courtyard. Inside, Vladislav Hall is the showpiece: a vast vaulted space built by Benedikt Rejt around 1500, big enough for knightly tournaments indoors. This is also where the Defenestration of Prague began in 1618, when nobles threw two imperial governors out of a window and started the Bohemian Revolt.

St George's Basilica stands a short walk to the east. Its origins go back to the first half of the 10th century under Duke Vratislaus I and his son Wenceslaus I, which makes it the oldest surviving church building in the castle. The austere Romanesque interior is a calm change of pace after the Gothic drama of St Vitus, and the former convent next door holds castle exhibitions.

Finish downhill at Golden Lane, the narrow street of tiny coloured houses built in the 16th century for Rudolf II's castle guards and named for the goldsmiths who lived there later. Franz Kafka rented house number 22 in the summer of 1916 and wrote there for about a year. An armory museum occupies the old 14th-century fortification wall beside the lane, and Dalibor Tower, once a dungeon, connects at the end.

Opening hours and quiet times

The castle grounds open daily from 06:00 to 22:00 and walking them costs nothing. The paid buildings open 09:00-17:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 09:00-16:00 from 1 November to 31 March. The circuit ticket is valid for two consecutive days, with one entry per building, so you can split the visit across two mornings.

At noon: each day the presidential guard changes in the first courtyard, with a fanfare and a flag ceremony, the spectacle most visitors come to see at 12. Our estimate for quiet rooms is the first hour after 09:00 opening, or the last hour before the buildings close. Midday to early afternoon is the busiest stretch at St Vitus.

• Dress code: St Vitus is a working cathedral, so cover shoulders and knees.
• The circuit ticket allows one entry per building, plan your second day carefully.
• Golden Lane has free entry after the interiors close, useful on a late arrival.

Tram, bridge or funicular

The tram is the standard way up. Tram 22 stops at Pražský hrad, from where it is a short walk to the main entrance, and the castle tour with a local guide includes the tram ticket and meets at Malostranská at the bottom of the hill. Walking up through Malá Strana takes our estimate around 20 to 30 minutes on steep cobbled streets, but it is free and passes good viewpoints.

The scenic route crosses Charles Bridge from the Old Town and climbs through the castle's Nerudova street. The afternoon walking tour from Old Town Square does exactly this, over the bridge and up to the castle with a licensed guide. Allow extra time in either direction, because the descent through Malá Strana is slippery in rain.

Choosing your routing

The honest minimum for the four paid sights is about 2 hours at a brisk pace, and our estimate for an unhurried visit is 3 to 4 hours, plus any time you give the grounds, gardens and viewpoints, which are free. Two groups dominate the decision: travellers with one day in Prague, who should start at 09:00 and accept crowds, and travellers with two days, who can split the circuit ticket across two mornings and see the rest of the city in between.

If the castle is one item on a longer itinerary, consider outsourcing the logistics. A guided slot fixes the timing, and the two-day ticket forgives a slow first day. And if castles become the theme of the trip, Karlštejn is the natural second act, about 30 km south-west of Prague.

The Karlštejn day trip

Karlštejn Castle was founded in 1348 by Charles IV to safeguard the Imperial Regalia and the Bohemian crown jewels, and its great tower holds the Chapel of the Holy Cross, consecrated in 1365 as the treasury's heart. It sits above the Berounka river roughly 30 km south-west of Prague and is among the most visited castles in the country.

The easiest way out is the Karlštejn Castle and caves day trip, 8 to 9 hours with hotel pickup in Prague, a guided interiors tour and the Koněprusy Caves added. Note that children under 5 and people with claustrophobia cannot join the caves.

The list

Read these before you go and the buildings will explain themselves.

• The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept in a hidden room inside the castle (prague-castle.wiki.md).
• St Vitus took almost six centuries to finish, from 1344 to 1929 (prague-castle.wiki.md).
• Kafka wrote in Golden Lane house number 22 for about a year from the summer of 1916 (prague-castle.wiki.md).
• Heydrich ran the Nazi occupation from the castle, and legend says placing the crown on a usurper's head dooms him to die within a year (prague-castle.wiki.md).
• Golden Lane is free to enter after the castle interiors close (prague-castle.wiki.md).