Prague Castle Visitor Guide & Review
Prague Castle is one of the best attractions to visit in the Czech Capital. Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world and is home to several historic buildings, including a cathedral, church and palace.
In this guide, I'll be sharing everything you need to know to plan a visit to Prague Castle.
Getting to Prague Castle
Prague Castle is on the opposite side of the Vltava River to the Old Town. From the Old Town, you can reach the castle on foot by crossing one of two bridges and heading uphill via one of two designated staircases.
Route 1: cross the Charles Bridge and follow the road straight ahead until St. Nicholas Church. Turn right just before the church and carry on until you reach Thunovská Street. Turn right onto this street and then follow the stone staircase up to the castle entrance.
Route 2: cross the Manes Bridge and head up Klárov Street. Go past Malostranská metro station and then take the second left (just after a small park) to access the staircase leading to a different castle entrance.
I prefer Route 1 as it takes you over the iconic Charles Bridge, which is something you should plan to do anyway on your trip to Prague. Plus, the staircase in Route 1 offers fantastic views of the city below, so make sure to stop a few times on the way to take some pictures.
Both walks take 20-25 minutes from the Old Town, without counting the time you might stop for pictures along the way.
To save time on walking, you could also take the metro to Malostranská station and then follow the rest of Route 2 to get to the castle.
From the Old Town, catch the metro from either Můstek or Staroměstská stations (both are about a 5-minute walk from the Old Town Square) to Malostranská.
I would personally choose to walk. The metro will only save you 5-10 minutes of walking and you still have to do the uphill section of the walk regardless. Plus, Route 1 offers better views and is the main entrance to the castle.
Opening Times and Prices
The Prague Castle complex is open daily from 6am to 10pm and is free to enter.
This means that you can walk around the castle, and admire the façades of the historical buildings (with the expception of Golden Lane) completely for free.
The buildings open later:
- Summer (April to October): 9am to 5pm
- Winter (November to March): 9am to 4pm
To enter the historical buildings, you will need to by the Prague Castle Circuit Ticket. This ticket includes entry to:
- St. Vitus Cathedral
- St. George's Basilica
- The Old Royal Palace
- Golden Lane
The Prague Circuit Tickets costs 250CZK for adults and 125CZK for 6-16 year olds, students up to 26 years old and over 65s. Under 6s can visit for free.
There are several adds you can choose to add to this price:
- Entry to the cathedral tower: +150CZK for adults and 80CZK for 6-16s, students up to 26 and over 65s.
- Entry to the Story of Prague Castle: +150CZK for adults and 80CZK for 6-16s, students up to 26 and over 65s.
- Photography charge: 50CZK (you cannot use flash or tripods)
You can buy your tickets for Prague Castle at the information office or online by clicking the QR displayed outside most of the buildings in the complex.
This QR code takes you to Get Your Guide, which will prompt you to download the app. Once you've bought the tickets, you can add them to your Apple Wallet.
Places to Visit at Prague Castle
St. Vitus Cathedral
In my opinion, St. Vitus Cathedral is the main attraction at Prague Castle.
St. Vitus Cathedral is a neo-gothic cathedral which took over 500 years to build, evenutally being consecrated in 1929.
The exterior is impressive to look at, particulary the front façade with the central circular window and the two spiral towers. The front is the most impressive, but you should still take time to walk around the entire building and admire it from all angles.
Inside, the architecture is just as stunning. The nave is lined on either side by spiralling columns and there are beautiful stained glass window all around to admire.
Visiting St. Vitus Cathedral was my highlight of Prague Castle. However, while the cathedral is beautiful, it is by no means the best or most impressive cathedral I've seen on my travels across Europe.
So, if you have limited time to visit Prague Castle, you could skip buying the ticket and just admire the buildings from the outside. However, if this is your first city break, or you have several hours to explore Prague Castle, I would highly recommend going inside St. Vitus Cathedral.
St. George's Basilica
St. George's Basilica is much smaller than the cathedral, but still stands out thanks to its red façade. The Romanesque basilica is one of the oldest churches in Prague, having been conscreated in 921.
St. George's Basilica is quite small, so you won't need longer than 10-15 minutes to visit. The inside is beautiful though. The thin nave and the limestone brick on all the walls are unique.
Old Royal Palace
The Old Royal Palace was Prague Castle's original royal residence.
Only a few of the rooms were open to visit, including the Vladislav Hall, which used to host royal banquets. Although the main section of the room is roped off, you can walk around the outside and admire the intricate floral-shaped ceiling design.
There a a few more rooms to visit on the upper floor, but the Old Royal Palace was the building I would recommend you skip if you're short on time. If you do visit, 15 minutes is more than enough to see everything.
Golden Lane
Another highlight of Prague Castle is Golden Lane, a small cobbled street lined with colourful cottages.
This street got its name from the goldsmiths who used to live here while working at the castle. More recently, Cottage Number 22 on Golden Lane was once inhabited by 20th century Czech novelist Franz Kafka from 1916 to 1917.
Nowadays, the cottages have been turned into gift shops. The one I visited was selling lovely wooden ornaments. This is a great place to find a souvenir.
If you can, visit Golden Lane as early as possible. Even by the time I got there at 11am, the street was very busy.
Golden Lane is the only exterior area of Prague Castle which is inaccessible without a ticket. For this reason, I would recommend spending the money to buy the Prague Circuit Ticket.
Lobkowicz Café
If you have some spare time during your visit to Prague Castle, I would recommend stopping either for a snack or for lunch at the Lobkowicz Café.
Located inside the Lobkowicz Palace, towards the back of the castle complex, this café not only serves delicious food, but the outdoor dining terrace has some magnificent views of the city below.
There are only six tables available outside, so I would recommend heading to the café as soon as it opens (at 10am) for a drink and snack to secure a spot on the terrace.
I had the Apple Strudel, which was served warm. It was very filling and definitely shareable.
Prague Castle Itinerary
I would schedule 2-3 hours for a visit to Prague Castle (not including time to get there):
- St. Vitus Cathedral: 30 minutes
- Golden Lane: 15 minutes (30 minutes if you want to explore the shops)
- Old Royal Palace: 15-20 minutes
- St. George's Basilica: 15-20 minutes
- Castle Grounds: 30 minutes
- Lobkowicz Café: 30-45 minutes
If you are limited on time, i would prioritise St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane. Of course, this still requires you to buy the Prague Castle Circuit ticket.
However, even if you don't plan on buying the ticket, I would still say it is worth venturing up to the castle to look at the architecture of all the buildings, and from some fantastic views of the Old Town below.
Should You Visit Prague Castle?
Yes. Prague Castle is an iconic site. Even if you do not plan on going inside the buildings, I think it is worth exploring the castle complex, particularly the exterior of St. Vitus Cathedral.
As I said, St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane are the highlights, and the Lobkowicz Café is worth a stop for the food and the views.
Also don't forget to find a spot along the river to take a picture of Prague Castle from a distance. The best place I found to do this was just to the left of the Charles Bridge on the opposite side of the river from the castle.
There are also some great views of Prague Castle to be found on Petřín Hill.
Have you visited Prague Castle? What was your favourite building? Let me know in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading. See you next time.
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