Visiting National Technical Museum – Tickets, Exhibitions & Practical Info (2026)
The National Technical Museum is my favourite museum and if you like industrial heritage, I think, you’ll enjoy it too! It has an impressive collection of automobiles, motorcycles, aviation, maritime, and railway transport in the Czech Republic.
You can see the first Czechoslovak automobile, the NW President car from 1898 or the Tatra 80 automobile from 1935, used by the first President Masaryk.
A very special is also Kašpar JK aeroplane from 1911, on which Jan Kašpar made the first long-distance flight in the history of Czech aviation from Prague Mala Chuchle to Pardubice (both starting and landing on a horse racing track as airports didn’t exist at the time).
And you can also see the Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.IXE fighter aircraft from 1945, with which Czechoslovak pilots returned to their liberated homeland after fighting in Great Britain.
Is the National Technical Museum worth visiting?
I love industrial history and the technical museum is definitely one of my favourite museums in Prague. It is definitely worth visiting if you like this kind of history and of course perfect for families with young children (it’s worth seeing just the main area for the cars, trams, bikes, planes and trains!)
But, if I had only a few days in Prague and the weather was lovely, I’d probably not want to spend the whole day in a museum. Because that’s what will happen if you want to see all the exhibitions properly.
And for popping in just for a spare hour to see at least the main area of the building it feels a little too much to spend for a ticket – especially if you are a family.
My favourite way to visit the museum is during the special museum days (see my insider tips below), when you can see just what you want without feeling guilty that you’ve spent too much on the ticket.
MORE MUSEUMS & GALLERIES IN PRAGUE
Insider tip – Visit the Technical Museum for less
If you are travelling to Prague on a budget and want to see the Technical Museum for reduced ticket cost, plan your trip to Prague around the special opening days, which are usually on the main Czech public holidays. This year, you can visit the Technical Museum for less on the following days:
- 18.5. International Museum Day
- 5.7. Anniversary of the Technical Museum founding
- 7. 9 Days of European Heritage
- 28.9 Czech National Day
- 28. 10 Czech Independence Day
- 17. 11 Velvet Revolution
- 18.12 Anniversary of the death of the first president after 1989 Vaclav Havel
The cost of an adult ticket on these days is 80 CZK and children (6-15 years old), students or senior citizens are 40 CZK. Children under 6 years of age go free. (Extra payment is still required for visiting the mining exhibition in the basement).
READ MORE
Address Location
Kostelní 42, 170 00 Prague 7
How to get to the National Technical Museum from the centre of Prague
The quickest way to get to the National Technical Museum in Prague from the centre (from the historic Wenceslas Square) is to take a tram.
Take tram number 26 from the “Václavské náměstí” stop (located at Wenceslas Square) in the direction of “Divoká Šárka” and ride for about 20 minutes. Get off at the “Letenské náměstí” stop.
Other trams stopping at Letenske Namesti also include 1, 8, 12, and 25. If you happen to be at the Malostranska tram or underground stop (the best stop to walk up to the Prague Castle via historic stairs), then take tram number 12 and it’s only about 10 10-minute ride.
Walking Directions from Letenské náměstí tram stop
From the “Letenské náměstí” tram stop, it’s only about 5 minutes walk to the National Technical Museum. First of all, turn into Milady Horákové street and you will already see the plane on the side of the large museum building. Afterwards, you just need to walk around the museum by turning right into Kostelní Street, and you will find the museum at number 42.
If you fancy a walk you can also walk from Letna Park, which is in front of the museum and it’s accessible from the Chotkovy Sady tram stop (level walking) or you can also walk up from the Vltava River, but it’s quite a hike up the hill.
Opening Times
Open every day through the whole year from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am – 6 pm. Closed every Monday (unless it’s a public holiday).
Entrance Fee
280 CZK Adult Ticket, concessions 150 CZK (students 15-26, seniors over 65), children 6-15 years old 60 CZK, children under 6 years FREE. Family ticket (2 adults + up to 4 children below 15 years old) 600 CZK.
The Mining Exhibition with a replica of mine is extra – you can only visit with a guide and the extra ticket is 60 CZK for adults and 30 CZK for children.
Is the Technical Museum English-Friendly?
Yes, it is! All the permanent and temporary exhibitions are labelled with Czech and English signs. Most younger staff will be able to speak English at least a little if you need anything during your visit. Since the Technical Museum is one of the most visited museums in Prague, all the staff are used to dealing with foreign tourists.
The mining exhibition and visit to the mine can be only done with a guide, who unless pre-booked as a group or arranged separately will be doing the tour in Czech Language.
Also from 2024, you can download the museum TourStories app, which will guide you through the main transport exhibition. The most interesting exhibits are highlighted in five different routes. At each exhibit, you can listen to authentic stories from the museum curator and view period photographs or hear other archival materials. You can even see some cars inside through a 360° video on the app.
The best time to visit to avoid the crowds
The Technical Museum is really big and every time I’ve visited, I never really felt it was too crowded. The ground floor with the biggest exhibits (trains, cars etc.) is always the busiest, but once you go up to the permanent and temporary exhibitions it really feels like you have all the museum to yourself.
Saying that the mining exhibition in the basement (with trains) has an extra cost, but it’s very popular with children and young families.
If you want to visit on the less busy days, I’d recommend visiting during weekdays (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) and not during weekends or school holidays.
The special – reduced fee museum days are of course very busy with local visitors and families and it might feel a little crowded, especially around the popular exhibits in the main display area.
How much time to allow for your visit
If you want to visit all the exhibitions and galleries, you can easily spend a whole day there. I’d recommend that you allow a minimum of 2-3 hours if you want to see the main exhibition and perhaps one or two of the exhibitions on the upper floors.
I’ve been to the Technical Museum many times, but it’s like I always lose time when I’m there! There is so much to see, plus there are often new temporary exhibitions to visit. Last time I only went to see the Baroque Architect Santini Exhibition and I stayed for about 2 hrs.
Refreshments
There is one cafe in the Technical Museum. It’s designed in a fab retro vibe and serves hot food, soups, cakes, snacks and hot and cold drinks. The opening times are the same as the museum and it’s open to ticket holders only.
Souvenir Shop
The museum souvenir shop is at the entrance and you can have a look around without buying a ticket. If you are looking for nice and well-designed souvenirs from Prague, I’d definitely recommend that you pop in.
The Technical Museum Building History
The Technical Museum was originally founded in 1908, but it took a while before the first exhibition was open to the public. This happened on 28 September 1910 and at the time the museum was in the Schwarzenberg Palace at Hradcany, near Prague Castle Complex.
By the 1930s it was felt that a dedicated museum building was needed and the current building at Letna started to be built in 1938 based on the architect of Milan Babuska. Once the building was completed in 1941, the occupying administration immediately took over and placed the Ministry of post office there.
The museum also had to leave Schwarzenberg Palace and was given a space in the Invalidovna Building in Karlin, where they could only display smaller exhibits. By 1944 the activity of the museum was completely slowed down by the ongoing war.
After the war, it was quite difficult for the museum to get its building back. This was only partially achieved in 1948, but then in 1951 the whole museum was taken over by the state and the original museum foundation ceased its activities by 1959.
It wasn’t until 1990, that the whole building became again a museum, until then about 1/3 of the building was still used by different organisations.
The Invalidovna Building was still being used as storage and unfortunately in 2002, the floods damaged a lot of the exhibits there.
Between 2003 and 2013 the museum underwent major re-constructions, especially returning the design back to the original 1930s plans and more exhibition space was added.
The Technical Museum Exhibitions & What you can see
Transport
This is the main part of the museum and it’s definitely one area you shouldn’t miss. You can see here cars, motorbikes, trains, and planes from different periods of time. It’s my favourite part of the museum – I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I walk in! So much to see!
Technology at home
This exhibition is also super big and includes all the household electrical equipment, such as washing machines, irons, sewing machines and kitchen appliances.
I really like the way how whole kitchens are displayed from the middle of 19th century until recent times. The only thing is that seeing some of the stuff that we had at home in the museum already, makes me think the time is faster than I think!
The mine replica & history of mining
There is a complete replica of Ore and Coal Mine in the basement of the museum. The mine was created in the 1950s and the different corridors are about 370 meters.
Entry is only with a guide and you have to book and pay extra for this exhibition (60 CZK adult & 30 CZK child). The guided tours are in a group of a maximum of 12 people.
History of Sugar & Chocolate
This is only a small exhibition of sugar and chocolate manufacturing, but quite important in the history of the museum.
The centrepiece of the exhibit is a unique model of a beet processing sugar factory at a 1:10 scale, which the museum acquired in 1910 and which became the museum’s first-ever collection item.
Sugar was an important commodity in Czechoslovakia and it was referred to as “white gold.” Sugar producers supported the Technical Museum from the beginning and played a crucial role in its founding in 1908. They also significantly contributed to the construction of the 1930s museum building at Letna.
Other parts of the museum include also the following topics:
- Television Studio Exhibition
- History of Printing
- Chemistry around us
- The history of measuring time
- Ironmongery
- History of Photography
- Astronomy
- The invention of contact eyes
- Architecture & Design
Other branches of the Technical Museum
The Technical Museums has so many collections, which are also held at different branches, which include the Railway Museum in Chomutov and the Building Heritage Museum in Plasy.
Future projects of the museum
This is news, that I’m super excited about. The National Technical Museum is planning to build a new railway museum in the area of the former engine sheds at Masaryk Railway Station in Prague. The plans are to exhibit around 150 historical steam locomotives, First Republic handcars, and wagons from World War II.
I have been to a couple of open days to see how the space is shaping (it’s going to be great!) and the new museum is expected to be open to the public in 2028, so not too long to wait now!
What else to see nearby
- Letna Park Carousel – Europe’s oldest carousel, which was originally built in 1892.
- Farming Museum – large museum about the history of agriculture (nicely done for children) and a great roof garden with panoramic views
- Letna Beer Garden – great beer, laidback atmosphere and fabulous views of Prague
This blog post was originally written on 22 July 2024 and last updated on 22 July 2024
PIN TO KEEP FOR LATER
