Prague Castle Opening Hours (2026) + Best time to visit to avoid the crowds
Prague Castle’s opening hours for 2026, including attractions, gardens and private palaces as well as the best times to visit Prague Castle to avoid the crowds.
Prague Castle is open every day all year round, including Mondays. The opening hours vary slightly during the summer and winter seasons, mainly for the gardens and the castle moat.
The main summer tourist season is from 1 April until 31 October, and the winter season is 1 November until 31 March.
The opening times might be slightly shorter on some of the Czech main public holidays. I have included the opening hours of the whole Prague Castle complex, the individual attractions, gardens and private palaces as well as my top tips on the best times to visit Prague Castle to avoid the crowds.
I should also mention, that the security gates at the Prague Castle complex have been now removed, so there are no longer queues to get in or out and you don’t need to worry about being delayed if you are visiting the inside of the castle buildings.
PIN THIS GUIDE TO KEEP FOR LATER
Prague Castle Complex Opening Hours
6.00 – 22.00 – every day, all year round
The Prague Castle complex is open 6 am – 10 pm every day, all year round. The entrance is completely free of charge, and you are welcome to come in any time you like during the opening hours.
Prague Castle Main Historical buildings
9.00 – 17.00 (summer), 9.00 – 16.00 (winter)
Old Royal Palace, The Story of Prague Castle, St. George’s Basilica, Castle Guard Exhibition, Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower, The Picture Galery at Prague Castle.
If you want to see these buildings inside, you will need to buy a Prague Castle ticket, which is 450 CZK for adults (with concessions for children, students and senior citizens available).
Golden Lane
Entry with a valid ticket to the Castle Complex during every day is between 9.00 – 17.00 (summer), and 9.00 – 16.00 (winter), when the Daliborka Tower and the various exhibitions at different houses are open as part of your ticket.
16.00 – 22.00 (winter)
17.00 – 22.00 (summer)
My Local Tip: The great thing is that historic Golden Lane is also open in the evening after the exhibition’s closing times. You are welcome to browse the shops and visit the cafes (open usually until 5-7 pm) and take photos of the lane. Look out for house No. 22, where the writer Franz Kafka wrote some of his novels. I think, this little street is particularly atmospheric when the tour groups have vanished and you have the place (almost) for yourself. Entry in the evening after 5 pm is free and you don’t need a ticket.
St. Vitus Cathedral
Mo – Sa: 9.00 – 17.00; Su: 12.00 – 17.00 (summer)
Mo – Sa: 9.00 – 16.00; Su: 12.00 – 16.00 (winter)
These times are for entry with a paid ticket for the Castle Complex. Last entrance is always 20 minutes before the closing time. If you don’t have a ticket, you can see the church from the place below the western music gallery, but it does get very busy there and you can only glance in. If you want to see the whole cathedral at your own pace, you really need to buy a ticket.
On Sundays, the Cathedral doesn’t open for sightseeing until 12:00 pm because of morning Mass.
You are welcome to attend one of the regular services (for free), which take place every day. You don’t need a ticket, just turn up.
Monday – Saturday 7.00 am Service
Fridays 18.00 – extra evening service
Sunday 8.30, 10.00 and 17.00
There are also extra services around the Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Great South Tower of St. Vitus Cathedral
10.00 – 18.00 – every day (summer)
10.00 – 17.00 – every day (winter)
Last entrance is 30 minutes before the closing time.
My Local Tip: The cathedral tower is the only place in the Castle Complex that’s not included in the main ticket (which is now 450 CZK for adult ticket). There is an extra charge of 200 CZK to view the tower, but it’s well worth the views. Mind you there are 287 steps to get there, so be prepared!
Exhibitions & Galleries
10.00 – 18.00 – every day, all year round
Prague Castle Riding School, Imperial Stables, Theresian Wing, Royal Summer Palace
Prague Castle Gardens
The main Prague Castle gardens – the Royal Garden, Stag Moat, South Gardens and the newly re-opened Hartigova Garden are open at different times each month, mainly based on daylight and are all free to enter.
They are also completely closed from mid November until the end of February, to give the gardens time to rest (and the grounds are just too muddy anyway).
April – June 10.00 – 19.00,
July – August 10.00 – 20.00,
September 10.00 – 19.00,
October 10.00 – 17.00
1st till 12th of November 10:00 – 16:00
13th of November till 28th of February: the gardens are closed to the public
March 10.00 – 17.00
The Garden on the Bastion
6.00 – 22.00 – every day, all year round
Lobkowicz Palace Art Museum & Gallery
Open every day – 10.00 – 5.00 (winter) 10:00 – 6.00 (summer)
The Lobkowicz Palace Museum, including restaurant and cafe is open every day, all year round. It’s the only private palace in the Castle complex and tickets for the museum are 360 CZK (children, students and senior citizen’s concessions available).
Toy Museum
9 am – 6 pm every day – all year round
Museum of holograms
10.00-16.00 – every day, all year round
Best time to visit Prague Castle to avoid the crowds
If I want to avoid the crowds and I only want to walk around the castle (not necessarily visit the exhibitions) and to take some great photos I get up super early in the morning and try to get to the Prague Castle for 6 am in summer or by 7 am in the winter.
The Golden Lane is sometimes open before 9 am without paying (before the expositions open), but it’s always open for free after 5 pm in the evening.
This is also the best time to take photos, because the buildings inside the Prague castle complex are very close together and the shade during the day is just too strong.
If you are not an early riser, you can also visit in the evening and arrive after 5-6 pm when the historical buildings close. The organised day tours will be long gone and there will be a lot less people around.
The bonus is that the Golden Lane is open for free after 5 pm, so you can see it too. Last time I visited during the summer evening, I was quite surprised by how the photos came out – the shadows were not as bad as I though they would be.
If you are visiting the inside of the castle buildings, then you don’t have much choice as you have to visit between 9 am – 5 pm. Saying that, if you aim for Tuesday or Wednesday, these are the least busy days.
After that Thursday is still reasonably fine, but as you get close to the weekend – Friday, Saturday and Sunday are always super busy.
In my experience, Monday is less busy than a weekend, but since most museums and attractions are closed on Mondays in the centre of Prague and the Prague Castle isn’t, it’s an obvious choice for most tourists who are staying in Prague for a longer weekend.
My favourite tip:
If you want to see the palace buildings beautifully lit visit after dark. The castle grounds do look very mystical at night and also very peaceful. The whole castle complex is open until 10 pm each day, so you really have a plenty of time to look around.
If you are interested in seeing the changing of the guard, make sure that you are at the main entrance before noon – 12 o’clock when the changing ceremony starts.
This blog post was originally written on 3 January 2024 and last updated on 11 May 2026
