Is June a good month to visit Prague?
If you like summer in the city, then most definitely! The weather is lovely and warm and the days are getting longer. There is daylight until nearly 9 pm, which is perfect for exploring the town after the day tourists leave Prague. June is part of the main tourist season, so I would recommend you book your accommodation and flight well in advance. It’s also worth booking the main attractions, like the Jewish Quarter or Prague Castle in advance to avoid the queues on the day.
What is the weather like in June?
Most days in June are very warm (up to 17-20 C in the shade, but much hotter in the sun), but you’ll still need a second layer in the morning. We also get a lot of showers or storms in June. These are usually over very quickly, so it’s best to hide in a shop or have a coffee and then continue with your walk, rather than trying to battle against the rain with an umbrella.
What to pack for your visit
Although the weather is going to be very warm, the second layer is always useful, especially in the morning and evening. I would also pack, a good sun hat, sunglasses and a long light linen shirt, trousers or a skirt. It might be tempting to bring just flip flops or summer flats as it’s going to be very hot, but the Prague cobbles are very hard (and uneven surface) to walk on, so pair of comfy trainers or padded shoes are a must. You can find other tips on what to pack in this blog post.
Important Dates
There are no official holidays in June, but there are plenty of days which have a significance, and they are celebrated with various events.
1st of June
International Children’s Day
Check out the ‘What’s on in Prague’ for this date, as there will be plenty of free (and paid) entertainment prepared for the children across the city.
8th of June (or the second Saturday in June)
The Museum Night
If you love visiting museums, this is a night to mark in your diary! There are about 50 museums across Prague open until midnight (or 1 am) with additional events at each museum. These include talks, music, entertainment and special exhibitions. The best thing is that the entrance is free and you can hop on to special buses travelling between all the museums. Each year the museum’s list taking part is slightly different, so it’s worth checking if your favourite museum is on the list. Expect the night to be busy, but it will be nicely cool weather wise and a great way to explore Prague museums.
Other things to do in Prague in June
Well, there is so much to see and do in Prague in June, but where to start? Since the tourist season is in full swing, all tourist attractions are now open, with many open until late into the evening, to give you extra time to enjoy the city.
Spend the afternoon on the beach at Zlute Lazne (Yellow Spa)
If the heat of the centre gets too much (and believe me, it will in June!) escape to Zlute Lazne for the afternoon! Here you can experience swimming in the fresh water of the Vltava River, have a drink at a Hawaiian style bar, play table tennis or borrow a paddle boat to explore the river. To get there, catch tram number 2, 3, 17 or 21 to station Dvorce (Podoli), and it’s about 3 min walk towards the river. The basic entrance is 50 Kc for adults (and free for children under 100 cm). There are additional fees for various activities, hires and of course refreshments in the restaurants and bars. It’s worth visiting during weekday until about 2 pm when you can get a much cheaper bike/boat or activities hire. Apart from the regular activities on the side, there are special events to entertain you each month which are free as part of the entrance fee.
Zlute Lazne swimming area has a long history. It was originally founded in 1910 and was established well in the 1930s. At that time people become more concerned about exercising and looking after themselves and wanted to take time away from the polluted centre of Prague. There was even such thing as a ‘sun therapy’ where people were encouraged to spend time simply sunbathing and relaxing. And this is exactly what people did. In its heyday, Zlute Lazne welcomed up to 17 thousand visitors a day. It’s demise started in the 60s, when further up the Vltava stream the government built a large water dam to supply water to Prague and the central Czech Republic. This meant that water that now started to flow in the Vltava river was from the bottom of the dam and it was very cold! It didn’t help that a new indoor swimming pool (with balmy warm water) opened just around the corner in Podoli.
Zlute Lazne fell into disrepair, and finally, the big floods of 2002 took all the wooden structures and for a while ended the Lazne’s history. But as with many areas of Prague that were flooded and damaged in 2002, Zlute Lazne was re-built and now has a new lease of life.
Explore Prague by boat
This is a perfect way to combine exploring Prague and staying cool in the summer. There are many different boat trips, which take you up and down the Vltava river. There is plenty to see – from Prague Castle on top of the hill, parts of the old town, Prague National Theatre, Dancing House or Vysehrad Castle as well as all the bridges. Most boat trips start from Naplavka (Rasinovo Nabrezi) and are run daily.
Visit Prague Zoo
The best way to visit the Prague ZOO is by taking a boat from the centre of Prague and enjoying the 75 minutes of slow ‘ride’ to the Zoo.
You can also take the underground and a bus to get there, but depending on where you start in Prague it might not be much quicker and you’ll arrive probably much more stressed and hot than by a leisure trip on the boat.
The Prague ZOO was completely re-designed after the 2002 Prague Floods and now occupies even bigger area than before. Originally founded in the 1930s, Prague ZOO is often voted in the top 10 of the best ZOO in Europe. There is something for everyone, as you’d expect in a large ZOO. Entrance is around 220 Kc for adults and there are concessions for children/family groups and elderly visitors.
Have a picnic in Prague’s Parks
My favourite parks are on top of Petrin or Zizkov Hill as you can watch the whole city basking in the summer heat, while you are sitting down drinking a cool ice coffee (or beer or whatever summer tipple you fancy) and reading a good book!
If you want to escape the centre even further you can explore the natural parks of Divoka Sarka, Prokopske Udoli or Pruhonice Park, which are all reachable by Prague public transport.
Most parks have various coffee or tearooms open within the park boundaries or around it, but if you fancy making up your picnic basket, you can pop into one of the Prague Farmer’s Markets on the way to the park and pick some delicious local food and drink.
Visit the main attractions
I’m sure you’ll want to visit all the main attractions no matter what the weather does. So, I would suggest starting early in the morning before the weather gets very hot. You can combine an early morning walk by visiting the main attractions like Prague Castle straight when they open at 9 am. That way, by the time the main heat of the day arrives, you can leave the busy centre behind and escape to one of the many parks for a picnic and a glass of nice wine. If you want to know more about how to escape the crowds in Prague, just head over to read this blog post.
