My favourite places to visit in Prague in February 2023, including travel tips, weather and what to pack when you are heading off to Prague in winter.
Is February a good month to visit Prague?
Yes, and no! It depends on how you like to travel and spend your time exploring a new town.
It’s perfect if you don’t like crowds and want to experience Prague without lots of tourists. But, be prepared that some minor tourist attractions might be closed for the winter or have shorter opening hours.
It gets dark around 5 pm at the beginning of the months and 5.40 pm towards the end of the month, so you need to plan your day accordingly and leave something nice to do indoors for the evening.
In the morning the sun rise is from 7.40 am at the beginning of the month to 6.50 am towards the end of the February.
February activities also sometimes overlap with January and March so make sure you check out my other blog post too to help you to plan your stay in Prague.
What to pack for your Prague trip in February
It can also be very cold, around zero Celsius, and often it snows, but when the sun is out, it can be surprisingly warm. Be careful, though once the sun goes down, it gets quickly cold again.
One thing I would say is that you want to dress very warm. And by warm I mean, firm shoes with thick soles, thick thermal socks, thermal leggings and t-shirts, plenty of layers and a winter coat.
A winter hat, scarf and proper gloves are also a must. You can always take them off, but I think most of the time you’ll be glad you have them!
If you are thinking of doing any exploring and walking around Prague, either in a group or on your own, you will be walking fairly slowly or standing around for a bit, so pick shoes with the thickest soles and even wear two pairs of socks to be comfortable.
BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
- Everything you need to know before you visit Prague for the first time >>
- What to pack for your trip to Prague >>
- Prague weather in winter >>
Interesting dates in February
There are no Czech national bank holidays or official days off during February.
14 February – Valentines Day
Celebrating Valentines Day is still a novelty for most Czech people, as before 1989 hardly anyone knew about this day. Over the last 30 years, it became an increasingly popular day to celebrate, especially amongst the younger generation.
Like everywhere else it’s mainly commercially led, but Prague was a romantic city even before Valentines Day become popular, which means you can enjoy the day no matter what.
If you are planning to propose on Valentines Day in Prague there are many romantic places and restaurants that would be the perfect backdrop for your marriage proposal.
21 February – Travel Guides Day
This day is celebrated as a day for travel guides and guided walks guides. Around 12 major towns (including Prague) take part in the celebrations, which mainly include free or reduced entry to many tourist attractions, extra walks, festivals and other ways of celebrating the travel industry.
The actual date is adhered to fairly loosely, depending on what day 21 February falls, the main celebrations are usually the following (or the closest) Saturday.
PLANNING YOUR PRAGUE TRIP
- One day in Prague – itinerary suggestions to make the best of your time >>
- Non-touristy things to do & places to visit in Prague >>
Tips for your February itinerary
The best way to plan your day is to mix outdoor activities with indoor ones and plan plenty of stops for coffee, museums or food breaks.
Stay warm by exploring the city in a tram
The perfect way to warm up and carry on exploring the town is to hop on a tram.
My favourite route is tram no.22 because it takes you from the centre to the top of the castle and then you can walk down back to the centre, exploring Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and Old Town Square.
Prague centre is very accessible by public transport and the tram network is well designed to get you to and from any major tourist attractions.
MORE TRAVEL TIPS
- How to get from the Prague airport >>
- How to use Prague public transport >>
- Train tickets buying guide + discounts and main stations >>
Have a Czech cinema evening
As it gets dark, check out the independent cinemas around Wenceslas Square – Lucerna and Svetozor – to check if there are any films you would like to see. Lucerna will show any current blockbusters (and they will be in the original language – English – with Czech subtitles).
Svetozor is perfect for art films in their original language (English is the most favourite one), but they will also have original Czech films with English subtitles.
If you are not too sure if you would like to see a Czech film, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. Most Czech films are very realistically filmed with interesting dialogue and storylines. They can often be fairly gritty, but funny at the same time.
Have a breakfast or a brunch in a historic cafe
Since it’s going to be fairly cold outside for most of your February stay in Prague, it’s a perfect time to have a long breakfast or brunch. Practically every cafe place will have some sort of breakfast menu.
The breakfast or brunch menu is usually influenced by Czech cuisine, but expect to find variations on cooked breakfast (with or without meat), waffles, pancakes, smoothie bowls and porridge.
If you want to combine a great breakfast with a wonderful historic settings, here is my favourite list of places to visit in the centre of Prague.
These cafe place have been around for many years, some since 1900 – 1930 when cafe culture in Prague was booming. These are also the large style cafe places with open planned seating. Opening times are usually 8 or 9 am until late 10 or 11 pm (for light dinners or drinks).
The breakfast menu is usually more traditional than in newer cafes, but you can find a good selection of various egg/meat/sausage type of dishes with local bread, cakes and pancakes.
Prices for food and drinks are moderate, which is expected for the location. Drinks from 70-100 CZK, meat dishes 100-150 CZK, pancakes 100 CZK, set menus 250-375 CZK.
If you have a big appetite, I would definitely recommend Cafe Imperial, because their ‘all you can eat breakfast’ is the best value for your money.
- Cafe Slavia – Smetanovo Nabrezi 1012/2, Prague 1
- Cafe Louvre – Narodni 22, Prague 1
- Kavarna Adria – Narodni 36, Prague 1
- Cafe Imperial – Na Porici 1072/15
TASTE MORE OF PRAGUE
- What is traditional Czech Breakfast ? >>
- Best Farmer’s Markets in Prague >>
- 11 best ice cream places (with indoor seating spaces) >>
Travel down memory lane by visiting Matthew’s Fun Fair
Matthew’s Fair is a traditional fairground with lots of rides, attractions and food stalls.
It always starts on the 24th of February on St.Matthew’s day, and its origins go all the way back to the 16th century.
It’s based next to a large park called Stromovka in Vystaviste – The Exhibition Centre– Prague 7, easily accessible by the Prague tram network directly from the centre.
The fair lasts for about six weeks and entrance is free during weekdays and about £1 during weekends. This doesn’t, of course, include the individual rides, which you can buy directly from each attraction.
Location: Vystaviste (The Exhibition Area), Vystaviste 67, Prague 7 – Holesovice, tram stop Vystaviste, tram no. 6,12, 17
Visit Prague Castle
You can easily spend the whole day at Prague Castle. To be honest, I always think it’s a bit of-of a waste of time to dedicate the whole day to a castle on a lovely summer day, but in winter; now that is my idea of spending a perfect few hours.
There are so many areas to explore: the castle itself, the castle museum, the tiny houses of Golden Lane and the cathedral.
Not everything is indoors, but there are plenty of little cafes and restaurants dotted in the castle grounds to keep you warm.
The castle grounds are free to visit, including the quiet streets of New World tucked away at the back of the Prague Castle.
Walk along along the Hunger wall on Petrin Hill
If you want, you can extend your walk from the Prague Castle to the Strahov Monastery and then walk along the Hunger Wall to Petrin and Kinsky Garden finishing at the Ujezd and taking the 22 tram (or 9, 15 or 12) back to the centre.
Even when it’s a little cold, it’s a great walk to take and you will be rewarded by a great views of Prague and Prague Castle.
During the rest of the year, the leaves from the trees often cover the view of Prague Castle, but in the winter the views are unrestricted.
Join in the Masopust celebrations
Masopust is a folk celebration of winter leaving the village and the start of the 40 days of lent before the Easter. It would be also a time, when people celebrate weddings, as it was the last time, you could eat meat, rich food and drink alcohol before Easter.
It’s a slightly movable event, but it’s usually somewhere around the middle to the end of February.
The weekend before and after, there are many celebrations in Prague and neighbouring villages with masked processions, folk music and traditional food such as filled cakes (kolace), yeasted pancakes (livance), bramboraky, smoked sausages and also plenty of beer.
My favourite Masopust is just outside Prague in Mokropsy (20 min by train from Smichovske Nadrazi towards Beroun – train stop is called Cernosice – Mokropsy), because it’s my local Masopust and one that I helped with regularly from 1994 until I moved to London few years later.
I used to take part in the procession and help with the costumes, mainly making hundreds of colourfully crepe paper roses that decorated hats and dresses. My friend told me that they kept re-using the roses long after I’ve left, partly because they were so well made, but probably because it was really hard work to make them!
The Masopust has been going strong since 1989 and each year is bigger, better and more elaborate. Entrance is free, just come as you are and enjoy the celebrations.
STAY IN TOUCH
Hope this blog post inspires you and as ever I’d love to what you think! Let me know in the comments below or catch up with me over on Instagram.
Magdalena
This blog post was originally written on 8 January 2022 and last updated on 10 January 2023
