24 Hours in Prague

Go up first and walk down. Tram 22 climbs to the castle. The historical buildings open at 9 a.m., and the Main circuit ticket, $21 (£15.50; CZK 450), covers St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica and Golden Lane. Tickets are valid for two days and each building can be entered once. Allow two and a half hours.

Then walk down Nerudova street through Malá Strana, cross Charles Bridge, and eat a late lunch at Lokál Dlouhááá in the Old Town. Be under the Old Town Hall tower for the astronomical clock on the hour, then walk five minutes north into Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter. Dinner is at U Fleků in the New Town, and the walk back to your hotel goes over Charles Bridge again, this time lit and far quieter.

Timing matters most in winter. From November 1 to March 31 the castle buildings close at 4 p.m., an hour earlier than in summer, so a late start means a rushed circuit; the castle grounds themselves stay open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you arrive after noon, swap the order: Old Town and Josefov first, castle grounds and the view at dusk, and skip the paid circuit. If it rains, spend longer inside the cathedral and the palace and keep the walk short.

Stay in Prague 1, which covers the Old Town, the New Town and Malá Strana. We priced it on Kayak for one Friday night, two adults, 3-star or better, guest score 8 or higher, with all taxes and fees in:

• January 15, 2027: $62 (£46) at Koruna Hotel, a 3-star rated 8.1. A 4-star, Prague Star Hotel, was $67 (£50).
• June 11, 2027: $125 (£94) at Hotel U 3 Pštrosů, a 4-star rated 9.1 at the Malá Strana end of Charles Bridge. Summer roughly doubles the price.

For this plan, Malá Strana is the most atmospheric base and puts you below the castle for the morning. The Old Town is the most convenient, close to Lokál and the clock. The New Town around Wenceslas Square is the most practical for the airport: metro line A runs straight from Muzeum and Můstek to the trolleybus at Nádraží Veleslavín.

Prague has no rail link to the airport, but the official public transport route is quick. Take trolleybus 59 from outside the terminals to Nádraží Veleslavín and change to metro line A, which runs to Malostranská, Staroměstská and Můstek in the center. Prague Public Transport (PID) puts the trip at about 35 minutes. A 90-minute ticket costs $2.30 (£1.70; CZK 50) on paper, or $2.10 (£1.60; CZK 46) in the PID Lítačka app. Older guides call this route bus 119; the airport now lists it as the 59 trolleybus.

The Airport Express (AE) bus goes to the main railway station in about 45 minutes and charges its own fare of $9.20 (£6.90; CZK 200), so it only makes sense if you are catching a train. A 24-hour ticket is $6.90 (£5.20; CZK 150) on paper or $6.50 (£4.80; CZK 140) in the app, and covers trams, the metro and buses.

The airport's official taxi service is Uber Airport, booked through the Uber app, at self-service kiosks or at the counter in arrivals. The app shows the fare before you book, and the airport publishes no fixed price, so we give none. Use the marked pick-up points outside arrivals.

Czech food is heavy and goes with beer, which suits a cold day of walking. Four things to eat and drink:

• Svíčková at Lokál Dlouhááá: beef in a cream and vegetable sauce with bread dumplings, at the long beer hall on Dlouhá street. Order the Pilsner Urquell from the tank.
• Dark lager at U Fleků: the New Town brewery pub known for its own dark beer, with long tables and Czech pub food.
• Goulash with dumplings: a standard on Czech pub menus and a quick hot lunch if Lokál is full.
• Mulled wine and cookies in Advent: from November 28, the Old Town Square Christmas market, run by the organizer Taiko, fills the square with stalls, a lit tree and carols.

Neither pub publishes fixed menu prices online, so we quote none. Expect to share a long table at both.

Keep the line from the castle to the Old Town and drop the rest. Walk the castle grounds and the cathedral front without the paid circuit, come down through Malá Strana, cross Charles Bridge and finish at the astronomical clock. That loop is about 2 miles (3 km) and takes three hours with stops. Eat at Lokál, then take metro A and the 59 back to the airport.

On the ground that is $32 (£24; CZK 700) before food. With the January room, the total is $94 (£70); with the June room, $157 (£118). Add the castle's permanent exhibitions for $13.80 (£10.40; CZK 300) if you have time. Prague had the cheapest January hotel of the five Central and Western European cities we priced; see our cheap city breaks ranking.

From the US, the airport's airlines table on Wikipedia lists one nonstop from the hubs we track: Delta from New York JFK, in season only. Otherwise you connect through a European hub, or fly into Vienna or Berlin and continue by train.

From the UK, British Airways flies from Heathrow, easyJet and Wizz Air from Gatwick, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair from Manchester and Edinburgh (Jet2 seasonal from Edinburgh), and Ryanair and Jet2 (seasonal) from Stansted. There is no practical train from London.

Entry rules. US and UK citizens enter the Czech Republic visa-free for short stays. The EU's Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since April 10, 2026: you register fingerprints and a photo on first entry, and passports are no longer stamped. ETIAS is not running: the European Commission says no applications are being collected and the start date will be announced several months ahead. The fee has been set at $22 (£16.80; €20) for when it starts.

Spring and autumn give the best balance of light and crowds. Summer is the busiest and most expensive, with the bridge full from mid-morning. Winter is cold and dark early, but rooms cost half the June price, and from November 28, 2026 to January 6, 2027 the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square Christmas markets run daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to Prague City Tourism. See how Prague compares on our Christmas market city breaks list, alongside Budapest. The climate table on this page has the monthly figures.

Airport to center

35 min from Václav Havel Airport Prague: Trolleybus 59 from the terminals to Nádraží Veleslavín, then metro line A to the center (Můstek or Staroměstská), $2.30 (£1.70; CZK 50)

One night, Friday

$62 (£46) on January 15, 2027 · $125 (£94) on June 11, 2027 (Prague 1 (Old Town, New Town and Malá Strana))

Day ticket

PID 24-hour ticket, Prague (paper; 140 CZK in the PID Litacka app): $6.90 (£5.20; CZK 150)

24 hours, per person

$58 (£43): half the average room, the airport ride both ways and a day ticket (entries extra)

Nonstop from the US

JFK

Nonstop from the UK

All 5 of our 5 UK airports

Hotel prices: Cheapest 3-star-or-better double, 1 night (Friday), 2 adults, stay total including all taxes and fees, guest rating 8+, Kayak Prague 1 neighborhood filter, checked 2026-10-21. January: Koruna Hotel (3-star, 8.1) at $62. June: Hotel U 3 Pstrosu (4-star, 9.1) by Charles Bridge at $125..

Best months for walking around by our weather score: June, August, September. Daytime highs and lows, rain days (1 mm or more) and sunshine hours are 2016–2025 averages for Prague (Open-Meteo historical weather archive).

Prague 3-hour Afternoon Walking Tour including Prague Castle

Castle admission (St Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St George's Basilica, Golden Lane) and a public transport ticket are included; St Nicholas Church in Mala Strana is not. Meet in front of the Old Town Hall on Old Town Square.

3 to 3.5 hours

4.8★★★★★★★★★★(2,466 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

Prague: Jazz Boat - live jazz cruise

Several boarding points on the river depending on the option, so check your ticket. It is a better night out than the standard 50-minute cruises, which rate 4.1 to 4.2.

2.5 hours

4.7★★★★★★★★★★(2,206 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Prague Food Tour with 10 Tastings of Authentic Czech Classics

Meet at the Holy Trinity column on Malostranske namesti; it ends near the Ujezd tram stop under Petrin hill. The product page showed $105.04 per adult while the category card showed from $84, which varies by group size, so check the final price at checkout.

3 hours

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(552 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on Viator

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