THE 10 CLOSEST Hotels to Prague Castle

We visited the castle twice during our weekend in Prague as the complex is vast (the largest in the word) and there is so much to see and so many buildings to explore. You can walk around the extensive grounds free of charge or buy tickets depending on which buildings you wish to access. The queues build early (even in December when we were there) so consider buying tickets in advance. The architecture is stunning, and the views of the city are breathtaking. The most impressive building in the cathedral with its dark imposing towers and gothic arches. You can easily spend 2-3 hours here. The walk up to the castle is quite steep so we took the Tram (42) which stops right outside the main gates and then walked back down.

You can enter the castle courtyards and grounds for free, you have to buy tickets to see various attractions within the castle and for audio guides etc. We got the package for about 480 crowns to see Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St George, Golden Lane and St V. cathedral. I’d read several reviews before going about whether to pay to see the rooms, and went with the ‘we’re here so why not’ approach. In all though I’d say the highlight for me was St Vitus Cathedral which was stunning. The buildings were spectacular (just from the outside) and the views of the city were amazing, go into the South Park to avoid the Ques at the photo points, On reflection of our trip I don’t think seeing the castle rooms that we did brought much to our trip. Neither me nor my wife would pay to see the rooms again and would just enjoy the grounds which, as I say were spectacular. Leave at least 3-4 hours. Crowds, school trips and organised tours were very very large.

Huge structure overlooking the center of Prague. Surrounded by walls, it contains a whole series of buildings among which the most famous are the Cathedral of St. Vitus and the Golden Lane. Without paying you can not access any building while the basic ticket, however quite cheap (about € 15) allows access to the Cathedral, the church of St. George, the golden alley and the royal palace. And probably for most people this is enough because it already requires a full half day. Challenging climb to get to the castle mane is really worth P.S. better arrive early in the morning because after a certain hour people get really much

Fascinating place to visit Its best to start the tour at the castle and then walk down the hill through the old part of the city to the Charles Bridge ( Karluv most ) which is well singed. Quit easy to get to by tram or metro from the main area of Prague to Malostranska but a bit of a walk up hill when you get there. Base ticket allows access to four of the sites but they get very busy as the day progresses so best to get there by 10:00 to avoid the crowds. Castle doesn’t contain much to really see but St Vitus Cathedral is beautiful. The Golden Lane is worth a visit. There are lots of cafes within the castle area to rest and get drinks and something to eat.

Prague Castle is actually x2 "places" to visit for the price of one! The dark, impressive, gothic building you see on the skyline, is St Vitus Cathedral, a separate marvel. The castle is/are the building(s) that surround it. There is a model inside that shows how it was the typical castle we all expect, with castle walls around a central Keep, but the building(s) you see today are built on top of those walls. You can enter the castle and wander around the outside of the cathedral for free, but if you want to go in and see anything you need to pay. There are x8 main "exhibitions" to visit. You can buy a ticket for the main x4, or pay extra to visit all x8. I paid 450czk (about £15 at the time) to visit the main x4. This included 1. St. Vitus Cathedral: the Gothic marvel and the tombs of Bohemian Kings and Roman Emperors. 2. St. George’s Basilica: one of the oldest churches in Prague. 3. Old Royal Palace: historical halls where Czech royalty once resided. 4. Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower: charming street lined with colorful houses and historical exhibits/medieval prison including torture instruments and human cages. I didn't do a tour/pre-pay, just paid for my ticket at one of the ticket offices inside the castle when I got there, then wandered around myself at my own leisure. It was a Saturday, and was quite busy, but manageable. The cathedral opened at 12.30pm, and by 12pm the queue was a mile long, stretching all the way round one side odlf rhe cathedral and then double backing again! But once it got moving it only took x20mins for me to get in. I was lucky the weather was nice, but if it's cold/raining be prepared for standing outside for a while. St George's Basillica and the Old Royal Palace are indoors, but the Golden Lane is outside too, so be aware of the weather. You can hire audio guide books, but I didn't bother. There were (some) info boards in both Czech and English. There are several cafes/bars to get something to eat/drink, and several gift shops here and there. I spent about 2-3hrs on my visit, thoroughly enjoyed the history and found it very interesting. An absolute must in Prague!

we went there to see the changing guard ceremony at 12pm, it happens every day at noon at the first courtyard of the castle, we went there 15-20 min before, and we can have the front row to see the changing guard ceremony. You can also buy tickets to tour the building inside the castle, but it's quite expensive, you may also need to spend a whole day if you buy the tickets. There are numerous people lining up to enter the church, so be prepare to wait for a long time. if you don't buy ticket, you can still walk through the castle, take picture of the exterior of different church, tour the garden, see the changing guard.

Like Charlie King below we decided in advance not to book tickets to go inside the various attractions in this complex but do the walking tour around the free parts. The architecture of the buildings and the lanes are so good from the outside that it was enough for us. I will not repeat the way you do it this way, just read Charlies review below, but I will repeat a key point in that if you do plan to go inside the buildings, a) buy your tickets on line as even early in the morning the queues for the ticket places inside the complex are huge, and b) allow extra time because even with a ticket there are long lines to enter the main buildings the standard ticket covers, such as the St. Vitus Cathedral (the add on museums and towers are usually quieter and easier to get into, but obviously cost more money). We took one of the many trams that stops near Malostranská Metro station then walked up to the castle from here. This can be challenging if you are not very fit or not good with steps so a better way would be to get the 22 or 23 trams to Pražský hrad stop from where it is a short flat walk to the Šternberský Palace or the northwestern entrance to the Castle complex. Then you have the option to leave by the eastern exit and enjoy the steps down to the River and Charles Bridge or do what we did and leave by the southwestern exit/entrance of Matthias Gate and explore the wonderful area all around Hradčanské náměstí (Hradcany Square) and Schwarzenberský palace, especially the excellent views across the river from the viewing galleries here. And for those of you who are fans of Czech beers I can thoroughly recommend the additional 10-minute walk further west from here to the Strahov Monastery, which not only is a decent religious complex to take a look at but also home to the Strahov Monastery Brewery and you can sample their excellent brews in the Monastery tap room. Then the 22-tram stop is just around the corner to get you back down to central Prague.

I write this review hoping it can be useful to those looking for information on how to get around visiting Prague Castle with small children because I had the same need and I didn't find much information. We with a 9 month old baby opted to leave the stroller at the hotel and use the baby carrier for this visit and it was a good choice. Prague is very easy to get around with a stroller, but it's best to avoid the castle. There are stairs here and there and some sections, like inside the cathedral of San Vito, are really very crowded, almost impossible to move around with a stroller. Another tip is to buy a guided tour online: the castle complex is very large and full of details that you cannot know or notice without a guide. We took a "Fun in Prague" tour through GetYourGuide and had a great time with an expert guide, excellent Italian and earphones (essential in very crowded areas). The tour lasted over two hours. Furthermore, these tours allow you to skip the (long) ticket queue. If you can't do everything, the first part up to the interior of the cathedral of San Vito is certainly the most beautiful and interesting.

A must if you are visiting Prague. The castle is located not far from the center of Mala Strada. From the outside you can admire a beautiful view. If you want to visit the castle without entering the various churches etc, admission is free, otherwise the basic cost is about 15 euros per person. I recommend going early in the morning, already after 10 am there is a lot of crowds.

There are so many different things to see inside the castle complex. Changing of the guards at 12pm each day is well worth a visit. We paid to enter some of the exhibits/buildings, I would definitely recommend paying for the audio headsets which gives context and information about the items and buildings you are viewing. We don’t pre book just purchased tickets on the day.