Guide
Prague Castle: what's free and which ticket to buy
A lot of Prague Castle is free, and most people pay for more than they need.
The castle is really a small walled town on a hill, with courtyards, lanes, churches and gardens, and you can walk through most of it without a ticket. What you pay for is the inside of a handful of buildings. So the honest question isn't "how much is Prague Castle?" but "which bits do I actually want to go inside?"
Prices were checked against the castle's own price list in late October 2026. They change, so check the castle's website, hrad.cz, before you go.
What's free
1. The grounds and the three courtyards
The castle grounds are open every day from 6:00 to 22:00, and you don't need a ticket to walk in, cross the courtyards and stand in front of St Vitus Cathedral. Early morning and late evening are the best times, because the tour groups haven't arrived yet or have gone home.
2. The front of St Vitus Cathedral
You can step inside the main door of the cathedral for free and see the nave, the height of it and the stained glass. A barrier stops you there, and the rest of the cathedral, with the chapels and the tomb of St John of Nepomuk, needs a ticket.
3. The changing of the guard
The guards at the gates change every hour, and the big ceremonial change happens every day at noon in the first courtyard, in front of Matthias Gate, just in from Hradčany Square. It's free, but it gets crowded, so get there 15 minutes early if you want to see anything.
4. The gardens, from April to October
The South Gardens below the castle walls and the Royal Garden on the north side are free and open from April to October. They close for the winter.
5. Golden Lane after closing time
Golden Lane, the row of tiny painted houses, is part of the paid ticket during the day. A lot of guides say you can walk down it for free once the buildings close (17:00 in summer, 16:00 in winter), but the castle doesn't promise that, so treat it as a bonus if the gate's open. The little houses are shut by then anyway.
What the ticket adds
There's one main ticket, and for most people it's the only one worth buying.
1. The Main Circuit: 450 CZK
It covers the full St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace with the huge Vladislav Hall, St George's Basilica and Golden Lane. It's valid for two days, but you can only go into each building once. The reduced ticket is 300 CZK (children 6 to 16, students up to 26 with a student card, and over-65s), a family ticket is 950 CZK for two adults and up to five children under 16, and under-6s go free. If you want the stories behind the rooms, there's an audio guide for 350 CZK for three hours, plus a refundable deposit.
2. The Great South Tower: 200 CZK extra
The cathedral tower is a separate ticket (150 CZK reduced, 500 CZK for a family), and it's 287 steps up a narrow spiral staircase. The view over the red roofs is great, but honestly the free view from the castle ramparts is almost as good, so skip it if you're tired or not keen on stairs.
3. The exhibitions: probably skip
The exhibitions ticket is 300 CZK (200 CZK reduced, 700 CZK for a family) and covers the Story of Prague Castle, the Picture Gallery, the Castle Guard exhibition in the Powder Tower and the Rosenberg Palace. They're interesting if you're really into history, but most visitors don't miss them, and you'll already have a full day.
When to go
1. Get there for 9:00
The buildings open at 9:00 (and close at 17:00 from April to October, 16:00 from November to March). By 11:00 the cathedral and Golden Lane are packed, so go first thing and do St Vitus before anything else.
2. Not on Sunday morning
St Vitus is used for Mass on Sunday mornings and only opens to visitors at 12:00, so on a Sunday start with the palace and come back to the cathedral after lunch.
3. Buy online
You can buy the Main Circuit online through the link on the castle's own tickets page, and that saves you a queue in summer. The other tickets, like the tower and the exhibitions, are sold at the information centres in the second and third courtyards. Btw, skip the look-alike ticket sites that sell the same ticket for more.
So don't ask: "How much does Prague Castle cost?"
Ask: "Do I want to go inside the cathedral properly, or is the free part enough?"
If the cathedral matters to you, the 450 CZK Main Circuit is worth it, and nothing else is really needed. If you just want the atmosphere and the views, it's free, and luckily that's still the best part.
Let's keep it simple: walk up early, do the Main Circuit if the cathedral pulls you in, then head up to Strahov Monastery Brewery for lunch and walk down to Charles Bridge in the afternoon. And if the castle is just too busy, Vyšehrad is the other castle hill in Prague, free, with far fewer people and a great view of the river.
Would you pay for the tower, or is the free view enough for you?