Charles Bridge tower tickets: 250 CZK for the Old Town tower, 340 CZK for both bridge towers, and the bridge itself is free

💡 The Short Version: Walking Charles Bridge is free. The towers are the paid part: the Old Town Bridge Tower is 250 CZK (138 steps), the Lesser Town Bridge Towers 200 CZK, and both together 340 CZK. The Powder Gate Tower and St Nicholas Bell Tower are 200 CZK each. St Nicholas has been closed since 14 September 2026 and is due to reopen on 6 October. Entry is half price in the first hour after opening, and the towers close at 18:00 in October and November. Prague City Tourism is the only official seller. Or book a tour: the Charles Bridge Towers combined entry ticketad (from £12.78, GetYourGuide) is Prague City Tourism’s own listing.

The tickets, compared

Official prices from Prague City Tourism’s pages for the Old Town Bridge Tower, the Lesser Town Bridge Towers, the Powder Gate and St Nicholas Bell Tower, converted at about CZK 28.8 to the pound. Reduced tickets are for ages 6 to 15, over-65s and ZTP card holders. GetYourGuide prices are its lowest “from” prices.

• Youth tickets: ages 16 to 26 pay 200 CZK at the Old Town Bridge Tower and 160 CZK at the Lesser Town and Powder Gate towers. Under 6 is free, and under-15s go in only with an adult aged 18 or over.
• The first hour is half price at the bridge towers and the Powder Gate, but not on 25 December or 1 January.
• Free on the Prague Visitor Pass: the Old Town and Lesser Town Bridge Towers, the Powder Gate, the New Mill Water Tower, St Nicholas Bell Tower and the Charles Bridge Museum.
• The GetYourGuide prices are 8 to 10% above the door prices, for an e-ticket you can buy before arriving.

Charles Bridge and the Old Town Bridge Tower from the river. Photo: Ввласенко, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

How to buy

• At the towers: each has its own ticket office. Prague City Tourism says it is the only official seller, and that tickets bought through other channels may not be valid.
• Online: through Prague City Tourism’s ticket network on prague.eu, or on GetYourGuidead, where Prague City Tourism is the listed provider. The GetYourGuide combined ticket is valid for one day and carries free cancellation.
• Go in the first hour: 9:00 from June to September, 10:00 the rest of the year.

Tours worth paying for

Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

Both bridge towers on one ticket

From £12.78 · 4.5 stars from 805 reviews · valid for one day

Prague: Charles Bridge Towers Combined Entry Ticketad covers the Old Town Bridge Tower and the two Lesser Town Bridge Towers, and Prague City Tourism lists it itself. It is about 30 CZK above the 340 CZK door price. Free cancellation.

The Powder Gate Tower

From £7.67 · 4.3 stars from 637 reviews · valid for one day

Prague: Powder Gate Tower Entrance Ticketad is the gallery at 44 m, 186 stone steps up, at about 220 CZK against 200 CZK at the door. Free cancellation.

The Powder Gate Tower. Photo: Sztudva Gyöngyi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

A canal cruise that includes the Charles Bridge Museum

From £19.16 · 4.5 stars from 4,318 reviews · 45 minutes

Prague: Canal Cruise Around Charles Bridgead is run by Pražské Benátky. It leaves from the Charles Bridge Museum, goes through the Devil’s Channel and past Prague Castle, and the ticket includes entry to the museum, a free drink and a gingerbread or an ice cream. It has audio commentary in 19 languages and is not for wheelchair users. The Vltava river cruises guide compares the other boats. Free cancellation.

What to see

The Royal Route, which the coronation processions of Czech kings followed to the Castle, runs from the Powder Gate over the bridge. Go in this order:

1. The Powder Gate Tower. Completed in 1475 and once a gunpowder store. The gallery is at 44 m, and the tower starts the Royal Route.
2. The Old Town Bridge Tower. Built from the mid-14th century to designs by Peter Parler as a symbolic victory arch. Its sculpture includes Charles IV, Wenceslas IV and St Vitus, the bridge’s patron. Climb 138 steps to the gallery.
3. The bridge. 515.76 m long and 9.5 m wide, on 16 arches, with 30 statues and groups on the balustrade, most from 1706 to 1714. The foundation stone was laid on 9 July 1357. The most famous statue is St John of Nepomuk. No cars have crossed since 1965.
4. The Lesser Town Bridge Towers. Two towers joined by a gate. The smaller is Romanesque from the 12th century, given its Renaissance look in 1591, and a Romanesque relief from the old Judith Bridge survives inside it. The taller, Late Gothic, dates from 1464. Its gallery looks over the river and the bridge.
5. St Nicholas Bell Tower, in Lesser Town Square, once a fire watch tower. From the 1960s to the 1980s the State Security used it to watch the Western embassies, and the exhibition covers the life of the towermen and that misuse. The gallery is 65 m up, 215 steps.

The two Lesser Town Bridge Towers: the smaller Judith Tower on the left and the taller tower on the right. Photo: Richard Mortel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

What to skip: the Charles Bridge Museum, unless the bridge’s building history matters to you. It is 220 CZK for rooms in the former Crusaders’ hospital, with models of the medieval bridge, and the canal cruise listing above includes the entry.

Hours, rules and getting there

• Every day. The Charles Bridge Museum is at Křižovnické náměstí 3 and opens 10:00 to 18:00 from October to April, 10:00 to 19:00 from May to September.
• St Nicholas: closed from 14 September 2026 for reconstruction and a new exhibition, and expected to reopen on 6 October 2026.
• Events on the bridge: St Martin’s festival is on 11 November 2026, 11:00 to 18:00, and the Navalis river festival on 14 and 15 May 2027.
• Access: the Old Town Bridge Tower is not barrier-free.
• Getting there: the Old Town Bridge Tower stands at the bridge’s east end, near the Jewish Quarter and Old Town Square, and the Lesser Town Bridge Towers at the west end. The Jewish Museum says Charles Bridge is a 10-minute walk from the museum. Prague public transport has the fares.

The Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock guide and the Jewish Quarter tickets guide cover the sights at the east end, and Prague Castle is the walk up from the west end. The Petřín Tower and funicular are the other viewpoint on that side. The Prague Visitor Pass includes all the towers. For the rest of the city’s bookings, see what to book before you go in Prague. 3 days in Prague and Prague in one day build the plan round the bookings. For the view from the water, Vltava river cruises compared lists the piers, and original statues from the bridge stand underground at Vyšehrad. To sleep close to the bridge, where to stay in Prague compares the areas, and hotels near Old Town Square lists the hotels a walk east of it. In December the Christmas markets fill Old Town Square. After dark, a ghost tour starts by the bridge at Křižovnické náměstí, and the classical concerts include the Mirror Chapel in the Clementinum. Where to eat in Prague has the tables, and day trips from Prague covers the days away.