In this guide
💡 The Short Version: With one day, start at Prague Castle at 9:00 (the Main circuit is CZK 450), walk down through Malá Strana and over Charles Bridge to Old Town Square for the clock on the hour, spend the afternoon in the Jewish Quarter (CZK 600, closed Saturdays) and finish with a river cruise. On a Saturday, swap the Jewish Quarter for the Old Town Hall tower and the Clementinum. Nothing needs booking ahead except the Clementinum, whose e-tickets are released every Monday for the following two weeks. Or book a tour: the 3-hour walking tour of the Old Town and the Castlead (from £23, 4.8 stars from 7,079 reviews) is a guided walk with a tram ticket and no admission, and the Castle tour with a local guide and entryad is from £44.30.
What to book
| Booking | Book | Price (CZK) | Hours and closing days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prague Castle | No timed entry; at the Castle, or on GetYourGuide, the Castle’s named online seller | 450 for the Main circuit, valid two days | Buildings 9:00 to 17:00 to 31 October, 9:00 to 16:00 from 1 November; the Cathedral opens at 12:00 on Sundays |
| Jewish Quarter | One ticket for every site | 600 | Closed Saturdays and Jewish holidays; 9:00 to 18:00 to 17 October, 9:00 to 16:30 from 18 October |
| Old Town Hall and the clock | At the door, or online skip-the-line | 350 plus 100 for the lift; 450 online, tower only | Daily 9:00 to 20:00 |
| River cruise | Pick a date on GetYourGuide | From £15.34 for 50 minutes | A cruise is about 50 minutes |
The Prague Visitor Pass does not pay back for one day: the 48-hour pass is CZK 2,700, and the Castle, the Old Town Hall with the lift and the Jewish Museum come to CZK 1,500 at the door. A 24-hour transport ticket is CZK 140 in the PID Lítačka app (Prague public transport).
One day
Version A: Sunday to Friday, with the Jewish Quarter
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 9:00 | Prague Castle: the Main circuit, with the Cathedral last on a Sunday |
| Late morning | Down Nerudova through Malá Strana, then across Charles Bridge |
| Lunch | In the Old Town |
| Early afternoon | The Jewish Quarter: one ticket for every site; the museum puts the visit at 2 to 3 hours |
| Late afternoon | The Old Town Hall tower and the clock on the hour; the tower is open to 20:00 |
| Evening | A river cruise |
Version B: Saturday, without it
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 9:00 | Prague Castle: the Main circuit |
| Late morning | Down Nerudova through Malá Strana, then across Charles Bridge |
| Lunch | In the Old Town |
| Afternoon | The Clementinum tour, on a slot booked ahead, and the Old Town Hall tower |
| Evening | A river cruise |
The stops
Prague Castle
Buildings 9:00 to 17:00 · Main circuit CZK 450 · valid two days · each building once
The Main circuit takes in the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica, Golden Lane and St Vitus Cathedral. Each building can be entered once, and the ticket is valid for two days, so a short visit loses nothing. The Old Royal Palace reopened on 2 October 2026 after a month shut. The courtyards are free from 6:00 to 22:00. The Castle names GetYourGuide as its online seller, and the Official Entry Ticketad is from £15.68, which is CZK 450 at face value (4.4 stars from 21,784 reviews). An audio guide is CZK 350, and the Castle tour with a local guide and entryad is from £44.30 (4.7 stars from 11,883 reviews, 2½ hours), with the tram up from Malostranská and the headphones included (Prague Castle).
Malá Strana and Charles Bridge
On foot · free · towers CZK 250 each
Walk down Nerudova, the street that climbs to the Castle, to Malá Strana and the river. The bridge is free to walk. The Old Town Bridge Tower is CZK 250 with 138 steps, and both bridge towers together CZK 340, open 10:00 to 18:00 in October and November (Prague City Tourism). Charles Bridge towers has the rest.
The Jewish Quarter
9:00 to 18:00 to 17 October, 9:00 to 16:30 from 18 October · CZK 600 · closed Saturdays
One ticket, CZK 600, covers the Maisel, Pinkas, Klausen, Spanish and Old-New synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. Ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing, and the Old-New Synagogue usually closes an hour before Shabbat on Fridays (Jewish Museum). With a guide, the Jewish Quarter walking tour with admissionad is from £56.23 (4.7 stars from 4,447 reviews, 2½ hours), about CZK 1,000 more than the ticket alone.
The front of the Maisel Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. Photo: Yair Haklai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Old Town Hall and the clock
Daily 9:00 to 20:00 · CZK 350 plus CZK 100 for the lift
The twelve apostles appear in the clock’s windows every hour. The tower is CZK 350 at the door plus CZK 100 for the lift, half price in the first hour after opening, and CZK 450 online for the tower only (Prague City Tourism). GetYourGuide’s tower ticketad is from £15.34 (4.5 stars from 7,681 reviews), the same as the online price.
The Old Town Hall tower, seen past the Jan Hus Memorial on Old Town Square. Photo: Giorgio Galeotti, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
The Clementinum
Daily 9:00 to 20:00 · CZK 380 · a 45-minute guided tour · e-tickets only
The tour goes through the Baroque Library, which you may view but not enter, the Meridian Hall and the Astronomical Tower. Tickets are released every Monday for the following two weeks, and tours are limited in capacity (Prague City Tourism).
The Vine Courtyard in the Clementinum. Photo: Skot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A river cruise
About 50 minutes · from £15.34
GetYourGuide’s 50-minute evening cruisead is from £15.34 (4.2 stars from 43,022 reviews); Vltava river cruises compared sets the boats side by side.
Getting about
Most of the day is on foot, and the walk from the Castle is downhill. For the rest, a 90-minute ticket is CZK 46 in the PID Lítačka app, and a 24-hour ticket CZK 140. Buy before you board: Prague has no tap-in tap-out card, and travelling without a valid ticket is a CZK 2,000 surcharge, or CZK 1,200 if paid on the spot (Prague public transport).
From a layover
- From the airport, trolleybus 59 and metro A reach the centre in about 35 minutes on one 90-minute ticket (CZK 46 in the app, CZK 50 on paper), and the Airport Express bus takes about 40 minutes to the main station for CZK 200 (Prague Airport to the city centre).
- Luggage: the left-luggage office at Praha hlavní nádraží is open from 06:00 to 23:00 (PID).
- Passport control: DPP warns that at Terminal 1, the terminal for flights from the UK, it may take longer than usual under the EU’s entry/exit system. Allow for that on the way in, and for the same on the way back to the airport.
If you have more time
With more, 3 days in Prague adds Petřín, the Clementinum, a day trip and an evening, with the bookings for each. For where to sleep, see where to stay in Prague and hotels near Old Town Square, and for every booking and how far ahead, what to book before you go in Prague. For lunch, where to eat in Prague; for a guided tasting, Prague food tours compared and Prague beer tours. Vyšehrad is a free fortress for a spare hour on metro C. With a second day, day trips from Prague compares them by fare and time, and best time to visit Prague covers the seasons. For the evening, see Prague ghost tours and the medieval dinner and classical concerts in Prague.
Common questions
Can you see Prague in one day?
You can see the core: Prague Castle in the morning, Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square clock in the afternoon, the Jewish Quarter if it is not a Saturday, and a river cruise in the evening. Start at the Castle at 9:00, because the Main circuit is valid for two days but the buildings close at 17:00 to 31 October and 16:00 from 1 November.
What should I book for one day in Prague?
Nothing is sold out ahead except the Clementinum tour, whose e-tickets are released every Monday for the following two weeks. The Castle's Main circuit (CZK 450), the Old Town Hall tower and the Jewish Museum (CZK 600) can be bought on the day. The Jewish Museum is closed on Saturdays.
Is the Prague Visitor Pass worth it for one day?
No. The 48-hour pass is CZK 2,700. The Castle, Old Town Hall with the lift and Jewish Museum come to CZK 1,500 at the door, and a 24-hour transport ticket is CZK 140.
How do I see Prague on a layover from the airport?
Trolleybus 59 and metro A reach the centre in about 35 minutes on a CZK 46 ticket in the PID Lítačka app. Leave luggage at the left-luggage office at the main station, open 06:00 to 23:00, and allow for passport control at Terminal 1, which DPP warns may take longer than usual.
