Prague public transport for visitors: PID tickets, the 24-hour and 72-hour passes, and the Petřín funicular

💡 The Short Version: Prague has no tap-in tap-out card: you buy a ticket. In the PID Lítačka app a 90-minute ticket is CZK 46, the 24-hour ticket CZK 140 and the 72-hour ticket CZK 340 (CZK 50, 150 and 350 on paper). One ticket covers the metro, trams, buses, trolleybuses and ferries, and there is no group ticket: each traveller needs one. The Petřín funicular reopened on 22 September 2026: a single ride is CZK 100, free with a 24-hour or 72-hour ticket. Travelling without a valid ticket is a CZK 2,000 surcharge (CZK 1,200 if paid on the spot). The metro stops at about midnight; night trams meet at Lazarská. Or buy ahead: GetYourGuide’s Official City Pass with Public Transportad is from £95.43 (4.5 stars from 2,155 reviews).

Tickets and fares, compared

PID sets the fares and DPP runs the metro, trams and the funicular. Prague is tariff zones P, 0 and B, and every ticket below is valid on every mode inside them (PID). Pounds are rounded.

• Which to buy: the 90-minute ticket allows changes, so one journey is one ticket. Three separate trips cost CZK 138 on 90-minute tickets in the app, so the 24-hour ticket pays from the fourth, and sooner if you take the funicular (CZK 100 alone). Three 24-hour tickets are CZK 420 against CZK 340 for 72 hours.
• The 30-minute and 90-minute tickets do not work on the Petřín funicular. The 24-hour and 72-hour tickets do.
• The 24-hour and 72-hour tickets do not cover the Airport Express bus (CZK 200): see Prague Airport to the city centre. An SMS ticket is not valid on the Airport Express or on trains.
• Reduced fares: visitors from 60 to 65 pay half, with proof of age. Children under 10 travel free without proof, children from 10 to 15 and adults of 65 and over travel free with a passport or other ID showing a date of birth, foreigners included, and one adult with a child under 3 travels free with a PID card (PID).
• Luggage: free if no larger than 25 × 45 × 70 cm; a bigger piece costs CZK 23 in the app or CZK 25 on paper.

Where to buy, and how to validate

• The PID Lítačka app (Android and iOS, in Czech and English) is the cheapest, PID says, and a single ticket needs no registration. Activate it at least 60 seconds before you board, and in the metro before you enter the paid area: an inactive ticket counts as invalid, even with the countdown running (PID).
• Machines at stops, metro entrances and the airport. The touch-screen type takes coins and cards; the card-only type issues a ticket that needs no stamping. A paper ticket from any other source, such as a DPP counter or a newsagent, must be stamped once in the yellow validator at the metro hall or when you board. A second stamp invalidates it.
• In the vehicle, every tram, bus and trolleybus has a card terminal that sells 30-minute, 90-minute and 24-hour tickets for contactless payment only. In a tram it is in the middle of the vehicle, and in a bus or trolleybus at the second door. It sells a ticket, not a tap-in: you do not tap out, and there is no daily cap. There is no card terminal in the metro, so buy before the gates.
• SMS: a text to 902 06 (30 minutes: DPT42, 90 minutes: DPT55) needs a Czech number, which makes it the dearest way for a visitor.

Fines

From 1 January 2026 the surcharge for travelling without a valid ticket is CZK 2,000, CZK 1,200 if paid on the spot and CZK 1,500 within 15 days, about £42 on the spot. There is no appeal against a fine paid on the spot. Inspectors may wear plain clothes, and an inactive app ticket counts as no ticket (PID).

The Prague Visitor Pass

The Prague Visitor Pass includes unlimited metro, tram, bus, trolleybus, ferry and Petřín funicular travel, and the Airport Express bus, for 48 hours (CZK 2,700), 72 hours (CZK 3,300) or 120 hours (CZK 3,900) (Prague Visitor Pass). As a transport ticket it does not pay back: a 72-hour PID ticket is CZK 340. It pays only for a heavy sightseer, because it also covers one visit to each of over 100 sights, including Prague Castle, the Old Town Hall, the Jewish Museum and the Clementinum. Is the Prague Visitor Pass worth it? does the sums, and GetYourGuide’s Official City Passad, sold by Prague City Tourism, is the same pass.

The metro

Lines A (green), B (yellow) and C (red) run from about 05:00 to midnight and cross in the centre: A and B at Můstek, A and C at Muzeum, B and C at Florenc. Hlavní nádraží, the main station, is on C. Metro D is under construction and not open (PID; DPP).

A train arriving at Staroměstská on metro A. Photo: IngolfBLN, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step-free stations, from DPP’s lists: on line A, Můstek and Muzeum; on line B, Anděl, Karlovo náměstí, Národní třída, Můstek and Florenc; on line C, Hlavní nádraží, Muzeum, I. P. Pavlova, Vyšehrad, Florenc, Vltavská and Nádraží Holešovice. Malostranská, Staroměstská, Hradčanská, Náměstí Míru and Náměstí Republiky are not on the lists, which matters with a suitcase if you are staying under the Castle or by Old Town Square: where to stay in Prague has the hotels in each area (DPP line A, B, C).

Trams and night transport

PID names trams 9, 17 and 22 as the backbone lines. Tram 22 and others stop at Malostranské náměstí (the hotels’ own pages give lines 12, 15, 20 and 22) and at Národní třída (6, 9, 18 and 22).

A line 22 tram at the Pražský hrad stop. Photo: Falk2, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

At night, the metro and day lines stop at about midnight. From about 00:00 to 04:30 nine night trams (91 to 99) run every 30 minutes, every 20 on Friday and Saturday nights, and meet at Lazarská, near Národní třída. Night buses 901 to 917 run every 30 or 60 minutes, and buses 907 and 910 go all the way to the airport. Night services take the same tickets as by day (PID).

The Petřín funicular

509 m · three stops: Újezd, Nebozízek, Petřín · every 10 minutes · CZK 100 single

The funicular was shut after the floods of September 2024 damaged its track and slope, and it reopened on 22 September 2026 with new cars. It runs daily from 07:00 to 22:15, every 10 minutes, and the 126 m climb takes 3.2 minutes. A single ride is CZK 100 (about £3.50), or CZK 90 in the app, with no reduced fare for one journey. It is free with a 24-hour or 72-hour ticket, a long-term pass, free-travel status or the Prague Visitor Pass (DPP). Guides written before 22 September 2026 say it is shut. Petřín Tower and the funicular has the tower tickets.

The two cars of the Petřín funicular on the line up the hill. Photo: Skot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Taxis and ride-hailing

Prague’s cap on taxi fares ended on 30 September 2026, so use the app of a ride-hailing service, or ask for a fixed price before you get in. A licensed taxi shows a TAXI sign, a yellow sticker and the driver’s ID card (Prague Price Bulletin 87/2026; Prague Airport).

Works in October 2026

• Trams 5, 12, 15, 20, 21 and 94 are interrupted between Na Knížecí and Smíchovské nádraží from 3 to 18 October 2026, and trams 5, 9, 26 and 95 between Olšanské náměstí and Nákladové nádraží Žižkov until 10 October.
• Trains R16 and S7, the Karlštejn line, are diverted or limited at Praha-Smíchov from 16 September to 10 October and again from 10 to 19 October 2026. Check Czech Railways’ planner for a day trip (PID).
• The main station: building works at Praha hlavní nádraží began on 13 July 2026 and have moved bus stops, including the Airport Express stop, from 3 August 2026. Follow the signs and the PID app.

For the way in from the airport, see Prague Airport to the city centre. For where to sleep, where to stay in Prague compares the areas by how you reach them, and hotels near Old Town Square lists the hotels beside the metro at Můstek. For what to book before you go, see what to book before you go in Prague. 3 days in Prague and Prague in one day plan the days, and day trips from Prague start from the main station and the Smíchov line. For the sights, metro A to Staroměstská or Můstek is the way to the Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock, and Staroměstská to the Jewish Quarter. Malostranská or Hradčanská serves Prague Castle, metro C to Vyšehrad station serves Vyšehrad, and Charles Bridge and the Vltava river cruises are a walk from Staroměstská.