Prague Castle Opening Hours

The grounds of Prague Castle are open every day from 6:00 to 22:00. The buildings on the ticket (St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica and Golden Lane) open at 9:00 and close at 17:00 from April to October; for the winter season, 1 November to 31 March, hrad.cz prints 17:00 on its Czech hours page and 16:00 on its English one (both read November 2026), so be inside by 15:30. The cathedral opens at 12:00 on Sundays. Because the castle’s ticket stays valid for two days, the short winter day matters less if you hold it: the official ticket online is from US$21 (checked November 2026).

The hours, season by season

The double winter figure is the castle’s own: its Czech hours page and the cathedral’s site say 17:00, its English and German pages, its contacts page and its visitor rules say 16:00 (all read 3 November 2026). Until the pages agree, treat 16:00 as the safe close and 15:40 as the cathedral’s last entry.

Holidays and closures

The visitor buildings are closed on 24 December. The cathedral keeps shorter hours on the other Christmas and New Year days, and in 2025 it opened at 13:00 on 25 December and at 12:30 on 1 January; the 2026 schedule was not yet published in November 2026. The Old Royal Palace shuts for a week every October for state events round the 28 October national holiday (it did in 2024, 2025 and 2026), and in 2025 and 2026 the whole castle closed from 15:00 on the holiday itself.

Beyond those, the castle closes single buildings at short notice for state visits and church services; the cathedral is the one most often affected. hrad.cz’s current closures page was empty on 3 November 2026. On Saturday 28 November 2026 the castle has an open day: the visitor buildings are free from 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30.

The changing of the guard

What happens at noon at Prague Castle is the ceremonial changing of the Castle Guard, every day at 12:00 in the First Courtyard, the Courtyard of Honour in front of the Matthias Gate on Hradčany Square (hrad.cz). It is outdoors and free, and the courtyard fills before noon. The ceremony can be cancelled on days of state events. Through the rest of the day sentries stand at the gates; the castle publishes no timetable for the smaller changes there.

How long a visit takes

Allow two and a half to three hours for the four buildings: the guided tours with the ticket run about 2.5 hours, the small-group interiors tour 3 hours, and the castle’s audio guide about 3 hours. Add the guard at noon and a walk round the courtyards, and a castle morning runs from about 10:00 to 14:00. In winter, start by 13:00 at the latest if you want all four buildings on one day.

Check dates for the castle ticket

If the buildings are what you came for and the afternoon is short, a guide keeps it moving: Prague: Castle Tour with Local Guide and Entry Ticket (Fun in Prague) covers all four in about 2.5 hours, ticket included, from US$58 (checked November 2026). How to get to Prague Castle has the trams that bring you up for 9:00.