St Vitus Cathedral

St Vitus Cathedral is inside Prague Castle and you need a ticket to go in: the castle’s Main circuit, 450 CZK for adults, which also opens the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica and Golden Lane. The free part at the west end of the nave has been closed because of building works since 25 October 2023, until further notice (hrad.cz, read November 2026). Visitors enter through the portal in the west front. The cathedral is the building most worth a guide, and Fun in Prague’s Prague: Castle Tour with Local Guide and Entry Ticket takes you in with the ticket included, from US$58 (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is that tour, with 12,069 reviews (checked November 2026). It meets outside Malostranská metro station by Mánes Bridge, takes the tram up, and runs about two and a half hours with headphones, in a small group or privately.

When it is open

For the winter season hrad.cz’s Czech hours page and the cathedral’s own site print 17:00, while hrad.cz’s English page and the castle’s visitor rules print 16:00 (all read November 2026). Go before 15:30 and you are safe either way. On Sundays the cathedral opens to visitors at noon, after the morning Masses at 8:30 and 10:00, and in November 2026 the chapter sings vespers at 17:00 on Sundays.

The cathedral also closes at short notice for church and state events, sometimes for a whole day: in the year to November 2026 hrad.cz posted closures on 14 and 15 November 2025, 5 December 2025, 25 April, 15 and 21 June and 14 September 2026, among many shorter ones. The cathedral’s November 2026 programme shows no shortened visiting days; the December schedule had not been published. Check hrad.cz’s current closures on the morning you go. Pilgrims and people attending services are not charged, but there is no sightseeing during a service.

The tower

The Great South Tower is almost 100 metres high, and its view gallery is reached by 287 steps (hrad.cz). It is not part of any circuit: the tower ticket is 200 CZK for adults, 150 CZK reduced and 500 CZK for a family, and the castle lists it as not step-free. From the gallery you look over the castle roofs to the Lesser Town and the river; leave it for a clear day, which the two-day validity of the Main circuit allows.

What a guide adds inside

The ticket gives you the nave, the chapels and the royal tombs with no commentary; the castle hires out an audio guide (350 CZK plus a 500 CZK deposit) at the Third Courtyard information centre, opposite the cathedral. A guide is better for the cathedral than for any other building on the circuit, because so much of it is about who is buried where and why. The crown jewels, though, you will not see: the crown, orb and sceptre are kept in the Crown Chamber of the cathedral and shown only on rare occasions, most recently for ten days in September 2026; copies are on show in the Old Royal Palace.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

The cathedral stands on the Third Courtyard; its address is náměstí U svatého Jiří 34/4, 119 00 Prague 1. Prague Castle opening hours has the hours of the other buildings, and Golden Lane the last stop on the ticket.