Castles · Tour

Skip the Line, and Check Which Rooms the Crown Jewels Have Closed

Two and a half to three hours through Prague Castle with a guide and skip-the-line entry. The group meets at Hradčanské náměstí 2, in front of the Schwarzenberg Palace, and takes a short ride up, which avoids the morning traffic. The reserved entry means the visit starts on time instead of in a queue. St Vitus Cathedral comes first, Gothic and holding the tombs of Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors. Then the Old Royal Palace, where the defenestrations happened: men thrown out of windows, and a war across Europe that ran for thirty years afterwards. St George's Basilica is one of the few Romanesque churches left standing in the city. The Golden Lane closes the visit, lived in over the centuries by alchemists, goldsmiths and other trades, and for a time by Franz Kafka. One thing to check against your dates. The Czech crown jewel exhibition takes over the Old Royal Palace each autumn, and in 2026 that runs from 4 September to 1 October. From 4 to 17 September the palace is shut and the tour goes to the Royal Garden instead; from 18 to 28 September it reopens as the exhibition space and the normal route runs; from 29 September to 1 October it closes again and the Royal Garden takes its place. The length of the tour and the price do not change, and St Vitus, St George's and the Golden Lane stay open throughout.