Prague 3-Day Itinerary: Old Town, Castle and Kutná Hora

How should you spend 3 days in Prague?

Spend day 1 in Josefov and the Old Town, day 2 at Prague Castle before walking down through Malá Strana to the Petřín funicular, and day 3 either at Vyšehrad and Letná or on a train to Kutná Hora. Avoid starting on a Saturday, which puts two closures in your way.

Three days is enough for both historic banks of the Vltava if each day stays on one side of the river. The Prague 7-day itinerary gives the castle and Malá Strana a day each and adds both Kutná Hora and Český Krumlov; this plan joins the castle to Malá Strana on one long walk downhill and turns day 3 into a choice between a slow city day and a single train trip.

Hours, prices and closures were checked on 17 October 2026 against Prague City Tourism, PID, the Jewish Museum in Prague, Czech Railways, the Sedlec ossuary and the National Gallery. Sleep centrally, ideally near metro line A or B, so the castle tram and the main station are both easy; where to stay in Prague compares the areas, and the best time to visit Prague shows how the season changes each day.

Which day of the week should you start a 3-day Prague trip?

Any day except Saturday works. A Saturday start puts the Old Town day on the Jewish Museum’s closing day, the castle on a Sunday, when St Vitus Cathedral opens only at noon, and a Letná day 3 on a Monday, when the Trade Fair Palace is shut. If you arrive on a Saturday, reorder the days.

The constraints come from three official timetables. The Jewish Museum in Prague opens its synagogues and cemetery every day except Saturdays and Jewish holidays; Prague City Tourism lists St Vitus Cathedral at 9:00–17:00 from Monday to Saturday but 12:00–17:00 on Sundays, with no visits during services; and the National Gallery opens its Trade Fair Palace from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00.

Two one-off dates matter this autumn. Prague City Tourism says the whole castle area, gardens included, closes from 15:00 on 28 October 2026 for a state ceremony (Prague Castle), and that the Old Royal Palace closes from 23 to 29 October (Old Royal Palace). If your day 2 falls in that week, go early in the day or swap it with day 3.

How do you get in from the airport, and which ticket covers three days?

From the airport, line 59 connects with metro line A at Veleslavín in about 35 minutes, or the Airport Express reaches the main station in about 45 minutes for 200 CZK. For three days in the city, a 72-hour PID ticket is 350 CZK on paper and 340 CZK in the Lítačka app.

PID’s airport page lists line 59 to Veleslavín for metro line A and line 100 to Zličín for line B, each on a 50 CZK ticket, plus the Airport Express from Terminal 1 to the main railway station, which has its own 200 CZK fare that day passes do not cover. Flights outside the Schengen area, including to the UK, use Terminal 1.

In town, PID sells 30-minute tickets at 39 CZK on paper or 36 CZK in the app, 90-minute tickets at 50 or 46 CZK, 24-hour tickets at 150 or 140 CZK and 72-hour tickets at 350 or 340 CZK. Children aged 6 to 15 and adults aged 65 and over ride free with proof of age. If you mostly walk, two single rides a day can cost less than the pass; the castle tram and the funicular tip the sums towards the 72-hour ticket.

Budget for Prague’s accommodation fee as well: 50 CZK per adult for each day of the stay after the arrival day, collected by your host (Prague 7). If you plan several paid interiors, compare the sums in is the Prague Card worth it? and getting around Prague.

Day 1: how do you see Josefov and the Old Town in one day?

Begin in Josefov at 9:00, when the Jewish Museum’s synagogues open, because from 18 October they close at 16:30. Cross to Old Town Square for the Astronomical Clock on the hour, climb the Old Town Hall tower near sunset, since it stays open until 20:00, then walk Charles Bridge after dark.

The Jewish Museum in Prague runs the Maisel, Pinkas, Klausen and Spanish synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery, open 9:00–16:30 from 18 October to 31 December 2026 (to 14:00 on 24 December), 9:00–18:00 in April and from September to mid-October, and 9:00–19:00 from May to August. Note that the Old-New Synagogue belongs to the Prague Jewish Community rather than the museum and usually shuts an hour before Shabbat begins. For background before you go, read is a Jewish Quarter tour in Prague worth it?

According to Prague City Tourism, the Old Town Hall opens 9:00–20:00 from April to December and 10:00–19:00 in the first three months of the year; its 350 CZK basic ticket is half price in the first hour after opening, and the clock’s apostles parade on the hour from 8:00 to 23:00. A late climb costs full price but puts the square below you as the lights come on; if the saving matters more, go at opening on day 3 instead.

The UK Foreign Office says petty theft is common in Prague’s main tourist areas and on crowded trams and buses, so keep phones and wallets zipped away on the square and the bridge. It also says carrying ID is a legal requirement, although police normally accept a scan of your passport if you have not committed an offence.

Day 2: how do you fit Prague Castle, Malá Strana and Petřín into one day?

Ride tram 22 or 23 up to the castle for 9:00, when its buildings open, and buy the 450 CZK basic circuit. After lunch, walk down through Malá Strana to Kampa, then take the reopened Petřín funicular from Újezd for the view. On a Sunday, see St Vitus last, because it opens at noon.

The castle complex stays open from 6:00 to 22:00 and its buildings from 9:00 to 17:00 every day, Prague City Tourism says. The basic circuit covers the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica, St Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower for 450 CZK, or 300 CZK reduced and 950 CZK for a family, and lets you enter each building once over two days; the cathedral’s observation tower is a separate 200 CZK ticket. PID runs vintage tram 23 alongside tram 22 on the castle route, on regular tickets.

Take the interiors in one sweep, cathedral first on a weekday, and leave by early afternoon while your legs still work. Downhill, the Malá Strana stops that Prague City Tourism suggests in its week-long plan are the Waldstein and Vrtba gardens, St Nicholas Church and Kampa Island (Prague City Tourism). Decide which interiors matter to you with is Prague Castle worth it?

The Petřín funicular reopened on 22 September 2026 after a two-year rebuild and starts from Újezd, served by trams 9, 12, 15, 20, 22 and 23. A single ride costs 100 CZK at the station or 90 CZK in the app, and the 24- and 72-hour tickets cover it, but 30- and 90-minute tickets do not (PID tickets). Ride up in the late afternoon and walk back down through the park if the light is good.

Day 3, option A: how do you spend a slower day at Vyšehrad, the New Town and Letná?

Start at Vyšehrad for the fortress walls and the 45- to 60-minute casemates tour, walk north along the Náplavka embankment past the Dancing House, and break for lunch in the New Town. In the afternoon, cross to Letná for the National Gallery’s Trade Fair Palace, open Tuesday to Sunday.

The fortress’s underground tour, from the casemates to the Gorlice hall, runs 45 to 60 minutes for groups of up to 30; tickets are 330 CZK at the door or 295 CZK online and include the Powder Magazine’s history exhibition (Vyšehrad). The fortress cemetery and its Slavín tomb hold many leading Czechs, and Vyšehrad’s visitor services close at 16:00 on 24 and 31 December, so a winter visit belongs in the morning.

Prague City Tourism’s week plan strings the National Theatre, the Náplavka embankment, the Dancing House and Vyšehrad into one riverside route (Prague City Tourism); walking it in reverse, from the fortress downhill, is the gentler direction. Lunch near the National Theatre, then ride across the river.

The Trade Fair Palace at Dukelských hrdinů 47, built in 1925–1928 for trade fairs and the National Gallery’s home since 1976, opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00; Vltavská on metro C and Veletržní palác on trams 6 and 17 are the nearest stops. Finish in Letná park for the view back over the bridges. On a Monday, keep Vyšehrad and the river walk and swap the gallery for an indoor choice from Prague in the rain.

Day 3, option B: is Kutná Hora worth your last day?

Yes, if an ossuary and Gothic churches appeal more than another city day. Czech Railways runs an hourly fast train from Praha hlavní nádraží, with a change to the local train at Kutná Hora hlavní nádraží, about 1 hour 6 minutes in all. Book the Sedlec ossuary first, because tickets are timed.

Czech Railways runs a fast train every hour from Praha hlavní nádraží and advises switching at Kutná Hora hlavní nádraží to the connecting local service for Kutná Hora město, the stop nearest the old town. It quotes fares from 79 CZK, sells up to 90 days ahead and says buying early is cheaper. The main station connects with metro line C and is where the Airport Express ends (PID).

The Sedlec ossuary charges 220 CZK per adult and sells tickets only for a specific date and time, because capacity is limited; the neighbouring Cathedral of the Assumption is also 220 CZK, and both were listed as open 9:00–17:00 when we checked. Buy online or at the information centre at Zámecká 279, and treat the ossuary as a place of human remains rather than a backdrop.

The trade-off is the city: choose this option and day 3 holds no Prague sights at all. If you have only one more day after it, the best day trips from Prague guide compares Kutná Hora with the alternatives, and the 7-day plan shows how to add Český Krumlov with an overnight.

How should the season change a 3-day Prague plan?

In July and August, reach the castle at opening and keep museums for the afternoon, because the Old Town averaged 6.8 days of 30 °C or more in July over 1991–2020. In winter, January highs average 3.9 °C and December gets about 46 hours of sun, so put the bridge and tower in daylight.

Those figures are 1991–2020 averages for the Klementinum in the Old Town, calculated by TravelShifu from ČHMÚ’s monthly station records. Summer rain arrives in heavier bursts than winter rain, so an afternoon shower is more likely than a lost day; the full table is in the best time to visit Prague.

Events change the evenings more than the days. Prague City Tourism lists the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square Christmas markets from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 (Prague City Tourism), so a December trip suits market evenings after a castle morning. The Prague Spring festival fills May with concerts, and tickets for its 2027 edition go on sale on 4 November 2026.

What should you do in the evenings, and which scams should you avoid?

Keep evenings simple: the embankments on day 1, Malá Strana or the Petřín view on day 2, Letná or Vinohrady on day 3. The FCDO flags steep club bills, fake notes from street money changers and impostors posing as police, so change money only at a bank or exchange office.

The FCDO says impostors posing as plain-clothes officers may ask to see your cash and passport, which Czech police have no right to do; refuse, offer to go to a police station or call 112. It also warns that consumption cards in clubs can bring steep penalties if lost, that drinks get spiked, and that some drivers in unmarked cars pose as taxis, so use a major taxi company and check the rates shown on the car.

For a quieter final evening, Vinohrady is a short ride on metro line A from the centre, with Náměstí Míru and Jiřího z Poděbrad as its stations (PID metro). Our bar and restaurant scams abroad guide explains the overcharging patterns, and Prague with kids covers family pacing.

Which tours are worth booking for three days in Prague?

A guided walk earns its fee in Josefov, where the history is dense, and at the castle if you want the buildings explained. Kutná Hora is easy by train, so a tour mainly saves planning. Before paying, check that entry tickets, any ossuary slot and the meeting point are spelled out.

Read each listing for its inclusions, minutes on site and refund window; GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook sets out how the three marketplaces handle cancellations. Only one day here, not three? The Prague in one day plan picks the essentials, and things to do in Prague helps decide what to cut.

For the city overview, see the Prague destination guide and Prague hotels; for a bag-free last afternoon before a late flight, see luggage storage in Prague.

• Is three days enough for Prague? Yes for the Old Town, the castle and one extra area or day trip.
• Do I need to book the castle? Tickets are sold at the information centres and online; the ossuary is the one slot to fix in advance.
• Which day trip fits? Kutná Hora; Český Krumlov needs about three hours each way, so it suits the 7-day plan.
• What is shut on Mondays? The Trade Fair Palace; St Vitus opens late on Sundays and the Jewish Museum closes on Saturdays.
• Where should I stay? See where to stay in Prague.