National Museum Tickets with Online Audio Guide City Tour Prague

The National Museum building

Crowning the top of Wenceslas Square, the National Museum's historical building was completed in 1891 in neo-Renaissance style, with a long facade, a monumental ramp, a fountain with allegorical sculptures and a great glass dome. After a major renovation it reopened in 2018, and an underground passage now links it with the museum's new building next door.

Inside, a grand staircase lined with marble leads to the pantheon under the dome, a richly decorated hall with busts and statues of figures from Czech science, art and history. Many visitors ask whether the National Museum in Prague is worth visiting: for the architecture alone it is one of the finest interiors in the city, and the audio guide's final chapters explain its decorations in detail.

Inside the museum: collections and exhibitions

The National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in the Czech Republic, founded in 1818. Its exhibitions in the historical building cover natural history, the prehistory of the Czech lands and Czech history, with minerals, fossils, animal skeletons and archaeological finds, while the new building hosts the modern history exhibitions and temporary shows.

Allow two to three hours to see the highlights. Your ticket gives a single entry to the museum complex on the day of your visit, so plan to see the historical building and the new building in one go. The museum is a good choice on a rainy or cold day in Prague, and it is easy to reach by metro at Muzeum station, right below the building.

Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock

The audio guide city tour begins in the Old Town, at Old Town Square, where Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings stand side by side. You hear the story of the Old Town Hall and its Astronomical Clock, installed in 1410 and still working, whose figures of the Apostles appear every hour.

Because the tour plays on your phone, you can stop whenever you like, watch the hourly show and continue when you are ready, or pause for a coffee and pick up the story later the same day. The narration also points out the Church of Our Lady before Týn and the merchants' houses around the square, so you understand what you are looking at rather than just taking photos.

The Estates Theatre and Wenceslas Square

From the square the route leads to the Estates Theatre, a neoclassical opera house opened in 1783 and one of the oldest theatres in Europe still in use, where a world-famous composer conducted the premiere of his own opera in 1787. The audio guide tells its history and its place in Prague's musical life.

The walk then enters the New Town and climbs Wenceslas Square, the long boulevard where Czech independence was celebrated in 1918 and where the peaceful demonstrations of 1989 brought an end to communist rule. Walking up towards the statue of Saint Wenceslas and the museum, you arrive at your ticketed visit with the whole story fresh in your mind.