Prague Official City Pass with Public Transport

Prague Castle and the Hradčany district

Prague Castle is the city's most visited sight and the main reason many travellers look for Prague Castle tickets before they arrive. Founded in the 9th century, the hilltop complex has been the seat of Bohemian kings, emperors and presidents. The city pass covers the main circuit: St Vitus Cathedral with its soaring Gothic nave and stained-glass windows, the Old Royal Palace with the vaulted Vladislav Hall, the Romanesque St George's Basilica and Golden Lane, a row of tiny painted cottages built into the castle walls.

Allow at least three hours for the castle and arrive at opening time to avoid the busiest hours. The pass also covers Lobkowicz Palace and the Loreto shrine in the Hradčany district nearby, so you can easily spend a full day on the hill. How to get to Prague Castle with the pass is simple: tram 22 climbs to the Pražský hrad stop and saves you the steep walk up from the river.

Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock

The Old Town Hall was founded in 1338, and on its south wall hangs the Astronomical Clock, installed in 1410 and the oldest astronomical clock in the world still in operation. Every hour from morning to evening the figures of the apostles parade past two small windows above the dial while a skeleton rings its bell. With the pass you enter the hall itself and ride the lift up the tower, using the priority lane, one of the most useful perks of the card in summer.

From the tower gallery you look down on the Old Town Square, the twin spires of the Týn Church and the red roofs stretching towards the castle. Nearby, the pass also opens the Powder Tower, the Old Town Bridge Tower at the end of Charles Bridge and the Clementinum, a former Jesuit college with a celebrated baroque library hall and an astronomical tower offering another fine view over the Old Town.

The Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

Josefov, Prague's former Jewish Town, preserves one of the most important groups of Jewish monuments in Europe. The pass includes the Maisel Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue with its memorial walls bearing the names of Bohemian and Moravian victims of the Holocaust, the Old Jewish Cemetery, where gravestones from the 15th to the 18th century lean over one another, and the richly decorated Spanish Synagogue. The Jerusalem Synagogue, with its colourful facade, lies a short ride away in the New Town.

Plan two to three hours for the Jewish Quarter and check the opening days carefully: all its buildings are closed on Saturdays and on Jewish holidays, so schedule this visit for another day of your pass. The district begins just north of the Old Town Square along Pařížská Street, and the sites are close together, which makes it easy to combine with a morning at the Astronomical Clock.

Petřín Hill, Vyšehrad and Prague Zoo

Beyond the historic core the pass reaches some of Prague's best viewpoints. Petřín Lookout Tower, built in 1891 as a small cousin of the Eiffel Tower, rises from the wooded Petřín Hill above the Lesser Town; a spiral staircase leads to a panorama over the whole city, and the Mirror Maze beside it is a favourite with children. Further south, Vyšehrad is the city's second castle hill, where the pass covers the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and the brick casemates inside the old ramparts.

Prague Zoo, in the northern district of Troja, spreads over a green hillside above the Vltava and is often named among the finest zoos in Europe; families can easily spend half a day there. The pass also includes the Žižkov Television Tower, the Botanical Garden, the historic tram line 42 for a day and a long list of museums, from the National Technical Museum to the Museum of Decorative Arts, so rainy days are covered too.

Public transport, the airport express and the river cruise

The second half of the value is transport. For the whole validity period the pass gives unlimited travel on Prague's metro, trams and buses, including the night trams and the funicular up Petřín Hill, plus a return journey on the airport express bus between Prague Airport and the main railway station. You no longer need to buy single tickets or work out zones: show the pass if an inspector asks and keep moving.

The pass also includes one Vltava river cruise and a choice of guided tours of the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, the Charles Bridge area and the castle district, plus discounts at further concerts and attractions. Is the Prague city pass worth it? If you plan to visit Prague Castle, the Astronomical Clock and a few museums and use public transport every day, the 120-hour pass is excellent value, and the app lists every venue with its opening hours.