Prague Castle Small-Group Walking Tour with Local Guide

Hradčany Square and the castle courtyards

Prague Castle was founded in the late 9th century as a fortified seat on a hill above the Vltava, and over a thousand years it grew into a city within the city, covering about 70,000 square metres. It has been the seat of Bohemian kings, Holy Roman emperors and, today, the Czech head of state. The tour starts on Hradčany Square, framed by palaces, in front of the main gate with its sculptures of battling giants and its guards.

From here you walk through the first and second courtyards towards the cathedral, while your guide explains how the hill fort became one of the largest castle complexes in Europe. If you are planning a Prague Castle tour, starting at 10:00 with a guide is a smart way to make sense of this huge site before the crowds peak.

St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus Cathedral is the spiritual heart of the Czech lands and the coronation church of the Bohemian kings. Its construction began in 1344 and was only completed in 1929, so you can trace six centuries of Gothic and neo-Gothic building in one place. Inside you see soaring vaults, richly coloured stained-glass windows, the silver baroque tomb of St. John of Nepomuk and the chapel of St. Wenceslas, decorated with semi-precious stones and wall paintings.

You spend about 50 minutes here, the longest stop of the tour. Your ticket gives access to the main body of the cathedral beyond the free entrance area. Note that St. Vitus Cathedral opening hours are shorter on Sunday mornings because of services, so the guide may adapt the order of visits.

The Old Royal Palace and Vladislav Hall

The Old Royal Palace was the seat of Bohemian princes and kings from the 12th century. Its showpiece is Vladislav Hall, completed around 1502, a vast late-Gothic hall with ribbed vaults so wide that knights once rode their horses inside for indoor tournaments, up the special Riders' Staircase. Coronation banquets and markets were also held here.

Your guide takes you to the Bohemian Chancellery, where in 1618 two royal governors and their secretary were thrown out of a window, an event that helped spark the Thirty Years' War. You spend about 30 minutes in the palace and step out onto its terrace for views across the rooftops of Malá Strana. The palace occasionally closes for state ceremonies.

St. George's Basilica

St. George's Basilica, founded in about 920, is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle. Behind its brick-red baroque facade lies a calm Romanesque interior with two white stone towers, simple arches and the tombs of early Přemyslid princes, as well as the chapel of St. Ludmila, the first Czech saint.

About 30 minutes here is enough to take in the atmosphere, which feels very different from the drama of the cathedral just across the square. The adjoining convent was the first in Bohemia. Your guide explains how this small basilica shows what Prague looked like long before its Gothic golden age, and points out details that are easy to overlook.

Golden Lane and the Daliborka Tower

Golden Lane is a row of tiny, colourful houses built into the castle walls in the late 16th century for the castle guards and craftsmen. Later legends linked them with alchemists, which gave the lane its name. Today the little rooms show how people lived and worked here over the centuries, with reconstructed workshops, a historic armoury in the upper corridor and small craft shops.

At the end of the lane stands the Daliborka Tower, built in 1496 as a prison and named after its first prisoner, the knight Dalibor of Kozojedy, whose story inspired a famous legend about a violin. The tour finishes here after about 30 minutes, and you are free to stay longer in the castle grounds, visit the gardens or walk down to Malá Strana.