What is open on each holiday
The castle had not published its 2026 holiday notice when we checked, so its column shows the 2025 arrangement from the castle's notice for 24–31 December 2025. The Jewish Museum column is the museum's published 2026–27 timetable.
| Day | Prague Castle (2025 pattern) | Jewish Museum (2026–27) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Dec | All visitor buildings closed | 9:00–14:00 |
| 25 Dec | St Vitus only, 13:00–15:30 | 9:00–16:30 (normal winter hours) |
| 26 Dec | St Vitus only, 12:30–16:00 | Closed (Saturday) |
| 31 Dec | St Vitus 9:00–15:00; other buildings until 16:00 | 9:00–16:30 |
| 1 Jan | Not covered by the notice | 11:00–16:30 |
The castle's 2024 notice and its 2023 notice show the same Christmas Eve closure. The 2024 notice also gave identical cathedral hours for 25 and 26 December. Three years of the same pattern make a full closure on 24 December 2026 likely, but it is not confirmed. In both 2024 and 2025, last entry to the cathedral was 20 minutes before closing.
At the Jewish Museum, the Old-New Synagogue has its own times: 9:00–14:00 on 24 December and 9:00–17:00 on other days in late December. The museum notes that the Old-New Synagogue usually closes about an hour before Shabbat begins, which matters on Friday 25 December and Friday 1 January. The museum is closed every Saturday, so 26 December 2026 is out.
For prices and what each castle circuit includes, see our Prague Castle tickets guide. The Jewish Museum tickets guide covers the combined ticket and which synagogues it includes.
Fireworks rules for New Year's Eve
Prague City Hall adopted Ordinance No. 12/2026 on 19 June 2026, and it took effect on 8 July 2026, according to the city's press release of 17 August 2026. In 20 city parts it bans setting off pyrotechnics of category F2 and above all year, without exception:
- Praha 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 20
- Dolní Chabry, Dolní Měcholupy, Křeslice, Libuš, Suchdol, Troja and Velká Chuchle
The Praha 1 district's copy of the release gives the same list. In the remaining city parts, the ordinance sets when and where freely sold fireworks may be used, but the release does not spell those times out. Breaking the ordinance can cost up to CZK 100,000.
As for an official display, Radio Prague International reports that, in place of New Year's fireworks or a videomapping show, City Hall offered free or symbolic-price entry to the zoo, the botanical garden, Prague's towers and other institutions on 1 January. The report does not give a year, and the offer was for Prague residents, who had to prove residence. We found no city programme for 1 January 2027 on the official pages we read.
Getting around over the holidays
We could not check PID's 2026 holiday timetable, so confirm night services in the PID Lítačka app before you head out on 31 December. Our Prague public transport tickets guide explains which ticket to buy. If you want a view of Old Town Square on a day when the castle is closed, the Old Town Hall tower guide has the tower's ticket prices and normal hours. Check its holiday times on the day.
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