Prague Castle, Prague

You may walk into the first floor of one of the buildings inside the Golden Lane and will get to a long corridor that the guards used to defend the castle.
Today great armouries and costumes are displayed there, and in a shop you even may buy weapons and iron armouries like the one on my pic !

This is the old Powder Tower, that had the Alchemist-laboratories inside.

Today some of their instruments and other exhibits are shown there, including great furniture.
The entrance to this tower is included in most of the ticket-combinations, but if your time is limited, you will not loose a lot, if you skip it.

This is the view from the belltower of St. Vitus westwards towards the monastery Strahov and Loreto.
Both monasteries are a must by itself and will be shown with some extra pics.
With a good wide-angle-lense you may as well get the 2nd and 3rd court of the castle with the baselisque on your pic !

There are 3 main courtyards in the castle grounds and the third courtyard is where the tourist information/ticket office is situated, along with ATM machines, post office, currency exchange and also the castle police station.

The castle is open daily April - Oct 9-5pm
9-4pm Nov - Mar
You can rent audio tours in different languages.
During April-Oct the castle grounds for which you dont have to pay are open from 5am-midnight, gardens 10-6pm daily.
From Nov-March the grounds are open 6am-11pm but the gardens are closed during these months.

The Powder Bridge (Prasny Most) built in 1540 spans the stag moat (Jelini prikop). There is a gate on the castle wall which over looks the moat, this goes to a bomb shelter started in the 1950's but it was never finished, and the tunnels run under most of the castle.

It is not accidentaly that in czech language the Prague Castle is called Prague Town (Prazsky hrad). It is a huge complex of buildings, churches, gardens, etc. When planing a visit be sure to have at least 5-6 hours if you want to see it properly.

Prague Castle is a world-famous complex featuring St. Vitus's Cathedral, Presidental Residence, several countryards, a museum, etc. It can be first spotted from Charles Bridge (pictured) and reached by foot or by taking tram 22. Upon entering, you'll be silently greeted by guards which is a nice trace to the past. Walking around the complex can take you up to half a day, so come prepared with good shoes and lots of camera space.

Prague Castle area is surely one of the must see act. in Prague. Take a tramway as described bellow and you will avoid climbing the hill. The tramways go up the hill, around the Castle area and in fact you get out "above" the Castle area. If you want, you can walk 200 m to Strahov monastery - you do not have to enter but at least there is a nice view of the city from there. You go back to the small squere called Pohorelec and walk via the Prague
castle. You can also make a small detour to Novy Svet (cf my travelogue) and
slowly you will arrive to Hradcanske square and to the Castle. You will find
some info on the old website: old website or on the new official one.
On the 3rd courtyard, there is an Information Center. You can hire there a portable guide (or a real guide). No need to book before.
After visiting the Castle area, you can visit the nice gardens ("under" the castle) - nice views again and go down (via Nerudova streedt) to Mala Strana quarter and Charles Bridge.