When Prague's Christmas markets open and close
Prague does not switch on its Christmas markets in one go. The neighborhood squares start first, in the second half of November, and the two big markets in the center open together on 28 November, the evening the Old Town Square tree is switched on. Most of the small markets are gone by Christmas Eve, while the big pair carries on into January. Below, every market shares one table, followed by the calmer evenings and plans for a stay of one to three nights.
A season that opens in stages
The first huts go up in Vinohrady. Peace Square, the market in front of the church of St. Ludmila on Náměstí Míru, opens on 20 November, almost a week before anyone else. Republic Square follows on 25 November, and Tyl Square a day later, on 26 November.
The main event comes on 28 November. On that day the markets on Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square start trading, and late in the afternoon the big tree on Old Town Square is lit for the first time. Jiřího z Poděbrad, the square locals shorten to Jiřák, opens a day later, on 29 November. Kampa, on the island below Charles Bridge, is the latecomer. It opens in early December, and in its last season it ran from 3 December to 4 January.
Every market's dates and daily hours
Where we could not confirm a market's daily hours, the table says so rather than guessing.
| Market | Dates | Daily hours | 24 to 26 December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town Square | 28 Nov to 6 Jan | 10 am to 10 pm | 24th 10 am to 2 pm; 25th and 26th noon to 10 pm |
| Wenceslas Square | 28 Nov to 6 Jan | 10 am to 10 pm | 24th 10 am to 2 pm; 25th and 26th noon to 10 pm |
| Wenceslas Square ice rink | 28 Nov to mid-February | 9 am to 9 pm | Check the rink's page |
| Peace Square (Náměstí Míru) | 20 Nov to 24 Dec | 10 am to 8 pm | Last day on the 24th |
| Republic Square | 25 Nov to 24 Dec | 10 am to 8 pm | Last day on the 24th |
| Republic Square, Palladium part | Until 6 Jan | Check the market's page | Keeps trading after Christmas |
| Kampa | Early Dec to early Jan | 10 am to 8 pm | Keeps trading after Christmas |
| Jiřího z Poděbrad (Jiřák) | 29 Nov to 23 Dec | Check the market's page | Closed |
| Tyl Square (Tylovo náměstí) | 26 Nov to 24 Dec | Check the market's page | Last day on the 24th |
| Havel's Market | All year | Mon to Sat 7 am to 7 pm; Sun 8 am to 6:30 pm | Check locally |
Use this table to plan, not to promise anyone a late svařák. The organizers publish their final dates and opening hours only shortly before each season begins, so look at the market's own page before you build an evening around it.
The quiet hours and the crowded ones
The sun sets around 4 pm in December, so the lights are on by late afternoon. The calmest time at the big squares is a weekday from about 4 pm to 6 pm, right after the lights come on and before the after-work crowd arrives. Mornings are quiet too, but a Christmas market by daylight loses much of its point.
Friday and Saturday evenings are the busiest of the week, and the weekends just before Christmas fill every lane in the Old Town. On 5 December, St. Nicholas Eve, families pack Old Town Square to watch St. Nicholas walk the streets with an angel and a devil. If one of those evenings is the only one you have, go early, then move on to a smaller square once the squeeze begins. Our guide to the neighborhood markets shows where locals go instead.
Christmas Eve, the holidays and on into January
24 December is the evening Czech families open their presents, after a dinner of fish soup and fried carp, so the city winds down from midday. Shops close around noon. The two big squares trade from 10 am to 2 pm, and the 24th is also the closing day for most of the smaller markets, Republic Square among them. Jiřák will already have packed up on 23 December.
On 25 and 26 December, both public holidays, the big squares reopen at noon and keep going until 10 pm. After that, four places are left to you. Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square run to 6 January, as does the Palladium part of the Republic Square market, while Kampa closes in early January. The rink on Wenceslas Square outlasts them all and stays into February. Our guide to the Old Town Square market covers the open-air Mass held there at 9 pm on Christmas Eve.
Keep a Saturday for Dresden
The last Saturday evenings of Advent are the hardest time to enjoy the big squares, so spend one of those days across the border. Bohemia Adventures' Dresden and Saxon Switzerland day, from ~$217, collects you from your hotel and drives a small group of no more than 8 for about 2 hours each way in a people carrier. On the way out you walk across the Bastei bridge over the Elbe gorge, then past what is left of a medieval castle carved into the sandstone. Dresden starts with a guided walk round the old center and a lunch you order from the menu, and then you get about 3 hours at the Striezelmarkt, one of Germany's oldest Christmas markets, with one Glühwein paid for. It costs about $219 on GetYourGuide and holds 4.8 stars from 109 reviews on Viator. The catch is the length of the day, 9 to 10 hours with darkness from about 4 pm, and a price several times that of an evening walk in town. Bring a passport, since you cross into Germany. Our page on Christmas day trips from Prague sets it beside Český Krumlov and Kutná Hora.
Dresden while Prague's squares are packed
Hotel pickup, a frosty walk over the Bastei bridge, then three hours among the Dresden stalls with a Glühwein on the house, from ~$217. Pack a passport and warm boots, and expect to drive home in the dark.
Plans for one to three evenings
- One evening. Reach Old Town Square around 4 pm and catch the first light show on the tree at 4:30 pm. Then walk about 7 minutes down Melantrichova, past Havel's Market, to the market and ice rink on Wenceslas Square. Our evening walk adds Charles Bridge to the route;
- Two evenings. Give the first to the center. On the second, as long as it falls before 24 December, take metro A to Náměstí Míru for the Peace Square market, then walk on to Tyl Square for a cheaper supper among residents;
- Three evenings. Add Kampa, reached on foot over Charles Bridge, for a hot mug by the river, or Republic Square beside the Art Nouveau Municipal House. Between Christmas and 6 January, Kampa and the Palladium market are the two to pick;
- A daytime plan. Spend the morning at Prague Castle. It no longer holds a Christmas market, but a big tree stands in the courtyard and the paid interiors stay open until around 4 pm in winter. Walk down through the Lesser Town to Kampa and cross the river as the lights come on. Our guide to Prague Castle in winter explains how to fit it in.
For what goes in the mug, read our svařák and Christmas food guide, and for the cold, Prague's December weather. Families should turn to Prague at Christmas with kids.