Skating, workshops and St. Nicholas with children in Prague
Prague's Christmas markets work well for children once you get the timing right. The lights come on around 4 pm, well before bedtime, and weekday afternoons are far calmer than weekend nights. This guide picks out the ice rink and the craft workshops, the treats children like and the evening when St. Nicholas walks the streets with a devil in tow. It ends by sorting the tours that welcome families from those that do not.
Timing an evening, and where to start
The sun sets around 4 pm in a Prague December, and the stalls are lit from late afternoon. That suits a family. Head out at about 3 pm to catch the last daylight and the lights coming on, and you are still back for supper. Weekday afternoons are the calmest time of all. Friday and Saturday evenings fill the big squares, and so do the evening of 5 December and the weekends before Christmas.
On Old Town Square the big tree, about 85 feet (26 m) tall, puts on a short light show each evening, at 4:30 pm and then every hour on the half hour. The organizers only fix the final dates and hours a little before the markets open, so check the market's own page before you promise anyone a show. The full table is in our guide to dates and opening hours.
| Place | For children | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wenceslas Square ice rink | Open-air skating with skate hire, no booking | 28 November into February | 9 am to 9 pm |
| Old Town Square | Weekend workshops from 11 am to 3 pm; carols on the stage later | 28 November to 6 January | 10 am to 10 pm; 10 am to 2 pm on 24 December |
| Wenceslas Square market | Blacksmith demonstrations; a stage from Thursday to Sunday | 28 November to 6 January | 10 am to 10 pm; 10 am to 2 pm on 24 December |
| Peace Square (Náměstí Míru) | Crafts and a calmer crowd | 20 November to 24 December | 10 am to 8 pm |
Skating on Wenceslas Square
The open-air rink on Wenceslas Square runs from 28 November into February, from 9 am to 9 pm, and you can turn up without booking and hire skates on the spot. Next to it, the market at the lower end of the square has a blacksmith at work, and a stage with music from Thursday to Sunday after 4 pm. Můstek metro station, right at that end, is step-free. Our Wenceslas Square guide covers the market and the rink in more detail.
Workshops and carols on Old Town Square
At weekends the market on Old Town Square runs children's workshops from 11 am to 3 pm, and from about 4 pm choirs and folk bands take the stage. A raised viewing platform over the stalls lets small children see above the crowd, and a nativity scene stands close to the tree. On the hour, the apostles appear in the windows of the Astronomical Clock, a short show that children remember. Pickpockets work the evening crowd, so hold small hands and keep bags closed. The Old Town Square guide has the layout.
Hot chocolate, punch and trdelník
Children get drinks of their own at the stalls, hot chocolate or an alcohol-free punch served alongside the svařák. Cups are returnable or recycled, with a small deposit that comes back at the return huts. Trdelník, the chimney cake rolled on a spit, is the treat most children ask for, although Prague picked it up only recently and it has no deep Czech roots. Roasted chestnuts and decorated gingerbread are the other easy wins. Carry some koruna in coins for the small stalls, and see our guide to Christmas food and drinks for the rest of the menu.
For children who want to make one themselves, Chimney Cake Workshop Prague's trdelník class, from ~$28, at Lípová 8 in the New Town, lets them roll the dough onto a wooden spit, coat it and bake it, then add toppings of their choice. Aprons and tools are provided, and it lasts 65 minutes. It holds 4.9 from 1,348 reviews on GetYourGuide, about $29 there, and 5.0 from 341 on Viator. The catch is that the dough comes ready-made, so most of the hour goes on rolling and coating a single cake while it bakes.
St. Nicholas Eve, with an angel and a devil
On the evening of 5 December, St. Nicholas, Mikuláš in Czech, walks the streets with an angel and a devil, the čert. Children recite a short poem or sing a song and are rewarded with sweets, while a lump of coal or a potato is the traditional joke for anyone said to be naughty. Old Town Square is crowded that night. The devils play their part with gusto and can frighten small children, so watch from a little distance with toddlers and let older ones decide how close they want to go.
Ježíšek and Christmas Eve at home
On the evening of 24 December, Czech children open their presents. They come from Ježíšek, the baby Jesus, after a dinner of fish soup and fried carp with potato salad. Street vendors sell live carp from big tubs beforehand, and some families keep the fish in the bathtub until the 24th, which children find hilarious. Anyone who fasts all day is promised a glimpse of the golden piglet. An apple cut crosswise should show a star, and walnut shells holding tiny candles are floated on water as a kind of fortune.
For visitors the 24th is a short day. Shops close around noon and most neighborhood markets have already ended, while Old Town Square trades only from 10 am to 2 pm. Plan the market for the morning.
Strollers, the metro and warm breaks
Strollers struggle on the cobbles of the Old Town and in the evening crowds, so a baby carrier is easier after dark. Můstek and Muzeum stations are step-free, as is I. P. Pavlova on line C. Staroměstská, the closest stop to Old Town Square, is not, and nor is Náměstí Míru, the station for Peace Square. For daylight hours, the funicular up Petřín leads to a lookout tower and a mirror maze. On wet days the National Technical Museum keeps children busy indoors, and Prague Zoo stays open all year. Small children chill quickly while standing still, so dress them in layers with hats and waterproof boots. Our page on Prague in December has the full packing list.
Which tours suit children
The Christmas markets walk with Prague City Adventures, from ~$95, is the one built with families in mind. In 2.5 hours a local guide takes you to three markets Prague people use, two neighborhood ones until 24 December and two others in the historic center after that, and explains Czech customs, including how Christmas changed under Communism. Homemade Christmas cookies come with the walk, and the mulled wine and hot mead can be swapped for alcohol-free drinks on request. Standard groups stay at 11 or fewer, with private groups up to 15, and tram and metro tickets come with it. Reviewers mention learning a Czech carol and getting the cookie recipes afterwards, and they name guides such as Nikola or Johanka. It scores 4.9 from 34 reviews on GetYourGuide and 5.0 from 71 on Viator, about $97 there. The catch is a small pool of reviews next to year-round tours, 2.5 hours outdoors in the cold, and a meeting point on tiny Franz Kafka Square that is easy to miss.
Cookies and punch at the markets locals use
A local guide walks your family to three Christmas markets away from the busiest squares, with homemade cookies and alcohol-free drinks for the children on request, from ~$95. The meeting point is Kafka's birthplace, right beside Old Town Square.
The other tours fit older children better. Taste of Prague's food tour, from ~$169, is about four hours on foot and by metro, with non-alcoholic drinks available, and suits teenagers who eat everything, though it is not for vegans. The Dresden day, from ~$217, rules out babies under 1 and lasts up to ten hours, as our day trips guide explains. The Christmas gala at the Rudolfinum, from ~$68, does not admit children under 5 and finishes around 10 pm.