Charles Bridge towers: tickets

How much do the Charles Bridge tower tickets cost in 2026?

250 CZK for the Old Town Bridge Tower, 200 CZK for the Lesser Town Bridge Tower, 340 CZK for both, with reduced, youth and family prices.

The 2026 price list is short and the same at both towers. Children aged 6 to 15, seniors over 65 and holders of the Czech ZTP disability card pay the reduced price. Young people from 16 to 26 get a youth price. A family ticket covers two adults and up to four children. Children up to 5 go free, and ZTP/P card holders go free with one companion.

The combined ticket is the one to buy. It saves 110 CZK on two separate adult tickets, and the two towers show you opposite views of the same bridge. There is no time slot: you can climb one in the morning and the other after lunch, as long as it is the same day.

Visitors under 15 may only go up with an adult aged 18 or over. Holders of Prague's Lítačka transport card get a small discount too.

Is the first hour really half price?

Yes. The Early Bird offer takes 50% off admission in the first hour after opening, every day except 25 December and 1 January.

This is the best deal on the bridge, and few visitors use it. The towers open at 10:00 for most of the year and at 9:00 from June to September. Buy at the desk in that first hour and the adult Old Town ticket drops to 125 CZK, under $6.

The first hour is also the emptiest. Guests on GetYourGuide say the same thing again and again. Barbara wrote in September 2026: “The view of Charles Bridge and the city is great, and when we were there, there were hardly any people, so we could enjoy the view for as long as we wanted.” Taija, the same month: “We visited in the morning before the crowds - a warm recommendation.”

The discount is applied at the tower ticket office. A ticket bought weeks ahead from a reseller is not discounted, so the cheapest plan is simple: walk the bridge at sunrise, then be at the tower door when it opens.

Which tower has the better view?

The Old Town Bridge Tower, for the classic view down the bridge to the castle. The Lesser Town tower is higher and looks back at the Old Town.

The Old Town Bridge Tower is the famous one. Peter Parler designed it in the second half of the 14th century, and the stonemasons finished it in 1385. It is about 47 metres tall. A spiral staircase of 138 steps takes you to the gallery at about 18 metres, from where the bridge runs straight ahead, statue after statue, to the Lesser Town towers, the dome of St Nicholas and Prague Castle on the hill. In the morning the sun is behind you and lights the castle front.

The Lesser Town Bridge Tower is the taller of the two towers at the western end, built after 1464 and about 43.5 metres high. Its gallery sits higher, at 26 metres. From there you look east, back down the bridge to the Old Town Bridge Tower and the spires of the Old Town, and west over the red roofs of the Lesser Town. The lower tower beside it, Judith's Tower, dates back to the 12th century and is closed to the public.

Our pick, if you only climb one: the Old Town tower in the morning, for the view everybody has on their phone, and the Lesser Town tower late in the afternoon, when the sun sets behind you and the Old Town glows. Maryam, on GetYourGuide in August 2026, put it this way: “I had a slight preference for the Old Town Bridge Tower - easier steps and sun is facing the right way for photos in the morning”.

Is the GetYourGuide towers ticket valid?

Yes. The activity provider on the listing is Prague City Tourism a.s., the same body that runs the towers, so it is an official ticket sold through a reseller.

Both official tower pages say that Prague City Tourism is the only official seller, through its own ticket offices and online through ColosseumTicket, and that tickets from other channels may not be valid. That warning is aimed at unofficial resellers and touts. The combined towers ticket on GetYourGuide names Prague City Tourism a.s. as its provider, and guests describe a smooth handover. Maryam: “Mobile ticket was scanned then they gave me a paper one to use at both towers.” Ramona, July 2026: “Admission with the mobile app worked great.”

What do you pay for the convenience? The listing costs $17 (about 365 CZK), against 340 CZK at the desk, so roughly $1.50 more. In return you get free cancellation up to 24 hours before and the option to reserve now and pay later. What you lose: the Early Bird half price and the reduced, youth and family rates, because the listing sells one adult ticket type only. One small oddity: the listing's “includes” box mentions a guided tour, but the description and the reviews make clear it is a self-guided visit.

Our view: if you are a family, a student or an early riser, buy at the tower. If you are planning a trip months ahead and want everything in one app with a refund option, the GetYourGuide ticket is a fair deal with no catch.

The two bridge towers on one ticket, supplied by Prague City Tourism. A little dearer than the desk, but you can cancel up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.5 · 1 to 1.5 hours · from $17

Check dates → Tour details

What is inside the towers?

Mostly stairs and a gallery. The Old Town tower adds a few Gothic details on the way up; neither tower is a museum.

Do not expect an exhibition. In the Old Town Bridge Tower you pass remains of Gothic painting in the vault of the gateway, a statue of a tower keeper from the 1450s at the top of the spiral stair, and a second-floor room that once held debtors, with a neo-Gothic ceiling from 1880. The eastern facade, the one facing the Old Town, keeps its Gothic decoration, but the statues on it are sandstone copies set up in 2006; the originals from 1380 to 1400 belong to the National Museum's Lapidarium.

The tower has a darker past too. In 1621, after the Battle of the White Mountain, the heads of twelve executed rebel leaders hung from it for more than ten years. The Swedish siege of 1648 damaged it, and it was rebuilt from 1650 to 1653.

Allow 30 to 45 minutes per tower, most of it on the gallery. Bring nothing bulky: the stairs are narrow, and neither building is barrier-free, so wheelchairs and strollers cannot go up.

Should you add the Charles Bridge Museum?

Only with the canal cruise, which includes it. On its own it is a small exhibition at 220 CZK.

The Charles Bridge Museum sits at Křižovnické náměstí 3, next to the Old Town Bridge Tower, in rooms of the old hospital of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star. It covers how the bridge was built, Judith Bridge before it, the statues, and the floods and repairs, with a large model of the 14th-century building site. The city's listing gives 220 CZK for adults, 110 CZK reduced, and daily hours of 10:00 to 18:00 from October to April and 10:00 to 19:00 from May to September.

The museum and the Prague Venice boats share the same building, and every boat ticket includes museum entry. That is why we do not recommend the museum on its own: the canal cruise under Charles Bridge costs 550 CZK at the pier or $25 on GetYourGuide and gives you both. If you only want the museum, the museum ticket is $10 online, the same as the desk price. Guests say 30 to 45 minutes is enough.

When are the towers open, and what about Christmas?

Daily all year, with longer summer hours. Over Christmas and New Year the hours change, and the Early Bird does not apply on 25 December and 1 January.

The table below is the city's 2026 schedule plus the most recent published holiday hours, those for the 2025 to 2026 season. The holiday hours for the 2026 to 2027 season had not been published when we checked; expect a similar pattern and check the tower pages in December. Our autumn and winter post covers the season on the bridge.

Two more ways to save. Show a same-day ticket for the historic tram 42 and you get 50% off tower entry; show a tower ticket on tram 42 and you get 50 CZK off the tram fare (card payment on board). And the official Prague Visitor Pass (from 2,700 CZK for 48 hours) includes the towers, the museum with its boat ride, Prague Castle and public transport, which pays off only if you pack several sights into those days.

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