Season guide · Prague · Czechia
Prague in winter
December–February: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Ivan Korostelev, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Freezing temperatures and short days, but Christmas markets in December and the lowest prices in January and February. Expect highs up to 4°C (39°F) and lows around -3°C (27°F), with about 20 rainy days across December–February.
Key facts
- Months
- December–February
- Temperatures
- -3°C (27°F) to 4°C (39°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 20
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in winter
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C (36°F) | -3°C (27°F) | 7 | 8.5 h | 2/5 |
| February | 4°C (39°F) | -2°C (28°F) | 6 | 10 h | 1/5 |
| December | 3°C (37°F) | -2°C (28°F) | 7 | 8.1 h | 4/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 3°C (37°F) against a yearly 14°C (57°F), and 20 of the year's roughly 86 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 2/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in winter
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- January: Christmas markets close (usually early January)
- February: Masopust — traditional carnival processions in some neighbourhoods (February, before Lent)
- December: Christmas markets on Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square (December)
- December: Carp sellers in the streets before Christmas Eve (around 20–24 December)
Good choices for winter
Architecture · Old Town
Klementinum
Visits are by guided tour only; book ahead in summer.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Views
- Rainy day
Religious site · Hradčany
St Vitus Cathedral
Begun in 1344 and not completed until 1929, the Gothic cathedral inside the castle walls holds the tombs of Bohemian kings, the gem-encrusted St Wenceslas Chapel, a silver tomb for St John of Nepomuk and a stained-glass window designed by Alphonse Mucha.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
Historic site · Josefov
Jewish Quarter (Josefov)
The sites shut on Saturdays and Jewish holidays; buy the combined ticket and allow time for the Pinkas Synagogue.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Street · New Town
Wenceslas Square and the National Museum
More boulevard than square, this long sloping avenue was the stage for the protests of 1968 and the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Architecture · Old Town
Municipal House
If you skip the tour, have coffee in the ground-floor café to see the interior, then walk under the Powder Tower next door.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Art
- Rainy day
- Couples
Day trips in winter
- Terezín (About 1 hour by bus) — An 18th-century fortress town used by the Nazis as the Theresienstadt ghetto and transit camp.
- Karlovy Vary (About 2–2.5 hours by bus) — Bohemia's grandest spa town has colonnades where visitors sip hot mineral water from spouted cups, pastel 19th-century hotels along the Teplá river and the Becherovka museum.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat, gloves and thermal layers
- Shoes with good grip for icy pavements
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is winter a good time to visit Prague?
It is a trade-off: Freezing temperatures and short days, but Christmas markets in December and the lowest prices in January and February. The best months overall are May–June and September.
+What is the weather like in Prague in winter?
Highs of up to 4°C (39°F) and lows around -3°C (27°F), with about 20 rainy days over the season.