Best Time to Visit Prague

April to June, September to October

Months to avoid: July to August (peak crowds, hottest weather, prices up 30-40%, Charles Bridge is a bottleneck)

Recommended stay: 3-5 days

Plan Prague for April to June, September to October. Give it 3-5 days. The window to avoid is July to August (peak crowds, hottest weather, prices up 30-40%, Charles Bridge is a bottleneck).

What the season gets you

• Prague Castle at dusk, when the tour groups leave: St. Vitus Cathedral turns amber and the city spreads below you across the river in a way that makes the postcards look understated
• Czech pub culture is still intact in the right neighbourhoods. A half-litre of Pilsner Urquell costs 55-65 CZK ($2.50-3) in a local pivnice and the regulars will mostly ignore you, which is its own kind of welcome
• Kutná Hora is 90 minutes by train: a medieval silver-mining town with a church decorated in human bones that is simultaneously absurd and genuinely moving