Prague by Night: a handy guidebook for exploring the city's nightlife

If you're travelling to Prague, I'm sure you're researching how to plan your stay. No doubt you will have included monuments such as the city's castle and the extraordinary Charles Bridge on your list of must-see sights, not forgetting the Jewish quarter and other hidden corners.

However, your planning should not include what Prague has to offer after dark. Like all great cities, the Czech capital has a great nightlife. Moreover, its streets and monuments take on a magical dimension thanks to their illumination and charm. In addition, there are fascinating activities such as wandering the streets in search of ghosts.

The city offers visitors many types of organised tours of Prague to explore all its charms accompanied by a guide who will explain what you are seeing. Although these tours are great, here I suggest you change your perspective a little and book a night tour of Prague.

Luckily for visitors, there are many and varied night tours on offer, allowing you to choose the one that best suits your tastes, from those that simply take you through the streets to those that show you the best entertainment venues, not forgetting those dedicated to the more obscure legends of a city full of them.

Of course, you can also plan one of these tours on your own and at your own pace. The important thing is to immerse yourself in the special charm of this city and stroll through its streets feeling like the protagonist of a medieval fairy tale.

• Tour times: each night tour may have a different starting time, but to give a couple of examples: the ghost tour usually starts around 7.30pm and the regular night tours around 6pm.

The Vltava River that flows through Prague may not have the fame of the Seine in Paris or the Danube in Budapest, but if you book a night cruise in Prague, you will see that the beauty of the tour is second to none.

There are several types of boat trips to choose from. The most basic one usually consists of a short trip, lasting about an hour, which covers the area between Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. Although this simpler tour is not bad at all. My advice is to book a dinner cruise if you can. During the cruise you can see **Prague'**s most famous historical sites, almost always while sipping a glass of wine or prosecco.

The dinner, which is usually buffet style, can't take place in a more wonderful setting than with Prague Castle illuminated in the background. All of this is accompanied by live music to further enhance the atmosphere. Most of these cruises depart from the vicinity of Charles Bridge, including some tours that you can book on the spot.

• Cruise times: if you want to book a dinner cruise, you should bear in mind that the departure time is usually around 19:00.

I won't deny that this is an activity aimed at nothing more than tourists, but participating in a medieval dinner in Prague is as fun as it is rewarding for the palate. If you've been in the city for a few days, you'll already know a lot about what I've explained in this article about food in Prague. If you decide to take part in a medieval dinner, you will be able to eat these dishes in an atmosphere that will make you feel like you have gone back in time.

These dinners take place in candlelit taverns in the style of those that existed in the city several centuries ago. Most of these taverns are located in the Old Town, in the underground floors of the buildings near the Old Town Square.

Five courses are offered for lunch, so that you can taste the most traditional specialities of the city, without forgetting wine and beer. The dinner is accompanied by a show with jugglers and swordsmen performing while medieval music plays.

• Opening times: the medieval dinner usually starts a little before 8 pm.

Those of you who don't feel the effects of tiredness after, for example, one of the excursions I recommend around Prague are in luck: the city has a wide range of nightlife for all types of visitors.

Just strolling around the Old Town Square will leave you with your pockets full of advertisements for the city's clubs. There are so many options that it is impossible to list them all, so I will just name a few of the most outstanding venues:

• Karlovy Lazne: its main claim to fame is that it is the largest club in Central Europe. It has five different rooms, each decorated with a different theme.
• Prague Beer Museum: beer lovers have an unmissable date at this venue located in the Old Town. It offers some 30 varieties of beer from small breweries all over the country.
• Bar Hemingway: one of the most popular drinks in the Czech Republic (always after beer) is absinthe. In this bar you will find some of the best varieties of this product, served in the traditional way.
• Roxy is considered one of the oldest entertainment venues in the city. The Roxy has a space for dancing and another room for those who are looking for a place to sit and enjoy the night in a more relaxed way.
• Puband bar opening hours: There are several types of opening hours depending on the premises licence. Pubs and nightclubs can stay open until 4 or 5am (such as the Karlovy Lazne), but others, such as the Beer Museum, close at 8pm in winter. The Hemingway Bar, meanwhile, is open until 1 or 2 o'clock depending on the day.

One of the must-see sights in the Czech capital is its spectacular castle, a place that will not disappoint. However, if you travel to Prague in the summer, you'll find that the number of tourists in the morning can be uncomfortably crowded. One solution may be to delay your visit until the afternoon and spend the first few moments of the evening there.

To calculate your visit properly, you can take a look at the opening hours of Prague Castle, which normally does not close its doors until 10 pm. And if you decide to visit the monument in the evening, you can sign up for one of the organised tours of Prague Castle that show you around at that time. You can also do it on your own. In that case, choose the right place to watch Prague's lights turn on for a unique spectacle.

My advice is not to call it a day after this visit. As you can read in this article on what to see in the Prague Castle district, the area is full of great attractions and very interesting restaurants. In addition, from some of its streets you will have great views of the illuminated castle itself.

• Castle opening hours: The opening hours of the castle are divided between those of the monuments and those of the rest of the complex. There is also an important difference between Prague in summer and Prague in winter. Generally speaking, between November and March the complex is open from 6 am to 10 pm and the monuments from 9 am to 4 pm. From April to October, on the other hand, the opening hours of the complex are from 5am to midnight, while the monuments are open from 9am to 5pm.

The one thing that can be said about **Prague'**s music scene is that few cities can come close to its variety, quality and quantity. No matter what style you like, you'll find the opportunity to enjoy it in the Czech capital. If you prefer classical music, ballet or opera, there is no better place than the Prague National Theatre, whose beautiful location is worth a visit.

Apart from the formal stage of the theatre, you can also find performances in some of the city's gardens. The best known are in the Wallenstein Gardens, where, as well as on the small island of Střelecký ostrov, some musical performances are held in the afternoon and early evening between May and September.

In a change of style, there are several jazz and blues clubs in the neighbourhood near Charles Bridge. Some of them, such as the Jazz Republic, offer live concerts almost every night. And for those who want to take the opportunity to go to a big concert, just check out the programme of the O2 Arena, the venue usually chosen by big international artists when they visit the Czech Republic. Last but not least, the streets of the city are filled with street musicians.

• Opening times: The National Theatre has performances at 18:00 and 19:00. The Jazz Republic presents its last performances at 21:15.

If you want to live a different experience in the nights of Prague you will have the opportunity to go to a performance of a very typical type of theatre in the city: the black theatre.

This type of theatre was born in Prague itself and the plays belonging to it have been performed for more than half a century. It is a silent theatre performance against a black backdrop that uses light to create stories through lighting and shadows. Attending one of these plays goes beyond being a theatre fan, as it is part of the **city'**s contemporary culture. However, not everyone is able to enjoy the performances, as they are characterised by a rather slow pace and it is not easy to follow the stories.

Nevertheless, in my opinion it is worth going to see a play if you have enough time. The best place to go is undoubtedly the Ta Fantastika Theatre, where the most popular play of this type of theatre is usually performed: Aspects of Alice.

• Opening hours at Ta Fantastika Theatre: the most relevant play of this type of theatre, Aspects of Alice, usually starts at around 7pm.

When reading about what to see on the Charles Bridge, you may have come across the recommendation to cross it quietly and enjoy the atmosphere. What you may not know is that this walk is even more beautiful at night, when the bridge becomes one of the best viewpoints in the city.

Crossing this authentic monument after nightfall is, without a doubt, the most romantic walk you can take in Prague. In addition, the sides of the monument are lined with street performers, painters and singers who entertain you along the way.

Prague has many things to see and things to do, and you can't leave the Czech capital without seeing a panoramic view of the city at dusk and, afterwards, with its night-time illumination. Fortunately, there is no shortage of places to enjoy this unforgettable experience. One of the most classic places is Prague Castle. Walking around the area you will find some viewpoints from where you can see the rest of the city illuminated.

Petrin Hill, more specifically from its Observation Tower, offers one of the best views of Prague. This hill is about 320 metres high, but the climb is not too strenuous. If you don't want to walk, you can always take the funicular to the top.

Finally, there is a viewpoint that is somewhat less well known but which offers impressive views of Prague by night. It is located in Letná Park, which you reach after crossing the Jewish quarter, crossing the Vltava and climbing a flight of stairs. From this viewpoint, where there is a bar with frequent live music, you will have a full view of all the city's bridges, including the Charles Bridge.

If you've run out of ideas for entertaining the kids in Prague you can always take them to play mini-golf in a special way: in the dark. At Prague Golf & Games, located about 20 minutes' walk from the centre, you can enjoy this peculiar activity with your family.

The entrance fee is around 15 €, but it includes a drink to be taken on the premises. Its interior is, to say the least, curious, as each hole has been built with different themes related to the city.

As for the game itself, the most fun is that it takes place in the dark, with the only guide being the coloured lights that have been distributed around the lanes and the rest of the venue.

• Opening hours: the place where you can enjoy a game of golf is open from 1pm to 10pm.

One aspect that surprises Spanish travellers in Prague is the dim street lighting. This, which occurs in many European cities that are not in the habit of trying to make night the same as day in terms of light, does not at all imply that the city is unsafe.

In fact, Prague is considered to be one of the safest destinations in the whole area. However, like any big city, there are some areas that are not recommended for walking around at night.

Most of these less safe areas are located away from where you would normally move around as a tourist. I would only recommend avoiding the park near the central train station, as the atmosphere after sunset is not too good.

The centre of Prague is easy to get around on foot. However, when returning to your hotel or going to a more distant attraction at night you may prefer to use public transport. The metro is perhaps the least useful means of transport at night, as it does not operate between midnight and 4.45am.

The tram, on the other hand, does have a night timetable. The normal timetable ends at midnight, but from midnight onwards there are night lines that run until 4:30am. Night trams usually run every half hour or so. The same is true for buses. While day buses run between 4.30am and midnight, night buses run between midnight and 4.30am.

You can also choose to go on one of the many types of organised tours of Prague.