10 Best museums in Prague

A visit to historic buildings such as the Powder Tower or modern constructions such as the Dancing House are some of the best things to see and do in Prague. In turn, a tour of some of the city's most famous and important museums is one of the best things to do in Prague , regardless of the time of year you choose to visit or even the ages of your companions.

The truth is that there are museums of history, art, curiosities and some that combine all three in the same space. I invite you to continue reading this post, as I have compiled information on the 10 best museums in Prague so that you can get a more concrete and accurate idea of what to expect and what you will find in each one.

The Museum of Communism in Prague is an institution created to provide a reflective perspective on the history of the regime that came to power in the Czech Republic from the end of the Second World War until the fall of this political system in the Velvet Revolution.

The museum is divided into six sections, ranging from the origins that presented communism as a viable option and a favourable state project to its fall after years of censorship, political persecution and restrictions on civil liberties in the country. It is not an overly large museum compared to other facilities such as the National Museum. However, it stands out for its approach to a very important period in the Czech Republic's recent history.

It takes about two hours to see everything if you decide to read most of the descriptive texts for each of the exhibits, which are in Spanish and English. This means that it is a relatively short activity that can be combined with other plans for the same day.

The Mucha Museum and the Powder Tower are two of the most important attractions nearby. However, a trip to the Terezin concentration camp from Prague could be an interesting activity if you want to learn more about the role of the Czech Republic during the Second World War.

Useful information:

• Entrance fee: admission costs around £15 for adults, around £13 for seniors over 65, and there is free admission for children under 10 years old.
• Opening hours: The museum is usually open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. There are exceptions on special dates such as 24 December and New Year's Day.
• Location: The Náměstí Republiky metro station is the best way to get there, as it is located on V Celnici Street, less than 200 metres from the famous Powder Tower.

The Prague National Museum will always be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of the best museums in the Czech capital. This institution is the oldest dedicated to the preservation of history and art in the Bohemia region. Since its creation in 1818, it has changed locations several times, but it has been located in the famous Wenceslas Square since the early 20th century.

The central hall of the building serves as a kind of pantheon for some of the most illustrious figures of the Czech Republic and is accompanied by other exhibitions dedicated to the millennial history of the region and the country. The museum has several facilities throughout the city, but it can be said that the new headquarters of the National Museum and the building known as the Naprstek Museum are the most important and best connected to the curatorship seen at the main headquarters.

The main building is a true architectural spectacle, a neoclassical structure designed by the same architect who designed the State Opera House. The Zoology section may be the most interesting part of the museum for the little ones, while the section focusing on the prehistory of Bohemia, Slovakia and Moravia is a must-see for older visitors.

A visit to this museum, along with a tour of most of the other establishments on this list, is one of those things to see or do in Prague in winter. The internal climate control of this imposing building provides reliable protection from the low temperatures of Central European winters.

Useful information:

• Admission price: adults pay approximately £8, while children between the ages of 6 and 15 usually pay around £5. Children under these ages are admitted free of charge.
• Opening hours: open Monday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The first Tuesday of each month is usually closed for maintenance, and there are often specific activities throughout the year that may extend the opening hours.
• Location: the museum's main building is located at the southern end of Wenceslas Square. It is accessible by public transport via the metro, getting off at the Muzeum station on lines A and C.

The most famous building of the Prague National Gallery is located in the oldest square in the historic centre of the city. This area is known as Prague's Old Town and there are several important landmarks, such as the street lined with luxury shops called Pařížská and the Týn Church with its iconic bell towers.

In fact, the museum's facilities are spread throughout Prague, and the exhibitions are divided according to historical periods and artistic trends in each of these buildings. For example, medieval art from Bohemia and Central Europe is on display in the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia, about 300 metres to the north. This is next to the Central Gallery building, which displays contemporary works by Warhol, Salvador Dalí and other Czech artists such as Alfons Mucha.

The Veletržní palác, located on the other side of the Vltava River, is a large functionalist building that also houses permanent exhibitions of the National Gallery by another group of contemporary artists such as Picasso, Monet, Klimt, Renoir and Van Gogh. It has works related to the Czech visual arts, ranging from furniture to photography and stage design.

Visiting some or all of the facilities in this gallery is a recommended activity to add to your list of things to see and do in Prague during the summer, as there are often special activities or exhibitions involving all the museum's venues at the same time.

Useful information:

• Admission: admission to this museum costs approximately £20 per person and is valid for one week, during which time the holder can move freely between venues until they have seen all the permanent exhibitions.
• Opening hours: The standard opening hours for all National Gallery venues are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Wednesdays, opening hours are extended until 8 p.m. and no venues are open on Mondays.
• Location: there is no single venue, but the Monastery of St. Agnes, the Kinský Palace, the Šternberský Palace and the Exhibition Palace are some of the key locations for reaching all the facilities of the National Gallery in Prague.

The Prague Museum of Illusions is an establishment dedicated to optical illusions and interactive magic located in the new part of the city on Melantrichova Street. This part of Prague is one of the epicentres of the Czech capital's nightlife, but during the day it is a really fun place to visit with the family or on your own.

The optical illusion of the chair is one of the most iconic features of this museum, and its proximity to the Prague Astronomical Clock makes it another unmissable stop on your tour.

On the way to the square where the famous 600-year-old mechanical clock is located, you can stop by the curious Prague Sex Museum. This is an interesting institution that seeks to delve into the history of human intimacy and the evolution of human sexual habits.

Useful information:

• Admission: tickets usually cost £12 for adults and £8 for children aged 6 to 15. Children under 6 go free.
• Opening hours: the museum is open daily from 9 am to 9 pm.
• Location: it is on Melantrichova Street and can be reached on foot in less than a minute from the Mustek metro station.

On Chilená Street, directly opposite Prague's Old Town and between Charles Bridge and Mànes Bridge , stands the Franz Kafka Museum , dedicated to the greatest representative of Czech literature and one of the most important authors of 20th-century contemporary literature.

The museum has exhibitions detailing important aspects of the author's life, such as his creative relationship with the city of Prague and the cultural influence his work has had on the country and on the literary genre in general. There are also several photographic collections of his life and family environment, first editions of his books, sketches, letters and all kinds of personal items belonging to Kafka.

The fountain located at the entrance to the museum is one of the most iconic sites in the city, and the dark and confusing exhibition on the famous work The Metamorphosis is one of the museum's must-see features. When visiting, you can take the opportunity to explore Vojanovy sady Park, as it is an important site in the city. It is also often a meeting point for some of the best excursions around Prague.

Useful information:

• Admission price: admission costs approximately £7.59 per person, although there are also family tickets for four people for £20.
• Opening hours: the museum is open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Location: it is on the banks of the Vltava River, on Cihelná Street. It is accessible by public transport from Malostranska station or by tram from the station of the same name.

The Mucha Museum, located in the Baroque Kaunický Palace in the centre of Prague's New Town, is a cultural establishment entirely dedicated to the works of the artist Alfons Mucha. He was a Czech modernist painter who is internationally considered one of the greatest representatives of Art Nouveau.

The museum has several exhibitions featuring posters, oil paintings, sketches, decorative panels and three-dimensional works. Most of these works were created during his stay in Paris. In fact, inside the museum there is a replica of the studio where the artist lived in the French capital during the Belle Epoque.

This museum is highly recommended for art lovers and especially for admirers of Art Nouveau. It is also a recommended activity among the things to see and do in Prague at Christmas due to its proximity to Na Příkopě boulevard, which is usually quite decorated from late November to early January.

Useful information:

• Admission: admission costs approximately £10 for adults and £6 for seniors over 65 and children.
• Opening hours: open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., just like most of the museums mentioned in this guide.
• Location: the museum is located on Panská Street. It is easy to reach from the Mustek or Muzeum metro stations.

Culture has always been very important to Czech society, so it is not surprising that there is a Czech Museum of Music in Prague. The museum is housed in the former Church of St. Mary Magdalene and consists of an exhibition of more than 400 instruments that have been part of the musical history of Bohemia and Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The interior lobby of the building impresses most visitors with its majesty. It is located in the centre of the Malá Strana district, and Kampa Island with its modern art museum are other attractions you can enjoy in this part of the city.

The Vrtba Garden is another place you should not miss when visiting this museum, especially since it is a place that will not keep you busy for too long.

Useful information:

• Admission: admission costs approximately £10 for adults, with a discount to £8 for children and seniors over 65.
• Opening hours: open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesdays.
• Location: it is located on Karmelitská Avenue in the heart of the Malá Strana district. You can get there by public transport if you get off at the Hellichova station on the city's tram system.

The Toy Museum is located in the north wing of Prague Castle, a neo-Gothic building that houses several museums and is one of the most impressive buildings on the planet. It is also one of the most significant tourist attractions in the Czech Republic.

Inside the museum, you will find everything related to toys as a basic element of human history. There are pieces from Ancient Greece as well as more modern exhibits such as Barbies. There are handcrafted pieces that are hundreds of years old, as well as all kinds of traditional toys from Bohemia and Central Europe.

This is undoubtedly one of the best activities to do in Prague with children. Although it is an attraction, it can be quite interesting even for a group of adult travellers. Along with a visit to the cathedral and a few other activities, it is also one of the things to see and do in the Prague Castle district.

Useful information:

• Admission price: admission is quite cheap, usually around £3 for adults, while children and seniors over 65 pay half price. There are family tickets for two adults and two children for a total price of £4.50.
• Opening hours: the museum is usually open every day of the week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Location: it is located inside Prague Castle, so the best way to get there is by metro, getting off at Malostranská station.

The Jewish Museum in Prague is one of the oldest institutions dedicated to the preservation of this culture in Europe. Like the Prague National Museum and the Prague National Gallery, it is a permanent exhibition that is divided between several sites in the city.

The six synagogues that still remain after World War II, the old Jewish cemetery in Prague and the Roberta Guttmann Gallery are the facilities that make up this important organisation for historical preservation. There are permanent exhibitions on the Holocaust and its impact on Czech society, as well as exhibitions on the history of Judaism in Bohemia and Moravia.

Walking around the outside of these buildings is also one of the things to see or do in Prague at night, as they are all located in a tourist area and important part of the city's oldest historic centre.

Useful information:

• Admission price: the combined ticket for all the synagogues and the cemetery, except for the Old-New Synagogue, costs approximately £8. Children under 6 go free and children between 6 and 15 usually pay £6 for admission.
• Opening hours: From November to March, it is usually open every day of the week except Saturdays from 9 am to 4 pm. From April to October, it remains closed on Saturdays, but opens at 10 am and welcomes visitors until 6 pm.
• Location: All synagogues are located in the western part of Prague's Old Town. For this reason, the best way to get there by public transport is to get off at the Staroměstská metro station.

A few metres from Prague's Old Town Square, on Celetná Street , is the Museum of Torture and Torture Instruments in Prague. Its name in Czech is Muzeum útrpného práva. It is basically a space designed to look like a series of gloomy dungeons containing more than 400 artefacts used for medieval torture throughout Europe, particularly in the Bohemia region.

The experience can be frightening for many people due to the fact that many of the exhibits are accompanied by strange lighting and music. This is intended to transport visitors to a realistic setting of how the Holy Inquisition was carried out.

Useful information:

• Admission price: the approximate admission price for an adult is usually around £6.50, while children between the ages of 15 and 6 usually pay half price, approximately £4.
• Opening hours: open every day of the week from 11 am to 6 pm between Monday and Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, it opens to visitors at 10 am and closes at 8 pm.
• Location: its location on Celetná Street makes it easily accessible by public transport from Náměstí Republiky station as well as from Staroměstská station.