Golden Lane Prague Castle: Information, Tickets Online, Opening Times

The Golden Lane (Czech: Zlatá ulička) is one of the great attractions on the grounds of the Prague Castle and the whole city. Every day thousands of tourists come to the small alley. The most important sight in the street is the former house of Franz Kafka (house number 22).

Golden Lane (Street Prague) — Golden Lane Pague Castle

Entrance fee: Golden Lane

The interior of the Prague Castle can be visited free of charge, but not the sights. The Golden Lane Prague is also not free of charge. There are no tickets for individual sights in Prague Castle. There are only combined tickets for various attractions. Tickets are available at the castle ticket office. The waiting times there are often very long, so we recommend buying online tickets in advance on the Internet at this link.

Our tip: Online tickets and guided tours Prague Castle

At Prague Castle you often have to wait in queues for a long time. However, there is a good and simple way to avoid the long waiting times at the castle ticket office: you buy your tickets in advance online on the Internet. These are available on the popular website Getyourguide.

====>>>>> More information and online-tickets for Prague Castle: Click here

====>>>>> Very good guided tours Prague Castle in English: Click here

Important note: With the great Prague Card you can visit Prague Castle free of charge: More Information

Avoid queuing at the Golden Lane entrance

The queues are rarely as long as at the ticket counters of the Prague Castle, but also at the Golden Lane there are often enormous waiting times at the ticket control. You hold the ticket at the modern entrance to the display. If the ticket is valid, a green light appears and you can pass the turnstile.

Important: In order to avoid waiting times, we have the following tip: Most visitors to Prague Castle first go to St Vitus Cathedral in the morning and to the Golden Lane in the afternoon. In our experience, if you start your visit to Prague Castle in the Golden Lane in the morning and then visit the churches in the upper area, you only have to wait a short time.

Where’s the Golden Alley?

Prague Castle is considered to be the largest castle in the world, not everything is always easy to find in the almost 50 hectares. The Golene alley Prague is seen from the main entrance of the castle (above) in the rear left area. The famous lane is a part of the wall surrounding the castle. The Golden Lane of Prague is well developed, mostly in Czech (Zlatá ulička) or English (Golden Lane). Many find the small street also with the Smartphone (Goggle Maps etc.).

Sights in the Golden Lane Prague

You can see a small alley with about 10 little houses. One of the first houses is the light blue house with the number 22. The most famous citizen of Prague, the writer Franz Kafka, lived here for a short time from 1916 to 1917.

Kafka House Prague — Kafka House in the Golden Lane

The Golden Lane of Prague is also famous as the lane of alchemists. In the 16th century some of the houses were occupied by people who, with the help of Emperor Rudolf II, were supposed to produce gold from simple metals. The alchemists wanted to use the so-called Philosopher’s Stone. Since ancient times it was believed that gold could be made with the help of the Philosopher’s Stone. Of course this cannot work, today it is known that gold cannot be made from other metals.

Almost all the houses in the Golden Lane Prague are open to the many visitors to the castle. In some of them there are exhibitions or small museums on topics like Franz Kafka or alchemists. Others have small shops.

Another highlight in the Golden Lane in Prague Castle is the long fortified walkway on the first floor. Here you can see armour and clothes from past centuries.

Walkway and Armour Golden Lane — Walkway

The highlight for quite a few visitors is the room with historical torture instruments.

You can also shoot with a real crossbow in the fortification over the Golden Lane in Prague. To shoot 3 arrows at a target a few meters away costs 50 crowns (2 Euro, summer 2018).

More info Golden Lane Prague

– the small street is also sometimes called Gold Maker Lane or Alchemist Lane. However, the name Golden Lane has established in tourism.

– originally the small houses were built in the 16th century as accommodation for the guards of the castle. But only a few years later the alchemists (gold producers) settled here.

– later many goldsmiths were working in the houses of the Golden Lane

– when Kafka lived here about 100 years ago, the little road was pretty run down. It was an area where mainly poor people lived.

– today no one lives in the world-famous Golden Alley anymore. Everything is geared towards tourism.

Caution: Many prices are very high. You can get a small bottle of water to go at the kiosk in Prague Castle not less than 100 crowns (4 euros), a simple sandwich often costs 6 euros or much more. If you visit Prague Castle on a hot summer day, you should bring your own drinks. The rip-offs in Prague is getting bigger and bigger. Caution trap: Many exchange offices in Prague Castle and the Old Town charge an incredible 20 to 30 per cent, while others charge less than 3 per cent.

Short Video Golden Lane Prague (Duration: 3 min)

No hotel in Prague yet?

There are several thousand hotels in and around Prague. In our opinion the best overview is at Booking.com. Here you can sort the accommodations according to price or you can display only accommodations in certain parts of the city. The hotels can be booked quickly and easily on Booking.com, there are also holiday apartments and simple hostels.