December is Prague's most atmospheric month. The Christmas markets open in the last week of November, the city's tallest tree stands on Old Town Square, and the baroque façades look their best under lights at four in the afternoon. It is also cold, dark early and busy. This guide gives the practical detail: dates, weather, food, what closes and how to get around.
The quick answer
The main markets on Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square run from the last weekend of November until the first days of January, open daily from morning until about 22:00, including Christmas Day. Expect 0 to 4 °C by day and frost at night, sunset around 16:00, and hotel prices at their winter peak in the second and third weeks. Everything is open until 23 December; on 24, 25 and 26 December shops close and restaurants need a booking.
The Christmas markets
- Old Town Square: the biggest, with the tree, a stage with carol concerts and a nativity scene. Stalls sell trdelník (the chimney cake), grilled sausages, roast ham, hot mead and mulled wine (svařák).
- Wenceslas Square: five minutes away, larger stalls, less crowded.
- Náměstí Republiky, Havelské tržiště, Náměstí Míru, Prague Castle: smaller markets, the castle one with the best backdrop.
- Entry is free everywhere. Weekday mornings are quiet; Friday and Saturday evenings are shoulder to shoulder.
Full details on dates and each market: Prague Christmas Markets guide.
Czech Christmas traditions
St Nicholas, an angel and a devil walk the streets on the evening of 5 December handing out sweets and mild terror to children. Christmas Eve, 24 December, is the main celebration: fried carp with potato salad for dinner, then presents. The carp are sold live from tubs on street corners in the days before, one of the strangest sights of a Prague December. Cinemas play fairy tales, and the fish scale kept in the wallet brings money in the new year.
Weather and what to wear
Daytime temperatures hover between 0 and 4 °C, nights drop below freezing, and snow falls a few times a month without staying long in the centre. The cobbles get slippery. Bring a warm coat, a hat, waterproof shoes and something for the wind on Charles Bridge. Indoors is well heated everywhere.
What is open over Christmas and New Year
- 23 December: everything open, the busiest shopping day.
- 24 December: shops close at noon, most restaurants close for the evening, the markets stay open until the afternoon.
- 25 and 26 December: public holidays; shops closed, museums and the castle mostly open, restaurants by booking.
- 31 December: fireworks and crowds on the river; the city's official show has moved to a video mapping on 1 January in recent years.
- Transport: public transport runs a holiday timetable; private transfers run 24 hours a day at the normal price on every day of the season.
Day trips in December
The Dresden Striezelmarkt, Germany's oldest Christmas market, is 1.5 to 2 hours away and makes a superb day trip; Vienna's markets are 3.5 hours and better as an overnight. Closer to home, Kutná Hora and Český Krumlov are quiet and beautiful in the snow. A private car with driver keeps the day warm and flexible when it gets dark at four.
Arriving by plane? A private transfer from Prague Airport to the city centre is a fixed 750 CZK for a sedan with up to 4 passengers, 20 to 40 minutes, with the driver waiting in the arrivals hall.
Get an instant fixed price in the booking form — the quote you see is the price you pay, for the whole car.