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Easter in Prague: 3-6 April 2026
Easter is a joyous time in Prague. Spring fills the air, and the city comes alive with celebrations of new life and renewal. Discover what's open in the city, visit the Easter Markets, and immerse yourself in traditional Czech Easter customs. |
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 Folk dancers in Prague | |
Easter 2026 in Prague
Easter is from Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April 2026.
The Czech word for Easter, 'Velikonoce', comes from the expression 'velká noc', meaning 'great night', referring to the day of Christ’s resurrection. But Easter in Prague is more than a religious celebration. It is also a vibrant welcome to spring, a time when new life is celebrated, with folk traditions playing a central role in the festivities.
At the Easter Markets, baby rabbits and newborn lambs are symbolised in cakes and chocolates, while Easter eggs are painted with images of newly hatched chicks. The branches of birch trees in blossom are adorned with bright, colourful ribbons, symbolising vitality and the arrival of warmer days. |
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| Prague’s parks and gardens burst into life, with spring flowers adding an array of colours and floral scents to the city's green landscapes.
visit prague at Easter
Easter is a wonderful time to visit Prague. The city is bustling with visitors from around the world and abuzz with optimism for the warmer months ahead. The Easter Markets are the focal point of the celebrations. Visitors mingle with locals as they browse stalls filled with handcrafted goods, sample hearty food and local drinks, and observe the charming Czech Easter traditions on display. A stage at the Old Town Square, at the heart of its market, hosts folk musicians and dance troupes dressed in traditional costumes. Throughout the long weekend, they perform short routines that highlight Czech music and festive dances. | |
What's open at Easter in Prague
The Prague Easter Markets are open daily from Good Friday to Easter Monday.There is sightseeing and entertainment to enjoy all weekend, and plenty of cosy pubs, pavement cafés, and fine restaurants to enjoy refreshments in. A wide variety of concerts, opera and ballet performances are staged in the concert halls, opera houses and churches.
GOOD FRIDAY (3 APRIL) and EASTER MONDAY (6 APRIL) are public holidays in Prague.
On Good Friday and Easter Monday, most sights and attractions remain open, offering plenty to see and do.
The city's famous squares, Charles Bridge, and the courtyards at Prague Castle - some of the most attractive features of Prague - are, of course, open to stroll around too. Restaurants, pubs and cafés are open normal hours. Sightseeing tours and river cruises run as normal. Opera houses and concert halls stage both Easter concerts and regular classical concerts. Black Light Theatres put on vibrant, energetic shows. Some churches, including St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, close early to tourist visitors in order to prepare for Easter services. On Good Friday, most shops and shopping centres open normal hours, including the largest shopping mall in Prague, Palladium. Certain shops close or have limited opening hours. On Easter Monday, by law only small shops (up to 200 square metres) can open. Large stores are closed.
EASTER SATURDAY (4 APRIL) and EASTER SUNDAY (6 APRIL) are normal days for sightseeing, entertainment and shopping in Prague.
On Easter Saturday and Sunday, all places are open and tourist services operate as normal. The sights and tourist attractions are open; sightseeing tours and river cruises are running; restaurants and pubs are open normal hours; shops and shopping malls are open. Opera houses and concert halls stage both Easter concerts and regular concerts. On Easter Sunday,
some churches, including St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, open late and close early to visitors in preparation for Easter services.
HOLY WEEK (29 MARCH-5 APRIL)
During the week leading up to Easter, special religious services are held in churches across Prague, including at St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. | |
Plan for Easter 2026
The Easter weekend is a busy time in Prague, with many popular places and events selling out in advance. To make the most of your visit, we recommend booking ahead for any activities or experiences you wish to enjoy.For dining, you can browse menus and make reservations in our restaurants section. For sightseeing and entertainment, simply explore the Prague Experience website to find tours, concerts and events available during Easter. | | | |
Czech Easter Traditions
To help visitors appreciate the traditions showcased at the Prague Easter Markets, we offer insights into how Easter is traditionally celebrated in villages across Czechia. Easter is an exciting time of year, especially for children and young adults. | |  | |
Easter Preparations: Wednesday to Friday
Children finish school on "Ugly Wednesday".On "Green Thursday", boys equip themselves with wooden rattles, called "rehtacka", and in groups they walk through their village shaking their rattles vigorously. Tradition dictates that this scares off Judas. The same walk is repeated on "Good Friday", and once more on "White Saturday". But on White Saturday progress is slowed by the boys stopping at every house, where they shake their rattles until they receive a present! |
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Easter Sunday
The greatest symbol of Easter is the egg, with its connections to spring and new life. On Easter Sunday, women and girls decorate Easter eggs ("kraslice").This is a skilled affair with many variations on the decoration: a mix of watercolours, picture stickers, bee's wax, straw, and/or feathers. For particularly well decorated eggs there is even an Easter egg contest held annually in Prague. |
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As the girls paint their eggs, boys prepare their Easter whips ("pomlázka"), ready for Easter Monday. This is not the type of whip used on horses, instead it is made from osier twigs, braided together. Once again, this takes skill to make, and the more twigs the more difficult it is to braid. Visitors will see examples of these whips in the Prague markets, should they wish to participate! |
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Trdelník pastries | |
Easter Monday
On Easter Monday people rise early, and the boys and men set off on a whipping trip through the village.The boys stop off at various homes to whip the legs of girls who live there. Small boys are required to recite an Easter carol as they go about their whipping. As if the whipping is not enough, an old custom is to also grab the girl and throw her in a bath of cold water, known as an "Easter dousing". The whipping and dousing is performed to chase away illness and bad spirits - although she may not appreciate it at the time, all this is supposed to be good for the girl! |
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Once the whipping and dousing is over, the girl rewards the boy with one of her painted eggs. She then ties a bright ribbon around his whip, before he moves on to the next house to repeat the process. As the boys progress through the village, their bags fill with eggs, and with so many ribbons attached, the whips become ever more colourful. In recent times, for older boys gifts of eggs and ribbons have given way to offers of shots of alcohol. By the time they arrive home, the young men can be in quite a happy frame of mind! |
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Additional Information
To help you plan your Easter visit to Prague, explore the following guides:
View our guide to where to stay in Prague, weather at Easter, recommended clothing, and more: Prague Easter Markets. For an introduction to Prague, view our Welcome to Prague guide. For practical information, including tips on currency exchange, view Prague tourist information. For travel information, read Getting around Prague by public transport and Travel to Prague. For an easy way to visit Prague, the Prague Package includes a hotel, Prague airport transfers, sightseeing and entertainment. |
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 EASTER 2026
KEY DATES | |
| EASTER 2026 3-6 April 2026 |
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| EASTER MARKETS Old Town Square & Wenceslas Square
21 March-12 April
Daily 10:00-22:00 | |
| SMALL/LOCAL MARKETS Mariánské Square
20 March-12 April
Daily 11:00-19:00 Na Kampě Square
21 March-12 April
Daily 10:00-20:00 Peace Square
21 March-6 April
Daily 10:00-19:00 |
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