What Is the Prague Jewish Quarter?

Josefov takes its name from Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, whose 1781 Edict of Tolerance eased centuries of restrictions on Prague's Jewish community. The neighborhood itself is far older — a walled Jewish settlement has stood on this bend of the Vltava since at least the 13th century, making it one of the oldest continuously Jewish-inhabited areas in Central Europe. Most of the original ghetto's cramped housing was demolished during a slum-clearance redevelopment between 1893 and 1913, replaced with the Art Nouveau buildings that line Pařížská street today. The synagogues, town hall, and cemetery survived that clearance and are what visitors see now.

The Old-New Synagogue, built around 1270, is the oldest active synagogue in Europe and still holds regular services — it is not a museum piece. The Old Jewish Cemetery, in use from the 15th century until 1787, is even more striking: burial space was so limited that graves were stacked in layers, leaving roughly 12,000 visible tombstones leaning at odd angles across a small plot. The most-visited grave belongs to Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the 16th-century scholar associated with the legend of the Golem.

Prague Jewish Quarter Tickets & Prices 2026

Almost every visitor buys the same combined ticket, sold by the Jewish Museum in Prague together with the Prague Jewish Community. As of mid-2026, prices are CZK 600 for adults, CZK 400 for students under 26 (ID required), CZK 200 for children aged 7–15, free for children under 7, and CZK 100 for holders of a disability card. The ticket covers the Old-New Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, and the Old Jewish Cemetery, with the Klausen Synagogue included when its temporary exhibitions are open. An individual ticket is valid for three days, so you don't have to see every site in one visit.

Ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing at each site, and tickets are sold at the Jewish Museum's information centre and at the Pinkas, Maisel, Spanish, and Old-New Synagogue box offices — buying online in advance avoids the ticket-office queue on busy mornings. Confirm the exact 2026 fare before you go, since prices are revised periodically. If you're weighing a city-wide pass instead of paying per site, our guide to whether the Prague Pass is worth it covers whether bundling this admission into a pass beats booking it directly.

Opening Hours & Best Time to Visit

The Jewish Quarter's sites keep the same shared schedule: roughly 9:00 to 18:00 in the summer months and 9:00 to 16:30 in winter, seven days a week except Saturdays and Jewish holidays, when everything closes completely. On Fridays, several synagogues close an hour early ahead of Shabbat, so don't plan a late-afternoon visit on that day either. Confirm the current calendar on the official site before you go — closures shift with the Jewish holiday calendar each year.

Arrive at or shortly after opening on a weekday for the calmest visit. The Old-New Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery draw the longest queues from mid-morning through early afternoon, especially in summer when tour groups cluster around the same one- or two-hour window. A Sunday or Monday morning is typically the quietest combination, since Saturday closure pushes some weekend demand into Sunday but weekday mornings stay lighter overall.

How Long Do You Need?

Plan for two to three hours to see all five main sites at a reasonable pace, including the Old Jewish Cemetery, which rewards slower walking despite its small footprint. If you only have an hour, prioritize the Old-New Synagogue and the cemetery — the two sites that are hardest to substitute anywhere else in Europe — and treat the smaller synagogues as a bonus if time allows.

Because the individual ticket is valid for three days, you can split the circuit across two visits rather than rushing everything into one afternoon, which is a reasonable option if the Jewish Quarter is one stop on a longer 2-day Prague itinerary.

How to Get There

Josefov sits at the edge of Prague's Old Town, directly between Old Town Square and the Vltava riverbank, so most visitors simply walk in from wherever else they're already sightseeing. The nearest metro stop is Staroměstská on Line A (green), about a 5-minute walk from the Old-New Synagogue. Several tram lines also stop at Staroměstská.

There's no dedicated visitor parking in the quarter itself, and the surrounding Old Town streets are largely pedestrianized or restricted, so public transport or walking from a central hotel is the practical choice. If you're driving into Prague, park outside the historic centre and take the metro or tram in.

Visit Tips: Queues, Booking & Mistakes

• Buy the combined ticket rather than trying to pay per synagogue — it's the only way most sites are sold, and it's cheaper than piecing together individual entries.
• Never plan a visit for a Saturday — every site in the quarter is closed, no exceptions.
• Check the Jewish holiday calendar for your travel dates; several additional closures fall outside the regular weekly schedule.
• Dress modestly and expect a security check at the Old-New Synagogue entrance, similar to airport-style screening.
• Photography is generally restricted or prohibited inside the synagogues and at some cemetery areas — check signage on-site rather than assuming it's allowed.
• Arrive before 10:00 on a weekday to beat both the tour-group crush and the ticket-office queue.

Nearby Attractions

The Jewish Quarter sits directly beside Prague's Old Town, so most of the city's other major sights are within easy walking distance. Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock is about a 5-minute walk south and pairs naturally with a Jewish Quarter morning. Charles Bridge is roughly 10–12 minutes on foot along the river, and Prague Castle is a further walk or short tram ride across the bridge for those combining both banks in one day.

For the full range of things to see nearby, the Prague attractions hub covers other major sights worth combining with a Jewish Quarter visit.