The hourly show put on by this early 15th-century masterpiece on the Old Town Hall is a must-see event that draws the crowds.

Mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town City Hall is one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in the world: Pražský Orloj, the Astronomical Clock. Established in 1410, it has often stopped working and its mechanism has been repaired many times. Luckily it was spared from destruction and has even been upgraded with symbolic figures, so it is still ticking away the minutes today. Better still, it now comes to life every hour!

Make your way to the Old Town Square in time for the famous clock ceremony. Every hour, small doors open and animated figures appear and sculptures begin to move on the clock. Death, holding its hourglass, seems eager for the change of the hour. The other three sculptures represent vanity, greed and pleasure. The 12 wooden figures represent the apostles. When the golden cockerel moves its wings, a bell chimes the hour.

Find a café with a good view of the clock and sit back with a drink to watch the spectacle. Observe that the astronomical dial is the oldest part and underneath it is the calendar dial. In addition to keeping the time these dials display a range of details. See the position of the sun and the moon, or the intricate medallions that depict each month below it. You can even see what the current star sign is on the zodiacal ring.

Climb to the top of the clock’s tower, within the Old Town Hall, to experience one of the best views in Prague. Look across the Old Town and the Vltava River to the Prague Castle upon its hill.

Visiting the Astronomical Clock is free of charge, however, there is a small fee to climb the tower. Due to the large crowds that form for the hourly ceremonies it is recommended you visit the clock early in the morning.

The Astronomical Clock is located in the Old Town Square and can be reached by both tram and metro.

Plan a trip to see Prague Astronomical Clock

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Hotel Klarinn

Prague City Center

￥228,785

per person

Dec 22 - Dec 29

found 23 hours ago

Roundtrip non-stop flight included

Tokyo (TYO) to Prague (PRG)

7.8/10 Good! (466 reviews)

We stayed here for 4 nights. The location is great as it is close to Prague Castle and the room had a great view, the trams stop in front of the hotel and the city centre is close. The room was spacious and the bed is okay. Unfortunately there were many negative aspects: Every time you moved around the wardrobe doors would bang, the radiator covers were broken, the curtains do no not close fully. The room is dusty. The pillows on the bed were dreadful. On most days there was no hot water for a shower. It seems that there is a limited supply of hot water: if other guests used it then you are out of luck. The bathroom is spacious, but the bath is not user friendly. Anyone with mobility issues will find it hard to get in and out. You have to sit when you shower and hold the shower head in your hand. There is a mount on the wall, but if you use that the shower will point directly to the wall. The toilet seat was thin plastic and wobbly. The hotel has about 10 steps to reach the reception and the elevator stops in between floors. You still need to climb about 12 steps. Transport to the hotel was fine (850 CZK), however, when trying to book transport back to the airport, the receptionist initially said that they would only take EURO. Later we booked it for 850 CZK. The receptionist knocked 30 minutes later on the door and asked for an additional 100 CZK. According to signs in the airport it should be around 25 EURO (650CZK). We will not return to this hotel.

Reviewed on Nov 1, 2026