We arrived at the castle complex on the morning of Friday, October 28th. Why do I mention the date? Check your history books - we wish we had! It's the anniversary of the initial declaration of Czech independence - when it became the Czech Republic!

And why does this matter? Because the main gates were barred - you had to enter round the side. Clueless at the point, we went in and the place was busy - there was the sound of bands. It turned out that there was a gathering of military and officials in the main square area on the steps there. We hoisted the kids onto our shoulders and attempted to get a view through the crowds. We couldn't see much and understood even less. There was a cannon salute from outside the walls somewhere, much marching and saluting, and speeches.

Once we'd had our fill of this, we went and bought our Ticket B to see the complex and cathedral. This we were sold without any mention of the fact that due to the events the Palace section and the Cathedral Tower (that the kids had been looking forward to climbing up) were closed! Had I known, we'd just have walked around the public accessible bits and saved our money. Ho Hum.

So, we walked around the cathedral, which I know from before is beautiful. However, this time around it was so full of tour groups that it was nigh on impossible to see anything or get around. We came out and discovered that the only way around to the other end of the castle was to squeeze down the alley the other side of the cathedral, where all the soldiers, having finished their duties, were meeting friends and family. Talk about chaos - and a bottleneck! Eventually we popped out the other side. Checking our guide book, we finally figured it all out...

We did use what we could of our tickets, to visit the Basilica St George, which was nice and peaceful after that. We also did Golden Lane, such a rip-off to have to pay to go down there. It was, however, much quieter than on my last visit, which meant you could see a bit more of it - usually it's jam-packed. The best bit actually was the (free) Violin tower at the end - dungeons and turrets are always a hit with children!

Ah well, at least, having been before, I didn't feel too cheated and the kids got dragged around less of the castle then they would otherwise have been! It's a great place--we just picked a bad day to visit.

This was a walking tour that could take you two to three days if done leisurely. Bring your camera and enjoy the culture! Franz Kafka's home, art colonies from the 1500's, shops along the way, pubs and taverns, and feudal Czech old-world living.

Prague Castle is supposed to be the biggest castle in the world. It is situated by the heap of a small hill. Take a train up for a picturesque ride and then walk down to the castle.

On the basis of archeological research and the oldest written sources, it is thought that Prague Castle was founded around the year 880 by Prince Borivoj of the house of Premyslides.

The early medieval castle site was fortified with a moat and a rampart of clay and stones. The first walled building was the church of Our Lady. Other churches dedicated to St. George and St. Vitus were founded in the first half of the 10th century.

From the 10th century, Prague Castle was not only the seat of the head of state, princes, and later, kings, but also of the highest representative of church, the Prague bishop. The first convent in Bohemia was also founded in the grounds of Prague Castle, a convent next to the church of St. George for the order of Benedictine nuns.

Monuments accessible with a ticket
The Old Royal Palace, the St. Vitus' Cathedral - the historical part (the choir, crypt, and tower), the basilica of St. George, the Mihulka ramparts, and the Golden Lane are part of sightseeing tour of the Prague Castle.

The most of the monuments are accessible for wheelchairs (St. Vitus Cathedral (the main entrance), Old Royal Palace (Vladislav Hall), St. George Basilica, Prague Castle Gallery, Royal Summer Palace, Ball-game Hall, Imperial Stables, Spanish Hall, Rudolph's Gallery from the Broad Corridor, the Gardens of the Prague Castle, and the WC near St. Vitus Cathedral).

The Old Royal Palace was, up until the 16th century, the seat of Bohemian princes and kings. The palace contains the monumental Vladislav Hall, in a late Gothic style (place of the election of the President of the Czech Republic now), and All Saints’ Church.

The castle complex covers a multitude of sights - most of which are covered by the Prague card. It's hard to get a feeling for it as a castle as a whole - it feels more like the sum of many parts. Very impressive, though - and the hourly changing of the guard is fun too.

We did St Vitus's cathedral, the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralosky Palac), The Basilica of St. George (Bazilika Sv Jiri), the Powder Tower (Prasna Vez), and so on. We went around St George's abbey (Klaster Sv Jiri)- which I wouldn't recommend - lots of very average old Renassaince paintings which completely hide the interior of the builiding which used to be a nunnery. Ah well....t'was free.... Golden Lane (Zlata Ulicka) is the bit full of little shops to trap the tourist - bit of a cheek to charge entry to it really, but hey again, it was covered. I wouldn't recommend it though.