Czech Republic » Prague | 🏛 Prague Walking Tour

Prague Jewish Quarter & Old Cemetery: 2.5-Hour Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.63 (509 reviews) 80% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/18

Duration2h 30m

GroupUp to 100

LanguagesEN · DE +3

Mobile ticketAccepted

Five Synagogues & 12,000 Graves: Prague's Jewish Quarter in One Morning

You walk through five synagogues and descend into the Old Jewish Cemetery, where 12,000 tombstones are layered beneath your feet. A licensed expert guide tells the history of Josefov and the Jewish community across five centuries. All entrance fees and the guide are included; the tour lasts 2.5 hours and starts at Maiselova 5, near the Maisel Synagogue.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Start at Get Prague Guide office
Walk through Jewish Quarter Josefov
Visit Maisel Synagogue
Explore Old Jewish Cemetery
Walk to Pinkas Synagogue and cemetery entrance
Visit Old New Synagogue
See interior of Spanish Synagogue and exhibition

The Experience

Our guide stops you outside the Maisel Synagogue and asks if you've noticed how the streets here narrow and turn inward—that's intentional, she says, and then she starts walking. You follow into Josefov, Prague's Jewish Quarter, and within the first ten minutes you understand why this place matters. The tour lasts 2.5 hours, which sounds short until you realize how much ground you're covering: five separate synagogues, a cemetery that holds about 12,000 tombstones stacked in layers, and stories that connect them all. Your guide is a licensed expert in Jewish history, not someone reading from a script, and the difference shows immediately.

You start at the Maisel Synagogue, then move to the Old New Synagogue—one of the oldest surviving synagogue buildings in Europe and still used for services today. Men are given head coverings at the entrance if they don't have one; women adjust their dress to meet the code (no exposed shoulders or arms). It feels respectful rather than restrictive once you understand why. After that comes the Pinkas Synagogue, and from there you descend into the Old Jewish Cemetery itself. The tombstones are so densely packed that you're walking on layers of history—literally. Families were buried on top of each other because the space was so constrained, and the guide points out how you can read the dates and names if you look closely. It's one of the biggest Jewish cemeteries in Europe, and standing in it changes how you think about the quarter above.

The Spanish Synagogue is the last stop, and it's where the permanent exhibition "Jews in the Bohemian Lands, 19th–20th Centuries" lives. The interior is ornate in a way the others aren't, and the exhibition itself traces the community from Joseph II's reforms in the 1780s through the Second World War and beyond. By the time you finish, you've moved through five different buildings, each one telling a different part of the same story. All entrance fees are included—you don't buy tickets separately or wait in lines. The guide handles entry, and the tickets are valid only for the duration of the tour, so there's no lingering or coming back later. It's a contained experience, which is part of what makes it work.

The tour meets at the Get Prague Guide office at Maiselova 5, a few steps from where you'll start walking. Dress code is smart casual, and comfortable shoes matter because you're on your feet the whole time. Public transport is nearby if you need it to get there, and the pace is suitable for all fitness levels—no climbing, just walking and standing. Book this if you want the full picture of Prague's Jewish heritage without assembling it yourself.

What’s included

Admission to the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Old New Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, and Maisel Synagogue.
a local licensed expert guide who specializes in Jewish history.
and the 2.5-hour walking tour through Josefov. Head coverings are provided for men entering the Old New Synagogue and cemetery. Public transportation is available nearby to reach the meeting point.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Get Prague Guide

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to understand Prague's Jewish heritage in depth without piecing it together across multiple visits—the guide connects five centuries of history across five buildings in one morning, and all entry fees are already paid.