Best for
History lovers, anyone interested in Jewish heritage or Holocaust history
Time needed
2–3 hours for the full route
Worth it?
Yes — one of Europe's most moving and important Jewish heritage sites
Skip if
You're visiting on a Saturday — the museum is closed
About Jewish Museum in Prague (Josefov)
Josefov, Prague's former Jewish quarter, survived centuries of ghetto walls, plague and fire, only to be almost entirely demolished around 1900 in a slum-clearance scheme that left just a handful of synagogues and the cemetery standing amid new Art Nouveau boulevards. What remains — administered today as the Jewish Museum in Prague — is one of the most complete surviving records of Central European Jewish life anywhere.
The Old Jewish Cemetery is the emotional centre of a visit: in use from the 15th century until 1787, with burial space so scarce that graves were stacked up to twelve layers deep, leaving over 12,000 crowded, tilting headstones visible today. The Pinkas Synagogue next door holds one of the museum's most powerful spaces — a memorial inscribed with the names of roughly 80,000 Bohemian and Moravian Jews murdered in the Holocaust, alongside a permanent exhibition of children's drawings from the Terezín concentration camp.
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The Spanish Synagogue, with its Moorish Revival interior of gilded arabesques, and the Old-New Synagogue — completed around 1270 and the oldest active synagogue in Europe — round out the main sites on the museum's ticketed route, alongside the Maisel Synagogue's exhibition on Jewish history in Bohemia and Moravia.
Because the sites are spread across several streets rather than a single building, expect to walk between them, and note that the Old-New Synagogue — as an active place of worship — is ticketed separately from the rest of the museum route.
What to See: Highlights
- 1Old Jewish Cemetery — over 12,000 visible gravestones
- 2Pinkas Synagogue Holocaust memorial with 80,000 names
- 3Spanish Synagogue's Moorish Revival interior
- 4Old-New Synagogue — Europe's oldest active synagogue
- 5Maisel Synagogue's history exhibition
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Insider Tips
Tickets are valid for 3 days — you don't need to see everything in one visit
Closed every Saturday (Shabbat) — plan around it
The Old-New Synagogue requires a separate ticket from the main museum route
Modest dress is expected; men should cover their heads (kippahs provided on-site)
Go early morning to avoid tour group crowds in the cemetery
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Getting There
U Staré školy 1, 110 00 Praha 1 (Information and Reservation Centre)
Open in Google Maps →- 1Metro A to Staroměstská, then a 3–5 minute walk into Josefov.
Where to stay
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before you visit.
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Should You Visit?
Visit if...
- You want to understand Prague's Jewish history and the Holocaust's impact on the city
- You're moved by memorials — the Pinkas Synagogue is genuinely powerful
- You appreciate historic synagogue architecture
- You have a free morning or afternoon that isn't a Saturday
Skip if...
- You're visiting on Saturday — everything is closed
- You have less than an hour — the site deserves proper time
- You're not comfortable with Holocaust memorial content
Ready to Book Your Visit?
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Old Town Hall & Astronomical Clock
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