Jewish Quarter and Jewish Museum

For centuries Prague had one of the largest and most influential Jewish communities in Europe, and the six buildings that survive in Josefov are its extraordinary legacy. The ghetto was largely cleared in a slum-clearance programme around 1900 and replaced with the Art Nouveau apartment blocks that line Pařížská today, but the synagogues, the town hall and the cemetery were kept. The Jewish Museum in Prague, founded in 1906 and marking its 120th anniversary in 2026, manages most of them. The Old-New Synagogue, built in the thirteenth century, is the oldest active synagogue in Europe, a twin-naved Gothic hall where services are still held; legend says the Golem created by Rabbi Judah Loew rests in its attic. Across the lane, the Old Jewish Cemetery was the community's only burial ground for some three centuries, until 1787; with nowhere else to go, graves were layered on top of each other, and around twelve thousand tombstones tilt and crowd together beneath elder trees, among them the tomb of Rabbi Loew. The Pinkas Synagogue is a memorial to the Shoah: its walls are hand-lettered with the names of some eighty thousand Jewish victims from Bohemia and Moravia, and upstairs is the exhibition of children's drawings from the Terezín ghetto, made between 1942 and 1944. The Maisel and Klausen synagogues hold exhibitions on Jewish history and traditions, the Ceremonial Hall tells the story of the burial society, and the Spanish Synagogue, its interior a riot of gilded Moorish Revival stencils, covers the modern era. One museum ticket covers the main sites; the Old-New Synagogue is often sold as an add-on or in a combined ticket, as in the Tiqets product linked here.

The calendar matters more here than anywhere else in Prague. All the museum sites are closed on Saturdays, the Sabbath, and on Jewish holidays, and the Old-New Synagogue closes for services, so check the date before you plan around it. On open days, start early: the cemetery's narrow path is one-way and gets congested by late morning, and the experience is far more moving when it is quiet. Men are asked to cover their heads in the Old-New Synagogue and the cemetery, and paper kippahs are provided. Expect security checks at some entrances, especially at events.

Working the visit: a sensible order is the Pinkas Synagogue first, then the Old Jewish Cemetery, whose entrance is through the Pinkas, exiting by the Ceremonial Hall and the Klausen Synagogue; then cross to the Old-New Synagogue; and finally walk a few minutes east to the Maisel and the Spanish Synagogue. Allow two to three hours for everything without rushing. A guided introduction helps, as the history is dense and the sites are scattered across several streets; the Tiqets product includes a short introduction and an optional audio guide. Photography rules vary by site and are stricter in the memorial spaces. Be prepared for the Pinkas Synagogue: the names fill every wall, grouped by town, with dates of birth and death, and the children's drawings upstairs are among the most affecting things in the city.

Josefov is also a neighbourhood worth walking for its own sake. Pařížská, the grand avenue from Old Town Square to the river, is lined with ornate Art Nouveau facades and luxury shops. The Spanish Synagogue sits next to a striking sculpture of Franz Kafka riding on the shoulders of an empty suit, a nod to the writer who was born a few streets away. In the evening, the Spanish Synagogue often hosts classical concerts in its glowing interior. Pair the quarter with the Old Town Hall and the clock, five minutes south, or with the Rudolfinum and the riverfront to the west.