Prague in October: Weather, Crowds and Cheap Stays

Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world at around 70,000 square metres, founded in the 9th century and still the official seat of the Czech president. St Vitus Cathedral, St George's Basilica, the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane sit inside the walls, and a standard circuit ticket covers the main buildings. Opening times and circuit options are listed on the official castle site.

October is the last month for the gardens, which is the autumn argument for coming now. The Royal Garden, the Garden on the Ramparts and the terraced Palace Gardens below the castle all close for winter at the end of the month, and the mature limes and chestnuts across the southern terraces turn through mid-October with the whole Mala Strana rooftop view behind them.

Petrin Hill rises 327 metres on the left bank and is the largest green space in central Prague, covered in orchards, rose gardens and mature woodland. The Petrin Lookout Tower at the summit was built for the 1891 Jubilee Exhibition as a scaled answer to the Eiffel Tower, standing 63.5 metres with 299 steps to the top. Because the hill itself is high, the viewing platform ends up at roughly the same altitude as the real Eiffel Tower's summit.

The funicular runs from Ujezd and is covered by a standard Prague Integrated Transport ticket rather than charged separately, which surprises most visitors. Autumn colour on the orchard slopes peaks in the middle of October. The Hunger Wall, a 14th-century fortification built under Charles IV, runs across the hillside, and the mirror maze near the tower is a genuine 1891 survivor.

Letna Park sits on the plateau above the Vltava's north bank and gives the view that appears on most photographs of Prague taken from above: the river with its chain of bridges laid out below, the Old Town behind them and the castle off to the left. The Letna Metronome, a 23-metre kinetic sculpture installed in 1991, stands on the plinth where a monument to Stalin was blown up in 1962.

Letensky zamecek beer garden, on the eastern edge of the park under the chestnut trees, is where locals watch the sun go down over the river. It runs on the weather rather than a calendar and typically wraps up in late October, so an early-month visit is the safer bet. The park is free and open at all hours, and the chestnut canopy turns through the first half of the month.

Charles Bridge has crossed the Vltava since 1357, when Charles IV laid the foundation stone, and it carried all traffic between the Old Town and Prague Castle for four centuries. It runs 516 metres on 16 arches and carries 30 Baroque statues, most of them copies with the originals held in the Lapidarium. Both bridge towers are climbable and each gives a view along the span you cannot get from the deck.

The bridge is free, open permanently and packed from about 9am to 8pm regardless of season. October helps at the margins rather than solving the problem. What October does give you is mist off the river at dawn, which in the right conditions sits at deck height and clears the statues out of the background entirely.

Vysehrad is the fortress on the rock south of the centre, and it is the one major Prague site that visitors routinely miss. The Basilica of St Peter and St Paul with its neo-Gothic twin spires dominates it, and the adjoining Vysehrad Cemetery holds Dvorak, Smetana, Capek and Mucha. The Rotunda of St Martin, from the 11th century, is among the oldest buildings still standing in the city.

The grounds and ramparts are free and open year-round; only the casemates, the basilica and the gallery charge. The walk along the southern wall gives a long view up the Vltava towards the castle with the whole river bend in autumn colour, and there is usually nobody on it. Allow 90 minutes for the site, longer if the cemetery interests you.