Christmas and New Year's 2024: Shop closures and transport changes in Czechia

Christmas and New Year’s are just around the corner, and amid the festivities and time off work, it’s important to note that Czechia has three public holidays coming up. This means stores will be closed on certain days, and some will have adjusted hours at the end of the month. Public transport schedules in Prague will also be affected.

Here’s everything you need to know about store closures, altered schedules, and public transport changes in the capital over the next two weeks to help you plan your celebrations.

By law in Czechia, stores larger than 200 square meters are required to close on certain public holidays, including Christmas. As a result, most shops will be closed on Dec. 25, Dec. 26, and New Year’s Day.

Exemptions apply to pharmacies, gas stations, and stores located at airports, railway stations (such as Prague’s Hlavní nádraží), and hospitals. Small minimarkets and independent grocery stores are also allowed to remain open. Delivery services are not subject to this law and should operate as usual, though they may be significantly busier than normal.

While Dec. 24 is not a public holiday, many large supermarkets and retail chains will have adjusted opening hours. If you’re planning last-minute Christmas shopping, aim to do it in the morning—supermarkets like Tesco, Albert, and Billa will close shortly before midday.

New Year’s Eve follows a similar pattern. Although it is not a public holiday, stores typically adjust their hours and close much earlier than usual.

Prague Integrated Transport recently released its full transport schedule for late December and the first days of 2025. 

On Christmas Eve (Tuesday), all public transport in the capital will follow Saturday schedules during the day. In the evening, metro services will run every 20 minutes from 6 p.m. until midnight. Trams and buses will follow their night schedules from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day.

Christmas Day will see a slightly different schedule. Public transport will operate on normal Sunday schedules from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Night services will run as usual on Dec. 25, with trolleybus line 59 (connecting Prague Airport and Nádraží Veleslavín) starting at 4:30 a.m. On Boxing Day, public transport will follow the regular Sunday service.

On New Year’s Eve (Tuesday), public transport will run as normal during the day. However, if you're out late, the metro will run for later; until about 2:30 a.m. at 10-minute intervals. Trams and buses will run with more frequent connections throughout the night.

On New Year’s Day, public transport will follow the Sunday schedule. Daily tram and bus services will begin at 7 a.m., while the airport trolleybus will start 2.5 hours earlier. Normal service resumes on Thursday, Jan. 2, though tram lines 4 and 21 will not work on this day.