Easter in Czechia: Opening hours, public transport closures, and more

The strict Covid measures which were in place over Easter weekend last year are thankfully in the past, but shoppers should still watch out for adjusted opening hours over a weekend with two bank holidays on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Disruption to public transport can be expected, while, in positive news, many cultural attractions will be specially open on Monday.

A five-day Easter holiday is kicking off at Czech primary and secondary schools on Thursday. Today's Maundy Thursday is followed by Good Friday, which is a holiday throughout the country, and a weekend extended by Easter Monday. Pupils and students will return to classrooms on Tuesday. Read our tips for where to spend the extra-long holiday weekend with your family.

Individual stores can set their own opening hours over the Easter weekend and many will change their usual schedules, especially on the two bank holidays.

Big retail outlets are meanwhile regulated by Czech law, which stipulates that shops with an area of over 200 square meters must stay closed on Easter Monday. Although Good Friday is also a bank holiday, shops’ opening hours for this day aren’t regulated by law.

The law regulating holiday opening hours is waived during a state of emergency; and such a state currently prevails in Czechia due to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Yet retail chains have made the decision to close as usual on Easter Monday.

“The state of emergency lets us make free choices, and we’re using this to let our colleagues in stores and distribution centers relax with their families,” said supermarket chain Albert about its decision to close on Monday.

The only large stores in Prague to remain open on Easter Monday will be the Billa stores at Prague Airport, Hlavní nádraží, and Brno Hlavní nádraží. Other shops exempt from the law on holiday closures are gas stations, pharmacies, and shops in medical facilities.

Some shopping centers will close completely on Easter Monday, including Šestka and Arkády Pankrác in Prague. Others will remain open so that shops with an area of under 200 square meters can continue operating.

Nearly all large retail chains will operate standard weekend opening hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Only certain national holidays see opening hours for large stores restricted by law. As well as Easter Monday, these are New Year’s Day, May 8 (Liberation Day), September 28 (Czech Statehood Day), October 28 (Independent Czechoslovak State Day), and December 25 and 26.

Commuters should also watch out for public transport timetable changes. Trams, metro, and buses will operate usual weekend hours on Saturday and Sunday, and public holiday timetables on Friday and Monday.

More serious disruption can be expected in Prague. The Metro C line will not run between Pražského povstání and Muzeum stops throughout the long weekend, from Friday until Monday. The stoppage is to allow the renewal of the metro tracks in this section of the line, with forty people to work on the line continuously in twelve-hour shifts throughout the holiday period.

Czech police will meanwhile carry out a nationwide road safety exercise focusing on busy routes. Patrols will be in place in major tourist areas and on high-risk roads where traffic rules are often broken and incidents occur. Drivers' documents and the technical condition of their vehicles may be checked, according to a police spokesperson.

Prague’s Easter markets are already in full swing. Markets can be found at Prague Castle, the Old Town Square, Náměstí míru, Náměstí republiky, and, for the first time this year Mariánské náměstí.

These markets will run throughout most of the month. The Prague Castle market will run even longer, until May 2. See a full list of Easter market dates and opening times here.

Meanwhile, many cultural attractions normally closed on Mondays will open specially on Easter Monday. Most monuments, museums, and galleries will be open to serve the holiday crowds.