Prague ‘s best night photography spots: a complete guide

Discover where to do night photography in Prague!

Prague is one of the most visited cities in Europe and in the world. Its beauty can be seen everywhere and at any point of the day. Moreover, Prague is also a city with many photography opportunities. Most photographers choose to capture the capital of the Czech Republic during daytime, sunrise, and sunset.

However, this means that they are missing out on one of the best moments of the day to photograph Prague, nighttime. Despite being an old and historical city, it has a quite interesting old and new combination, achieving very interesting photos. Before getting deep into what are the best night photography spots in Prague, these are the three main reasons why you should photograph it at night.

Reasons to photograph Prague at night

City lights

Prague is a busy city, even at night. When I say night it’s not 4 am, it’s more like 10 pm, after blue hour. The city is surprisingly well illuminated. In fact, most tourist attractions have their own night illumination, which makes them perfect for photography. Moreover, being a hectic city, with all the cars, buses, and trams, there are tons of photo opportunities besides the ones listed below.

Fewer tourists

Before sunrise and after sunrise, tourists disappear. Especially early in the morning, the city feels completely different. Thus, at night time it is a great opportunity to get photos from usually crowded places without any people in it. Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, most famous streets…

Different photos

If most people shoot in the daytime, taking photos when the rest of the world is busy resting, having dinner, or sleeping, means that you can get unique photos. Especially the ones that involve movement, long exposure, lights… These are the kind of photos that you can’t get unless you shoot off-hours.

These are the reasons why you should take photos of Prague at night. Without any further ado, these are the best Prague night photography spots!

Prague ‘s best night photography spots

Park Cihelna

This tiny park, located by the Vltava river is one of the best Prague (night) photography spots. It has a fantastic undisturbed view over Charles Bridge, and it also has foreground opportunities. Even more, if you are lucky enough, you can even get a swan in your photo and take a unique shot.

At night, though, this is a perfect place to capture Charles Bridge as close as possible to the water. Long exposure tends to do wonders from this location, and you can either go wide and take almost the whole bridge in the photo or only use something like 35 mm or 50mm and capture the further end of the bridge and the nearby buildings.

Thanks to the fantastic location of Cihelna Park, it does not require walking somewhere far away from the city center to take this photo. You can even go for dinner and take the photo later on! Nonetheless, as with most of the locations on this list, the best moment to capture them are at the end of blue hour. The illumination is already on, and the sky still has some blueish tones.

Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge itself is a fantastic night photography spot in Prague. Not only because it is likely to be the only moment where you can get a decent photo of the bridge without any people in it, but because it has more than one photo opportunity.

For starters, this will most likely be the busiest location on the list. I found the bridge empty before sunrise, but not after sunset. Yet, different seasons and days of the week will greatly affect this.

The streetlights on the bridge help build the perfect night photo, and starlights are quite easy to get. Of course, you will need a tripod to capture this photo, either day or night.

Besides capturing the photo of the bridge from the bridge (the one below), you can also point your camera towards the castle or the National Theater for different photos.

Wenceslas Square

Prague’s largest square is one of the spots that I hadn’t thought of photographing at night. However, I happened to be at the right place at the right time, and I was able to capture a photo that I hadn’t seen before. The square at night is usually empty, and it is possible to get a greater sense of how big it is than in the daytime.

There are two possible photos: the one from the National Museum and the one with the National Museum in it. I especially liked the first one because it is one that is quite complex to get during the day because of the number of people at the location. The top of the National Museum square is a fantastic spot to take this photo.

Make sure to bring a tripod. If you are lucky (more than I was), you can capture the light trails of cars passing by, adding more elements to the image. It was already late when I took this photo and fewer drivers were in the area.

Karmelintska street

This is without any doubt my favorite Prague night photography spot (and one of the best photo spots in Prague). It has all the three reasons I mentioned at the beginning of why shooting at night. It has a lot of light involved, you don’t need to wait for people to walk around and it creates a unique image. Of course, at some point in this guide, trams had to appear. The first of the two locations with trams/cars involved is this one.

From Karmelintska Street (this exact location), you can get a fantastic view over the church of Saint Nicholas. If you take this photo at night, it is already a cool image. However, there is a way to make it better. Wait for any of the trams to pass next to you, and take a long exposition photo (2-3 seconds) to capture the lights of the tram. Thanks to the orientation of the street, it will create a set of leading lights toward the church.

Make sure to check the timetables of the trams. They start quite early in the morning, so a quick stop before sunrise is completely feasible. Moreover, don’t use any type of tram. I found the old trams (the most characteristic ones) to work better in the image. As far as I know, there is no way to guess what type of tram will come next. Nonetheless, I can vouch that both old and new trams drive by this location.

Dancing House

The Dancing House is a clear example of an Instagram Photography Spot. Yes, it is a cool building, but most people only go there to take a photo pretending they have kicked the building. To be fair, this is not that far away from what I did. The building is truly interesting, and it makes for a good photo. Nonetheless, I am not that much into classical Instagram shots, so I went for another option.

At night, it is possible to get a photo of the dancing house with a tram passing in front of it. Using a tripod you can get a long exposure of the tram for an image like the one below. The exact location to take the photo is a bit tricky, as unlike other of the spots listed, this does not have the best lighting and it is easy for other streetlights to ruin the framing. The best advice I can give is to do some trial and error.

Charle’s Bridge Tower (Prague Castle)

This final spot is a bit of a cheat. I am listing it as a night photography spot in Prague, but it is more a blue hour spot. This is mostly due to the fact that the Bridge Tower of the Charles Bridge is closed at night. Moreover, this is the only spot with an entry fee. Nonetheless, it is a place that all photographers visiting Prague have to visit.

The view from this tower is one of the most shared images of the city. However, not everyone waits for the blue hour. Also, given that tripods are prohibited, taking this photo is a bit challenging. Nonetheless, as you can see below, it is really worth it. The final image can either include a close-up of the Prague castle or the view of the Charles Bridge and the Old Town behind (Prague Castle included).

Despite not being the most common time to visit the tower, the available space up at the viewpoint is limited. Thus, my recommendation would be to get there early, enjoy and shoot the sunset and wait for the blue hour to arrive.

These are the best night photography spots in Prague. Don’t limit yourself to the ones listed here, there are many small alleys, streets, and hidden spots worth photographing in Prague. Looking for more Prague-related content? Check the suggested articles below!

If you have any questions regarding the locations listed here, you can get in touch with me through the contact form or by sending an email at hello@aniolvisuals.com. Make sure to follow me on Instagram (@aniolvisuals) for regular travel content!