Funicular Railway On Petrin Hill

Prague Funicular railway, also known as Lanovka in Czech, goes from Ujezd in Lesser Town to the top of Petrin Hill with one middle stop, Nebozizek, in between. It started working in 1891 and is the easiest way to get to Petrin Gardens and its famous Petrin Lookout Tower nicknamed Eifel Tower of Prague.

Fun Facts

• It was originally fueled by water. How did they achieve that? Notice that the funicular has two cars one at the top of the hill, one at the bottom. To pull up the bottom car, they would fill a tank in the upper car with water and the weight would pull the bottom car up. At the bottom of the hill, they would release the water from the tank and repeat the whole process again. It functioned like that for 40 years!
• In 1965 due to technical difficulties, the operation of Prague Funicular was temporarily suspended. By temporarily we mean for twenty years!

How to get to Prague Funicular?

Take a tram or walk to a tram station "Ujezd". Walk upstairs to a tree alley, which is at the bottom of Petrin Hill, the funicular station is right there. The name of the Funicular station is "Ujezd" as well.

• If you are taking the funicular to the top of the Petrin Hill, meaning to the Petrin lookout tower, do not get off at the middle station.

How much does the funicular cost?

The ticket costs 24 CZK and is part of Prague public transport, it is accessible with a regular transportation ticket.  The funicular goes every 10-15 min. but often has a queue in summer.

• If you have already purchased a ticket for public transport, doesn't matter if it is for tram, bus or metro, you can use it for funicular as well. For example, if you purchased a 1-day ticket.
• If you want to buy the ticket at the spot, you first need to enter the station booth, go to the ticket machine, purchase the ticket, and after that go lineup. Don't wait for the queue to get to the tourniquets, without purchasing a ticket first.
• Be prepared to wait in the queue for up to 30 minutes in the high tourist season. The earlier in the morning you come, the better.

Our Local Guide Tip

• The funicular runs till 11:30 pm. The ride up at night is really beautiful since almost nobody uses the funicular at night and there is a beautiful view of Prague Castle you can see from the funicular. Prague Castle is lit up of course. Talk about romantic. 😉

See more of our Prague Travel Tips.

Author: Valeriia Zahradnikova and Vaclav Zahradnik, Prague guides certified by Prague City Tourism agency. Valeriia and Vaclav have worked in tourism for over 6 years and have guided thousands of Prague visitors.