Terezín Day Trip from Prague: Memorial, Tickets and Bus 2026
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The Terezín Memorial (Památník Terezín) is about an hour from Prague by bus 413, which leaves from Praha, Letňany (metro line C) and stops at the Small Fortress. One ticket for 310 CZK covers the Small Fortress and the sites of the former ghetto and is valid for four days. A guided tour of the Small Fortress is included, but you should book it. Plan at least half a day; the memorial suggests 6–7 hours to see everything. Around Prague checked the history, prices, opening hours and tour rules on the memorial's website, and bus times in IDOS and on pid.cz, on 30 October 2026.
What happened in Terezín
Terezín (German: Theresienstadt), a fortress town north of Prague, held two different Nazi places of persecution. In June 1940 the Prague Gestapo opened a police prison in the Small Fortress for opponents of the regime. About 32,000 men and women passed through it in five years, around 90% of them Czechs and Slovaks. About 2,600 died there of hunger, abuse and disease. From 1943 more than 250 were shot without trial, the last 51 on 2 May 1945.
From November 1941 Jews from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia were deported to the town itself, which the Nazis called a ghetto. In reality it was a concentration camp for Jews. Transports later came from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark, and at the end of the war from Slovakia and Hungary. In less than four years more than 140,000 people passed through the ghetto, and about 35,000 died there. A total of 63 transports took more than 87,000 people to extermination and labour camps, from October 1942 almost all to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only about 3,800 of them survived.
The International Red Cross took the prison and the ghetto under its protection on 2 May 1945. A typhus epidemic still killed hundreds after liberation. In 1947 the Czechoslovak government decided to create the memorial.
The Small Fortress and the National Cemetery
The prison route leads through the guards' offices and cells, the showers and delousing station, the hospital, the execution ground and a 500 m tunnel in the old fortifications. The museum covers the prison and the persecution of Czechs, and has a memorial hall for Milada Horáková, who was held here. An exhibition in the fourth courtyard covers the internment camp for Germans that ran here from 1945 to 1948. Allow about 90 minutes, or 2 hours with the 70-minute guided tour. Beside the fortress lies the National Cemetery, with the remains of about 10,000 victims.
The former ghetto and the crematorium
- Ghetto Museum (Komenského 148): the former town school, which in the war housed a home for Jewish boys aged 10 to 15. The ground floor is a memorial to the children of the ghetto, with their names, poems and drawings. Allow about an hour.
- Magdeburg Barracks (Tyršova 204): the seat of the so-called Jewish self-administration, now the Museum of Art. It has a reconstructed prisoners' dormitory and exhibitions on music, art, literature and theatre in the ghetto.
- Prayer Room (Dlouhá 17): part of its original wall paintings survives.
- Crematorium: built by ghetto prisoners on SS orders and in use from autumn 1942. About 30,000 victims were cremated here by 1945.
- Columbarium with the ceremonial halls and central morgue of the ghetto: entry is free.
Tickets, opening hours and guided tours 2026
| Ticket (valid 4 days) | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | 310 CZK |
| Child 10–18, student (ISIC, up to 26), teacher (ITIC), senior 65+ | 240 CZK |
| Family (up to 2 adults and 3 children) | 630 CZK |
| Children under 10, visitors with a disability card | free |
| Site | November–March | April–October |
|---|---|---|
| Small Fortress | daily 9:00–16:00 | daily 9:00–17:00 |
| Ghetto Museum, Magdeburg Barracks, Prayer Room | daily 9:00–17:00 | daily 9:00–17:00 |
| Crematorium, Columbarium, ceremonial halls | 10:00–16:00, closed Saturdays | 10:00–17:00, closed Saturdays |
Tickets are sold only at the Small Fortress and Ghetto Museum ticket offices, for cash or by card. All sites close on 24–26 December and 1 January. Entry is free for everyone on 27 January and on the third Sunday in May, the day of the Terezín Commemoration.
The Small Fortress tour runs in several languages, including English and German. Book through the memorial's reservation form (staff confirm each request), by phone on +420 416 724 535 or at [email protected]. Groups of 10 or more must book. The ghetto route is currently self-guided, with a printed guide (5 CZK) or an audio guide. Inside the Small Fortress only guides authorised by the memorial may lead tours, and this also applies to organised excursions from Prague.
Getting there from Prague
| Route | Departures (November 2026) | Journey time |
|---|---|---|
| Bus 413: Praha, Letňany (stand L) → Terezín, U Památníku | weekdays about hourly at :37; weekends 8:37, 10:37 and every two hours | about 1 hour |
| Train R20 Praha hl.n. → Bohušovice nad Ohří, then local bus | for example 8:47 | about 1 h 20 min |
| Bus 413 back to Letňany | for example 15:24, 16:24 | about 1 hour |
The direct bus leaves from Letňany, not Holešovice. From Nádraží Holešovice, metro C takes about 10 minutes to Letňany. Get off at Terezín, U Památníku for the Small Fortress, or at Terezín, aut. nádr. for the Ghetto Museum. The timetable is on pid.cz. By car it takes about 45 minutes via the D8 (exit 35 or 45), with parking in front of the Small Fortress.
Visiting etiquette
- The memorial's visitor rules ask everyone to respect the place and its victims. Keep your voice low, especially in the cells, at the crematorium and in the cemeteries.
- Photos for personal use are allowed in most places. Where a sign or staff member says no, put the camera away. Do not record the guide's commentary.
- Stay on the visitor route. Smoking is banned, and dogs are not allowed inside.
- Our advice: dress as you would for a cemetery, and skip posed selfies at the gate and in the cells.
Terezín FAQ
How do I get from Prague to Terezín?
Take bus 413 from Praha, Letňany (metro C); the trip takes about an hour.
How much is the Terezín Memorial ticket in 2026?
310 CZK for adults, 240 CZK reduced, 630 CZK for a family. Children under 10 enter free.
How much time do I need in Terezín?
The Small Fortress with a guide and some ghetto sites take 2–4 hours. Everything takes 6–7 hours.
Do I need to book a guided tour?
Booking is recommended, and the tour is included in the ticket. Groups of 10 or more must book.
Is the Terezín Memorial open every day?
Yes, except 24–26 December and 1 January. The crematorium and columbarium are closed on Saturdays.
Sources: Terezín Memorial: police prison, ghetto, liberation, sites, admission, opening hours, tours, getting there, visitor code; PID line 413, IDOS. Checked on 30 October 2026.
See also: Old Jewish Cemetery and Josefov synagogues, Day trips from Prague, Sudetenland explained.
Photo: National Cemetery by the Small Fortress, Terezín. Pavel Kinšt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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