Begin on Old Town Square, Where the Christmas Market Outlasts the Fireworks
On the first morning of 2027, the square is still dressed for Christmas. The stalls that have been up since Advent are open again from 10:00 to 22:00, free to walk through, and the smell is the same one that has been drifting across the cobbles for weeks: sausages and hams turning on spits, sweet pastries, hot mulled wine, and Czech beer poured in the cold. New Year's Day is a public holiday here — it also marks the 1993 division of Czechoslovakia into Czechia and Slovakia — but sightseeing and entertainment run as normal, which means you can spend the whole day outdoors. Small and medium shops open; anything over 200 m² stays closed, so plan your browsing around the smaller storefronts. The same market continues on Wenceslas Square, and it runs daily through 6 January.
Cross the Bridge with Three Kings, Camels and All
If you are still in the city on 5 January, clear your late afternoon. Between 15:30 and 16:45, a Three Kings Procession sets out from Lesser Town Square (Malostranské náměstí) with camels in the party, crosses Charles Bridge, and arrives at Old Town Square, ending at the Christmas market stage with a gift presentation to the Infant Jesus. The music accompanying it is Jakub Jan Ryba's Czech Christmas Mass. Position yourself on the bridge or at the Old Town end well before the start; this is a procession that draws a crowd along its whole route.
For a quieter market with the same food and drink, walk into the Lesser Town to Kampa Square (Na Kampě), open 10:00–20:00 from 1 to 4 January, free entry, with traditional food, drink and a few handicrafts.
Book a Grand Hall for the Afternoon or Evening
Prague fills its palaces, churches and concert halls with classical music in the first days of January, and the tradition runs 1–5 January. Advance booking is essential — these sell out.
- 1 January: Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at Prague State Opera, Wilsonova 4, Prague 1 (790–1290 CZK).
- 1, 3, 17, 24 and 31 January: The Nutcracker ballet in a shortened version at the Broadway Theatre, Na Prikope 31, Old Town.
- 2, 15 and 16 January: The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol at Prague State Opera; early booking advised.
- 3 January: La bohème at Prague State Opera (890–1490 CZK), and The Four Seasons at the Municipal House, Smetana Hall, Republic Square 5 (1050–1650 CZK), in a mixed programme drawing on Pachelbel, Mozart, Bizet, Rossini, Brahms, Smetana and Dvořák.
- Throughout January: The Four Seasons programmes recur at the Klementinum, St. Giles Church, St. Clement's and the Municipal House, generally 1050–1650 CZK.
- Later in the month: La traviata at Prague State Opera (12, 22, 24 and 27 January), Macbeth (28 January), and The Magic Flute at the Estates Theatre (31 January), with tickets from 990–1790 CZK and 1190–1690 CZK.
- 14 January: Mnozil Brass with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra series, Prague Proms, at the Municipal House.
Skate Outdoors in Old Town, Letná or Under the Žižkov Tower
Rinks open across the city from the first of January, and most need no booking at all — turn up, rent skates on site, and go.
- Ovocný trh, behind the Estates Theatre in Old Town: 10:00–21:00, all January, no booking.
- Wenceslas Square: 09:00–22:00, 1 January to 14 February; adult 350 CZK, child 250 CZK, skate hire included.
- Na Frantisku Sports Centre, Kozi 847, Old Town: 1 January–28 February; Mon–Thu 08:00–18:30, Sat–Sun 08:00–19:30; adult 70 CZK, child 40 CZK, hire 50 CZK.
- Letná Park, Prague 7 — the largest open-air rink at 42×20 m: daily 09:00–21:00, 1 January–28 February; adult 140 CZK, child 100 CZK, hire 100–130 CZK; metro Hradčanská (A) then tram toward Sparta.
- Výstaviště indoor rink, Malá Sportovní Hala, Prague 7: weekends 15:15–17:15, 1 January–28 March; adult 150 CZK, child 80 CZK, hire 60–100 CZK; tram Výstaviště or metro Nádraží Holešovice (C) plus a 500 m walk.
- Tower Park, by the Žižkov Tower, Prague 3: 1 January–28 February in two-hour blocks — Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00 and 18:00–20:00, Sat–Sun four blocks from 09:00 to 20:00; 50–150 CZK, family 380 CZK, hire 50 CZK; metro Jiřího z Poděbrad (A).
Fill the Rest of January, and Know When to Go
The first week is the densest: markets, concerts and the procession all fall between 1 and 6 January, so if you want the full programme, arrive before the sixth. After that the city keeps going at a lower volume. From 8 to 10 January the Prague Floorball Cup brings an international youth tournament with teams from Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Austria. On 16 January, Jan Palach Day is marked with gatherings at the Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the top of Wenceslas Square and at Olšany Cemetery, commemorating the student who self-immolated on 16 January 1969 in protest against the August 1968 Soviet invasion and died three days later. Harry Potter: The Exhibition runs 1 January–21 March at PVA Exhibition Centre, Hall 6, Letňany, Prague 9 (Mon–Fri 10:00–20:00, Sat–Sun 09:00–20:30; 450–1990 CZK; metro Letňany on line C), and Five Finger Death Punch play the O2 Arena at Českomoravská 17a, Prague 9 on 31 January at 19:00 (1476–2420 CZK; metro Českomoravská on line B).
Build your trip around a single square and a single evening: mulled wine and a ham roll on Old Town Square while the market is still lit, then a concert hall or a rink the next morning. Book the halls first — they are the one thing here that will not wait for you — and let the rest of the week arrange itself around them.