The Hues of Autumn in Prague: Best Events of Fall 2024

The fall in Prague is perhaps our favorite season in the city of a hundred spires. As the summer winds down, Prague takes on a quieter, more circumspect feel as the brilliant hues of autumn compensate for the excesses of the summer. With less crowds, shorter lines at attractions, reasonable prices and some great weather to walk around in, Insight Cities highlights what’s on in the city, this fall.

Take a Tour with Insight Cities

While taking in the cooler weather, fall colors and smaller crowds, why not enjoy Prague’s sites with Insight Cities? Our Prague Introduction Tour is the perfect primer for the city’s remarkable history, from the the Middle Ages when Prague emerged as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire to the turbulent 20th century.  In the cerebral fall weather, it’s good mental fun to discover architectural styles that stand as testaments to Prague’s 1000 + years at the heart of Europe.  Our expert guides will share Prague’s most compelling stories, get you to sites well beyond the beaten trail and help you grasp Prague’s cultural and politcal life of today.  Book now or contact us at info@insightcities.com to organize your tour.

Art and Exhibitions

4+4 Days in Motion – October 4th to 12th, 2024

The 4+4 Days in Motion Festival takes place for the 29th year this October, featuring the work of over 50 different contemporary local artists. A quintessential facet of Prague’s booming art scene, the festival is known for its unique spatial and temporal outlay, as the organizers continue to surprise, with their creative use of different abandoned buildings in the heart of the city. We suggest aiming for the opening weekend and party for the fullest experience.

Art of Books — until October 19, 2024

This one’s for the book lovers — not just those who read, but also for those who love the book as an art object. Showing at Queen Anne’s Summer Palace in the Prague Castle complex, the Art of Books celebrates the book as an art form, displaying some of the most beautiful books in the history of Czech literary culture. Notable pieces exhibited include a Latin medieval manuscript dating back to the 14th century, bound books from the early days of the printing press, and some selections from Franz Kafka’s library.

“Prague – Vienna – Connections” – September 16th to October 24th, 2024

Organized by Czech Architecture Week, this exhibition covers the history of Prague and Vienna, and the interconnected relationship developed between the two capitals over centuries.  The exhibition features maps, plans, artworks, three-dimensional models and interactive projections in the baroque halls of Clam-Gallas Palace, covering nearly 900 years of history. Starting with the first contact between the cities in the 1200s, through the shifting balance of dominance between Prague and Vienna through the late middle Ages to the latter days of the Austrian Empire, through their relationships as capitals of independent republics today.

Blanka Matragi: Timeless — until December 24, 2024

This glamorous exhibition, held in the Art Nouveau gem of the Municipal House, presents select pieces by renowned Czech designer Blanka Matragi, whose eclectic collection of dresses, jewelry, and glass all convey an artful elegance that does indeed feel timeless.

Visions of Kafka’s Shadow — until December 31, 2024

In commemoration of the centenary of the renowned author’s death, this exhibition at the Jerusalem Synagogue features 11 select Czech artists and photographers reflecting on the enduring influence of Kafka’s work. The exhibition includes surreal scenes of bureaucratic structures, character portraits, and architectural symbols that are inspired by Kafka’s dark and absurd literary imagination.

Food and Drink

Vinobrani at Troja – September 7, 2024

A number of Vinobrani (grape harvest) celebrations take place across the city every year, in the middle of September. The celebrations include drinking copious amounts of Burcak, a young, fermented wine, which can knock over even the most-seasoned drinker. With dozens of different local wines and foods to try – not to mention the incredible views of Prague – the celebration at the Botanical Gardens in Troja, is one of our favorites.

St. Martin’s Day – November 11, 2024

This holiday, marking the end of the wine harvest and the coming of winter, is another Czech tradition to take part in if you happen to be in the city on November 11. At the festival by the river, you can sample the young wines from this year’s harvest, and dine at any number of restaurants offering the special St. Martin’s day meal of roast goose.

Events

Zazit Mesto Jinak – September 21, 2024

Zazit Mesto Jinak (Experience the City Otherwise) was launched in 2006, by the AUTOMAT collective and has quickly come to herald the new urbanism that is shaping Prague. An urbanism that reflects the city’s growing inclusiveness as it metamorphoses into a modern, cosmopolitan European metropolis. Dozens of neighbourhood gatherings take place across the city simultaneously and the streets are quite literally filled with the sounds of music and the aroma of street food, as the good times roll around. We’d recommend visiting the celebrations at Americka and Krymska streets in the Vinohrady district which are a short walk from each other. Perfect for family fun and finding out neighborhood culture in Prague well beyond the tourist sites.

Festivals

Dvořák’s Prague International Music Festival – September 2nd to 24th, 2024

Some of the country’s, and the world’s, most beloved musicians will come together in Prague to promote Czech culture through Dvořák’s music in all of its rich intensity. The orchestras, chamber ensembles, soloists and conductors will take us through his masterful works, as well as works of his contemporaries and pupils. Highlights of this year’s festival include Josh Bell performing with the ASMF on September 21, and an open-air concert of Mahler’s 7th Symphony on September 11.

Lunchmeat Festival – September 30th to October 5th, 2024

Branded as an international festival dedicated to music and new media art, Lunchmeat has quickly grown to mean so much more than that to the city’s intelligentsia. Focused largely on electronic music and the confluence of a number of contemporary artistic styles including audio-visual site-specific installations, film, graphic art and photography, Lunchmeat showcases the cutting-edge trends in Prague’s cultural scene and seems to get better every year.

Designblok — October 2nd to 6th, 2024

The Prague International Design Festival is in its 26th year, and is the region’s premier design and fashion festival. All throughout the city, the festival showcases leading, contemporary designers and trends as well as being a stepping stone for the region’s versatile young talent as they present themselves to the world. Apart from the main festival site at the ornate Vystaviste Exhibition Grounds, expect dozens of pop-ups, shows, vernissages and after-parties across the city, where you’ll find Prague’s hoity-toity out in their finest.

Signal Festival – October 10th to 13th, 2024

If unique site-specific light and audio-visual installations excite you, Signal Festival is for you! Running for its 12th year, Signal Festival is arguably one of the premiere global urban audio-visual festivals. By numbers, the organizers claim to it be the largest festival in the country and when you light up and project intricate designs onto the biggest buildings in the city, for free, it is easy to understand why. Our perennial favorite is the installation at Namesti Miru, which lights up the Church of St. Ludmilla, one of the city’s most iconic buildings.

The St. Ludmila Church lit up at Signal Festival 2022. Photo by Pendolino53, via Wikimedia Commons

Prague Sounds – November 3rd to 20th, 2024

Another unique facet of Prague’ cultural scene, Prague Sounds is a three-week long international music festival that showcases an eclectic mix of contemporary musical artists, with a particular focus on classical, jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music, as well as all the genres blended in between. Musicians perform at iconic Prague venues such as Lucerna and classical music hall Rudolfinum.

Festival Svobody / Festival of Freedom — November 17th, 2024

The Festival of Freedom is a countrywide celebration of the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The festival itself is put on by a collective of different citizen’s groups, NGOs, artists, student organizations and other civil-society actors. Our recommendations in Prague include the Korzo Narodni street festival on Narodni Street, where the National Theatre lies, the historical reenactment of the student protest gathering and march from the Charles University Medical Faculty in Albertov to the city centre, and the various video projections and mappings, that have been organized across Old Town.

Prague is not only bursting with fall color but also events this fall, so you’ll find plenty to do on your visit. Want to get to know the city and its wealth of history better? Contact us today and we can arrange your Prague tour. See you in the Golden City!