Speculum Alchemiae Museum
Speculum Alchemiae Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Our museum called Speculum Alchemiae, is situated in one of the oldest houses in Prague. There are secret alchemical laboratories from the 16th century in the museum underground that were built for the king Rudolf II. The alchemists of that time used to prepare elixirs in there. The museum building also includes a shop, where equal elixirs can be bought. These elixirs are prepared under strict conditions according to their original recipes which have been found here. Newly, we also offer a unique tour of magical places in Prague which are connected with the Speculum Alchemiae museum. The guided tour includes the Prague Castle, Vysehrad, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, and the museum. At these places you learn about many amazing legends and mythological stories associated with the so-called Prague Magical Triangle.
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Stare Mesto (Old Town)
One of the oldest neighborhoods in town represents the medieval heart of Prague. It’s no surprise it is bustling with tourists every time of day. Križovnický square, overlooking Charles Bridge with Prague Castle in the background, is probably the most beautiful square in the city. Its unique historical atmosphere of gothic houses and churches, cobblestone streets and squares, and stone towers blend together with the modern era. A vast array of bars, restaurants, dance clubs, international brand shops, galleries and hotels bring life to the old city. With its charming and picturesque cobblestone streets, the nightlife and parties will surely be unforgettable.
How to get there
- Old Town • 7 min walk
- Republic square • 10 min walk
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See what travelers are saying
- ZedDubaiDubai, United Arab Emirates233 contributionsNot to be missed!We were actually hesitating whether to go or not, but this turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip to Prague that we tell everyone about. What we quite enjoyed is the authenticity of the place, the extremely proper organization, and the knowledge of the tour guides! Once you book, you will be assigned a time slot part of a guided tour, and then taken from room to room in this well preserved maze! Really quite a memorable tour!Visited August 2023Traveled with familyWritten October 5, 2023
- Tähvo 'Ghost' RobertsBath, United Kingdom35 contributionsWorth the visit!A quirky and well laid out shop front with a fun and interesting hidden tour that delves into the history surrounding alchemy and hidden tunnels in Prague. Our tour guide was very friendly, informative, and professional. Great experience and gained a lot of knowledge from our trip.Visited November 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten November 15, 2023
- JeremyH_UKDurham, United Kingdom27 contributionsThe best new museum in Prague!Really amazing place that I can't recommend enough. This basement was discovered during the 2002 floods and houses alchemists' laboratories from the 17th century. It houses an alchemists' laboratory, complete with furnaces and the remnants of their researches on the transmutation of elements and manufacture of elixirs for consumption by the rich (including the holy Roman Emperor). We had a wonderfully knowledgeable guide for our tour. Our specific tour is not listed, but we just went to the location during opening hours and paid cash at the door. They don't take credit cards, at least in summer 2023.Visited September 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten January 3, 2024
- Jeremy Y2 contributionsFun, Interesting TourFun, interesting tour through previous alchemist labs and tunnels. Some of the items in the labs are recreations, but it still felt very authentic. High recommend. Note: the museum only accepts cash so ensure you have Korunas or Euros availableVisited December 2023Traveled with familyWritten January 12, 2024
- The Czech Advisor2 contributionsSpeculum Alchemiae Museum (Muzeum Speculum Alchemiae) The Czech Advisoren, It was amazing. We recommend. Just be careful so you dont fall there a lot of rocks on the ground. cz, Bylo to hezké. Doporučujeme. Jenom buďte opatrný ať nespadnete je tam hodně kamenů na zemi.Visited May 2024Traveled with familyWritten May 8, 2024
- Gary MLeeds, United Kingdom540 contributionsA really interesting tour!A fascinating tour about alchemy, I would recommend it to anyone who visits Prague. The tours are led by a knowledgeable guide and last about 30 mins. Feedback regarding the positions! Make some tiny ones, maybe less than 100ml so we can take them home in our carry on!Visited April 2024Traveled with friendsWritten May 14, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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Millie B
London, UK147 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Went after a friend personally recommended this, she thought it was really interesting. Maybe because of this I went in with expectations too high.
It was a very short tour of some interesting underground rooms, which are tackily decorated to ‘recreate’ what the rooms might have looked like when the alchemist supposedly lived there. But some of it seemed quite random: e.g. dresses on mannequins in the reception room seemed out of place.
I couldn’t really understand the guide - the snippets about how the church viewed alchemy at the time was interesting- but she was talking too fast and I didn’t catch much of what was said. It altogether felt very rushed.
Not worth the money, the time waiting for the tour to start, or the time spent on the tour itself.
Maybe visit for a unique shop but don’t bother with the ‘museum’!
It was a very short tour of some interesting underground rooms, which are tackily decorated to ‘recreate’ what the rooms might have looked like when the alchemist supposedly lived there. But some of it seemed quite random: e.g. dresses on mannequins in the reception room seemed out of place.
I couldn’t really understand the guide - the snippets about how the church viewed alchemy at the time was interesting- but she was talking too fast and I didn’t catch much of what was said. It altogether felt very rushed.
Not worth the money, the time waiting for the tour to start, or the time spent on the tour itself.
Maybe visit for a unique shop but don’t bother with the ‘museum’!
Written February 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anugya
Helsinki, Finland54 contributions
Oct 2022
Little gem. Tours start every half hour so avoid reaching at say 12:05. Its a small museum so reserve about 30 mins. The museum shop is well stocked and quite reasonably priced. Tour was informative and intriguing. It was a great experience for my 8 year old as she is a Harry Potter fan and could relate to many things. May not be so interesting for children below 6.
Written October 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Simone F
Inverness, UK3 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
The young chap that was doing our tour was very informative and entertaining. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Prague who has an interest in such things as alchemy, magic and mystical secret things. Will not spoil anything by saying what it was like beyond the shop front but beyond the door, it is quite a magical place.
Written March 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sabor117
3 contributions
Jul 2024 • Solo
This was a surprisingly short and hidden away little museum. Can only be done as a tour and unfortunately the tour was not very good. It might have been because I went on the last tour of the day, but the tour guide could not have been more disinterested. She clearly had a script memorised which she recited by rite but didn't really do much to add much in the way of interesting stories or fun tangents which I feel a small museum like this would really rely on. It seemed to be presented instead in a quite factual way, but then all the rooms seemed to be mostly set up with replicas and decorations rather than actual historical items, so the tone was a bit all over the place too.
Lastly there was a hilarious moment after the first information of the first room, where my group was left standing in confused silence for AGES before she suddenly continued the tour. It genuinely seemed like the tour only consisted of one room and this was just a very confusing experience.
Overall, pretty disappointed. Especially given that, also confusingly, the museum is NOT part of the Prague city card.
Lastly there was a hilarious moment after the first information of the first room, where my group was left standing in confused silence for AGES before she suddenly continued the tour. It genuinely seemed like the tour only consisted of one room and this was just a very confusing experience.
Overall, pretty disappointed. Especially given that, also confusingly, the museum is NOT part of the Prague city card.
Written July 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elisa A
2 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
Fantastic little museum that is a thousand times better than the big tourist attractions otherwise in Prague.
The service is really good there, they are very friendly compared to other places in Prague where we have experienced unusually bad service! It was really cheap compared to what you get out of the trip.
The guided tour was really exciting. You first enter a main room where you get a little story about what they were doing at the time, and then comes the main event. The secret tunnel down to their hidden lab and workplace. It was really fascinating to see and hear about. You get a really good insight into what it was like to be a scientist back in the 6th century and how they had to hide their research from the church while they worked for the king. The guided tour lasts about 30 minutes, (plus questions)
All in all a fantastic experience, definitely something you should experience when you are in Prague.
The service is really good there, they are very friendly compared to other places in Prague where we have experienced unusually bad service! It was really cheap compared to what you get out of the trip.
The guided tour was really exciting. You first enter a main room where you get a little story about what they were doing at the time, and then comes the main event. The secret tunnel down to their hidden lab and workplace. It was really fascinating to see and hear about. You get a really good insight into what it was like to be a scientist back in the 6th century and how they had to hide their research from the church while they worked for the king. The guided tour lasts about 30 minutes, (plus questions)
All in all a fantastic experience, definitely something you should experience when you are in Prague.
Automatically translated
Written July 19, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Journey55283158505
2 contributions
Sep 2024 • Family
This was disappointing. The main upstairs “museum” was full of props and as far as we could tell, nothing was an actual artifact from the time period that the museum was centered on. The tour guide was very knowledgeable but for me it wasn’t very interesting.
Written September 30, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gina Marie
Germany19 contributions
Jan 2024 • Friends
The museum is rather small, but still worth seeing. You can go in every half hour on a guided tour, which lasts about half an hour. There you are taken to original laboratories from the 16th century. Our tour was in English and we were led through the corridors to the laboratories by a young woman, where we were able to learn a lot about the history of laboratories and alchemists in Prague. A clear recommendation from me!
Written January 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christopher T.S.
4 contributions
Jan 2020
Stumbled upon this great shop and museum while wandering in Prague. The alchemists' catacombs are authentic and amazing and our guide was enthusiastic, knowledgable, and entertaining. I bought 500 mls of immortality elixir and have a thimbleful every morning after I exfoliate.
Written January 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Cscott54,
Thank you very much for your nice review.
We are happy that you were able to find our museum in the beutiful city of Prague, even only by a coincidence. Since you bought the elixir of youth, we can't wait to welcome you back here in the next hundred years (or sooner, of course).
Until then, we wish you all the best.
team of Speculum Alchemiae Prague
Written January 11, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sasha B
Sarasota, FL4 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
I loved this tour, it was easily the best one from my vacation. The tour guide was so passionate about the history of Prague and alchemy. She clearly does her research and it was SO fascinating to learn about it. She was really funny too! Props to her, she made this tour worthwhile. And it’s rare to go to a underground centuries old laboratory that the king and alchemists once used to conduct their research. TRULY a hidden gem of Prague.
Regardless of your opinion on alchemy, there is a lot of history on it (considering it was an old science) especially in Prague, which used to be the epicenter of science, trading, education and alchemy. I think the only reason ppl won’t like it is because it’s not to their taste, because..yeah it’s about alchemy not everyone is into that. Anyways I loved this tour and everything about it. It was interesting, education, fun, engaging, enthusiastic and memorable. Please check it out!
Regardless of your opinion on alchemy, there is a lot of history on it (considering it was an old science) especially in Prague, which used to be the epicenter of science, trading, education and alchemy. I think the only reason ppl won’t like it is because it’s not to their taste, because..yeah it’s about alchemy not everyone is into that. Anyways I loved this tour and everything about it. It was interesting, education, fun, engaging, enthusiastic and memorable. Please check it out!
Written January 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear 988sashab,
Thank you so much for this nice review.
We are that that our tourguide managed to make the tour so enjoyable for you. The topic of alchermy might not be for everyone, you're right, but it definitely is interesting nevertheless. We are happy to hear that our museum and the tour made such a good impression with you.
Thank you once again.
With best wishes,
team of Speculum Alchemiae
Written February 15, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gary M
Leeds, UK540 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
A fascinating tour about alchemy, I would recommend it to anyone who visits Prague. The tours are led by a knowledgeable guide and last about 30 mins.
Feedback regarding the positions! Make some tiny ones, maybe less than 100ml so we can take them home in our carry on!
Feedback regarding the positions! Make some tiny ones, maybe less than 100ml so we can take them home in our carry on!
Written May 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Onde encontro esse tour? Quero visitar o Speculum Alchemiae Museum, mas não acho ingresso para comprar.
Written September 3, 2022
Prohlidka 15:00 18.1.2020 Mela by obsluha u kasy nabizet dame ve strednim veku vyber mezi vstupenkou dospely vs. senior, jen proto, ze ma prosedivele vlasy?! Trocha taktu by bylo na miste a zamyslet se, jestli obarvene vlasy opravdu vypovidaji o mladi...
Written January 18, 2020
Dobrý den,
děkujeme za otázku.
Výběr ze vstupenek naši zaměstnanci většinou říkají automaticky, protože se nám již několikrát stalo, že jsme našim návštěvníkům nabídli pouze základní nezlevněné vstupné, a oni se poté zpětně dožadovali slevy a kritizovali za to, že jsme jim automaticky nenabídli co nejlevnější vstupenku. Nemůžeme bohužel ohlídat každou jednotlivou situaci, a někdy se stane že vzhled může zavádět.
Omlouvám se za celé muzeum pokud došlo k nedorozumění, ale rozhodně nikoho úmyslně neurážíme kvůli vzhledu.
S přáním hezkého dne,
Ing. Daniela Zádová, manažerka komunikace
Written January 22, 2020
No habría ningún problema. El tour es corto seguro y muy interesante.
Written September 29, 2018
I can't remember exactly how much. About 10 -15 pounds sterling I think.
Written September 12, 2018
Hi, I have mobility issues, is the floor uneven and if yes, how much?
Are there stairs and how much?
Thank you
Written September 9, 2018
As I remember there was no elevator. Just an old stair. The floor downstairs is not flat but stoned. It is a medieval basement conserved as it was.
Written September 9, 2018
Are there any signs on thebexibit in english? If I don't speak czech and want to stay for longer than the tour is it possible?
Written December 25, 2016
The tour is in english, and all the signs/exhibits have czech and english. 👍
Written December 30, 2016
CHARLYGS
Valencian Community, Spain
Hola, el tour en el museo hay guías que hablen el idioma Español?
Written September 18, 2016
Hi
I want to know which hours English tour starts in a day.
Plan to visit in September.
Written September 3, 2016
Hi Georgian, the English tours are upon request. The ladies are pretty flexible. Sorry for late reply. It did skip my attention. Hope you had fun anyway
Written October 10, 2016
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