Every autumn the Prague Botanical Garden in Troja turns its outdoor areas over to pumpkins. This year’s exhibition, Pradávný svět (Ancient World), sets pumpkin and gourd arrangements beside dinosaurs, mammoths, giant insects and early humans. It runs from 9 October to 1 November 2026 and is one of the easiest family outings of October in Prague.
What to Expect
The displays were made by students of the Czech Gardening Academy in Mělník together with the garden’s own gardeners. There are interactive stops for children along the way and pumpkins for sale. The workshops take place in a heated tent and are charged separately:
| Creative workshops 9–11 and 15–18 Oct |
Crafts for children, such as witch hats and dinosaur painting. |
| Pumpkin carving 22–25 Oct |
Buy a Halloween pumpkin at the stand next to the tent, then carve it inside. |
| Lantern making 28 Oct – 1 Nov |
Make a lantern ready for the Halloween procession. |
| Halloween 31 Oct |
Afternoon programme from 14:00 in the Ornamental Garden, then a lantern procession through the darkened garden at 18:00. |
| Closing day 1 Nov |
Lit installations and prehistoric characters from 16:00. |
Sand painting and face painting run every weekend.
Where It Happens
The pumpkins are spread across the Ornamental Garden, the Upper Garden and the Forest area, in the hillside garden above the Vltava. If you have time left, Troja Château and the zoo are next door.
Practical Notes
- Tickets: The exhibition is included in standard garden admission. Workshops are paid on the spot, and some stalls take cash only.
- Opening hours: The outdoor areas are open daily 9:00–19:00 in October and until 19:00 on 1 November. Shorter winter hours begin on 2 November. Most installations are not lit after dark, except from 18:00 on 31 October and 1 November.
- Getting there: Take metro line C to Nádraží Holešovice, then bus 112 or 234 towards Troja. Parking is limited to the Bohnice entrance, so public transport is the better choice.
- Best time to go: Weekday afternoons are quieter. Halloween on 31 October is the busiest day, and entry may be paused if the garden reaches capacity.
