Prague, Czech Republic
Welcome to Lauren Getting Lost! In this blog we’re going to be talking about… Prague! Prague is the capital city and the largest city of the Czech Republic. Prague is a medieval city in Europe which has over 1000 years of history. In this blog we’re going to discuss my top tips and recommendations for traveling to Prague. Hope you enjoy!
Top Tips
1. Make a rough daily plan! Personally I’m not someone who goes on holiday with a detailed itinerary and schedule… if only I was that organised. However, I think if you’re going to Prague for a short amount of time, making a rough plan would definitely be worth it. This is because there is so much to do in a number of locations in Prague. By making a plan you get an understanding of all the locations you want to go to and where they are, allowing you to then group different locations into different days. This will allow you to optimise your short visit. Alternatively if you want to be a little more spontaneous I recommend you always make good use of the tram system.
2. Get a tram pass! There are trams that run throughout the city on both sides of the river. This is an extremely useful type of transportation, especially since some of the locations can be far apart. We bought our metro passes at a desk in the airport but there are other locations. There’s a variety of types and prices so make sure to pick the one you want. I believe we went for the 72 hour pass which was 330CZK (roughly £12.18 currently) and then bought a shorter pass to get to the airport on our way home since we went for a little longer than 72 hours. The other short stay tram pass options are:
30 minutes: Adult 40 CZK, Senior 20 CZK
90 minutes: Adult 30 CZK, Senior 15 CZK
24 hours: Adult 120 CZK, Senior 60 CZK
72 hours: Adult 330 CZK
3. This is a classic… maybe don’t get a taxi when you land at the airport. When we arrived at Prague airport instead of paying for a taxi we got a quick bus and metro… I will admit this does sound like a lot of effort and not something you want to do after a flight but honestly it was an easy journey really. Save that money for extra desert! To find out which bus and metro we needed to get on, we went onto Apple maps and typed in our destination. From there the app told us which transportation(s) to use (including bus and metro numbers). However, just to warn you in case you don’t like crowds, the bus we got from the airport was very crowded.
4. Get an attraction pass. Next to Prague Castle you can buy a multiple attraction pass for attractions nearby. However, you don’t have to go to this location to buy the pass. Furthermore, there are multiple types you can get that include different attractions for different amount of times. You can also pay an additional amount for an audio tour to be included.
5. Look up. This is advice I received before going to Prague and I’m really glad I was told to do this. There are multiple statue artwork above you when walking on the streets of Prague.
Recommendations
1. Dancing House (Ginger and Fred) Rooftop
The Dancing House is also known as Ginger and Fred. The Dancing House is located by the river meaning you get a great view of the Prague landscape and river at the viewing area. The Dancing House has an outside viewing platform which you can access by going through the bar. You can either pay 190CZK (roughly £7.02) or you can buy a drink which allows you to go outside without having to pay an additional fee.
2. Astronomical Clock
The Astronomical Clock is located in the Old Town square, this is a historical site which is in the centre of many tourists visit. When you go to visit the Astronomical Clock make sure to be stood in front of the main clock face when it strikes on the hour as the clock has a show. The main clock face should be easy to spot because it’s likely there’s a crowd waiting to witness the show.
3. Old Town Square
As I’ve just mentioned, the Old Town Square is where a lot of the main tourist attractions are and where a large amount of the history of the Old Town is. Not only are there historical sites; Old Town hall or the Astronomical Clock for example, you can also visit the national gallery and a centre of illusion. There are also a number of restaurants located in the old town square with many having an outside option with heaters.
4. Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge was built in the 14th Century and completed in the very early part of the 15th Century. Charles Bridge is very popular with visiting tourists. Charles Bridge for a very long time was the only bridge going across river Vltava connecting the Old Town with Malá Strana (also known as ‘lesser town’). You are only able to walk across the bridge with no option to drive over. I would really recommend walking across to be able to witness an important part of Prague history.
5. Národní museum (National Museum)
Národní Museum is great for families or if you love continuously learning. The museum is very big with a variety of different areas and exhibits. The Národní museum is on Wenceslas Square which is also a popular area to visit.
6. Hradcany (The Castle District)
Hradcany is accessed by going through Malá Strana. As I’ve said earlier, Malá Strana is also known as the ‘lesser town’ and is located on the other side of the Vltava river to the Old Town of Prague. Hradcany (The Castle District) has many historical sites such as: Prague castle, St. Vitus cathedral and the Golden lane. You are able to buy various passes which include different historical sites and attractions for varying amounts of time e.g. 24 hours.
7. Try local drinks and food
I really recommend that you eat Trdelnik and Palacinky which are two types of dessert. Prague is also well known for beer. During our visit we went to the Prague beer museum. At the Prague beer museum you learn all about beer, beer in Prague and then after you are given 3 beers to try. I would love to be able to tell you if the beer we tried was nice or not but honestly I really don’t like beer (I’m sorry). But if you are a beer lover then I recommend!
Extra Recommendations
Below are places and activities I really wanted to do but unfortunately couldn’t due to different reasons.
1. New City Hall Paternoster Elevator (non-stop lifts)
A few minutes walk away from the old town square is the New City Hall. Here they have a Paternoster Elevator (there are two in Prague) which are lifts that run and move non-stop. However, despite seeing that this specific lift was the most accessible lift to the public in Prague, the New City Hall was not accessible to the public the day we went. So you might just want to check on the day you are going.
2. Train Trip
We had planned to go visit a castle a train trip outside of Prague. However, due to weather the trains were not running. It could be worth looking if there is anywhere you want to go to outside of Prague by train if you have time.
3. Boat tour on the Vltava river
We weren’t able to do this but I genuinely think it could be so fun and you would get to see a unique view of the city. I knew we weren’t able to do this so I never looked into which routes or boat companies might be the best so unfortunately I can’t recommend any.
I hope this information was helpful! Prague has so many different places and attractions so there definitely are more but this is where I went to (or wanted to) and recommend.
When writing this blog I realised just how much you can do in Prague. Because of this I will be writing a separate Old Town blog which will have the sole focus of talking about everything you can do in the Old Town because honestly there is so much to do! I will also be making another blog about all of the different viewpoints throughout Prague because I think you should see a Birds Eye view of Prague at least once and there’s plenty of amazing options! So please look out for these blogs!