I travelled to Prague six months ago, but I thought that I will still share some of my tips. Prague is not one of the euro countries making it a more affordable destination to visit. R1 = CZK 1,8
Prague took my breath away. It was one of the few cities that did not sustain mass damage during WW2. It's divided into two areas. The first is the Starometsky area which is the city centre and the old part of town. The Mala Strana area is on the other side of the Charles Bridge and this is where the famous Prague Castle is.
We visited during December and I think Christmas just adds a special touch to Prague with all the sights, smells and flavours the Christmas Markets in Old Town Square brings.
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| Old Town Square. You will cross this numerous times |
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| The Old Town Hall |
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| View of Prague |
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| Charles Bridge |
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View from the Astronomical Clock Tower
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If you're arriving by plane you can reach the city centre by train, bus, taxi or pre-arranged shuttle. We used a pre-arranged shuttle as we arrived late in the evening and we were not travelling light by that time (sorry dad!) We were in London, Bath and Amsterdam before Prague.
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| Cinnamon Trdelnik in The Old Town Sqaure |
Public transport that I did research to get you from the airport into the city was the following
- Climb onto the Bus 119
- Get off at Djevoka
- Use the underground and get onto Line A
- Get off at Starometska
- You can buy a 90 minute ticket for CZK40
We did not use any other transport during our trip as you can reach everything by foot. You will also miss a lot of the Prague magic if you don't travel by foot. After a day or two you will get to know all the major landmarks and easily navigate yourself from there.
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| Christmas tree in Old Town Sqaure |
We booked an apartment through Prague Residence . Click here to see inside. The apartment was well equipped with more that we needed. We had a coffee machine, dishwasher, washing machine, loads of cupboards to pack out our bags and even a dining table where we could host our Christmas dinner. Another plus point was that we lived next to a ice cream shop and only two streets down from Old Town square. We could easily walk everywhere we wanted to go.
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| Outside view of our apartment. We stayed on the second floor. All four of the windows were part of our apartment. |
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| Late night ice cream mission to our neighbours, the ice cream shop. |
Our first day started with a free walking tour from Sandemans New Europe . I have mentioned them previously when I blogged about Amsterdam. Most of the big cities world wide has the mentioned company or others that offer free walking tours which gives you a great overview of all the cities that you visit.
For the Prague tour you will find your guides underneath the famous Astronomical clock. The tour starts at 10:30 and lasts 3 hours.
The Astronomical Clock has been rated as one of the most overrated sights to see. Now that might be true. The clock itself is beautiful and you must go up the clock tower to experience a 360 degree view of Prague. It will cost you CZK100 and only CZK50 if you show a studentcard. The disappointing thing of the clock is the 'show' that happens every hour. Go and see it if you have time but you won't miss anything if you don't.
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| In front of the famous clock! |
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| View from the Astronomical clock tower |
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| On top of the clock |
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| View for days! |
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| Sightseeing from above |
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| Old Town Square |
During the walking tour you will see the following
- Old Town Square and Astronomical Clock
- View of Charles Bridge
- House of the Black Madonna & Museum of Cubism
- Church of Our Lady before Tyn
- View of Prague Castle
- Rudolfinum
- Old New Synagogue and the Golem
- Art Nouveau Municipal House (Obeci Dum)
- Spanish Synagogue
- St. Nicolas Church
- Old Jewish Quarter
- Kinsky Palace
- Wencelas Square
- Stature of Jan Hus
- Powder Tower
Now the above might seem like information overload but the majority of the sights you will only pass by and the guide will give you all the necessary information that you need to know. After this you can decide what sights you want to revisit. The guide also gives you great tips about bars and restaurants as well as how not to fall into any tourist traps. One of his tips was that when you buy food at the markets be sure to establish how many grams you want. All prices are for 100g so if you don't specify they will pile on the food and your wallet will be lighter!
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| The Obeci Dum |
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| The Powder Tower |
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| The Old New Synagogue |
After our walking tour we went to the Christmas market that was in the Old Town Square. There you could indulge in various sweet and salty treats as well as browse around for gifts. Take note that if you want to buy any typical Prague curios then don't buy it in the Old Town Square or at any of the shops around it. You will find it way cheaper at Havelska Market. You will pass through The Old Town Square numerous times during your Prague visit and the site won't ever get old.
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| Havelske Market |
As the sun was setting it was time for a beer! We went to Lokal Dlouha. Its a massive pub with a great vibe! Here the boys enjoyed some local brews and we all feasted on sausage, goulash and coleslaw salad. The place is very busy and I would suggest you book in advance but we still secured a table by just walking in.
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| It's Beer O clock time! |
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| Goulash, dumplings, sausages and more |
The next day it was time to walk over the famous Charles Bridge to the Mala Strana area. This is one of the busiest sites in Prague and I would suggest you get up early one morning to experience this site not bustling with tourists. The Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava river. On either side of the bridge 30 statues stand tall and depict saints. Legend says that if you touch the statue of St John of Nepomuk you will return to Prague.
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| Charles Bridge |
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| Prague also had a lock bridge, like Paris, where couples can "declare" their love. |
As you cross over Charles Bridge you can either walk to Prague Castle or take tram 22. I would suggest you walk as you will pass interesting shops, restaurants and pubs that you can visit. The view from Prague Castle is amazing.
There are a few ticket options available for Prague Castle depending on how many of the sites that you want to visit. We took circuit B which included
- St Vitus Cathedral
- Old Royal Palace
- St Georges Basilica
- Golden lane with Daliborka tower
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| St Vitus Cathedral |
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| St Vitus Cathedral |
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| Golden Lane |
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| Grand hall in Old Royal Palace |
The above sites will at least take four hours to cover properly. It will cost you CZK250 and CZK125 if you show your student card.The sites are really exquisite and I especially liked the Golden Lane as there are various exhibitions of how the people lived and worked in the old ages. A large collection of armour, clothes and weapons can also be seen here. Game of Throne fans will approve!
After a long and cold afternoon we went to The Choco Café. This was one of our Prague highlights. They serve delicious, thick hot chocolate in various flavours.It's also a very cosy café and a great place to hide away from the cold. Even if it's summer time I won't skip this place! This is chocolate heaven.
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| Must visit! |
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| Milk chocolate heaven and a pill for tired feet :) |
One of our other great days on the Mala Strana side of Prague was when we visited the John Lennon wall and Petrin Hill.The John Lennon wall was just an ordinary white wall until the 1980's when fans used it as a tribute to the legend. It's not located far from the Charles Bridge and it's situated across from the French Embassy.
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| Peace! |
From there we walked to Petrin Hill. Now the path that leads up to the hill is very steep but the views we had on that walk was amazing. Everything explored on foot is worthwhile as you can stop and take time to appreciate everything that you see. For the faint hearted there is a Funicular (CZK32) that you can take. We used this to go down from Petrin Hill. On top of Petrin Hill there is a mirror maze, beautiful gardens and the Petrin observation tower. We decided against going up the observation tour as we were satisfied with out view from Petrin Hill.
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| Walk up Petrin Hill |
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| The view did not disappoint |
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| Prague is beautiful |
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| Observation tower |
It was again time to take shelter from the cold so our next stop was the Obeci Dum aka Municipal House. Here we enjoyed some cake and tea(CZK100). We loved the whole experience where a waiter comes with a cake trolley and you can choose your dessert from it. It's a beautiful art deco space and definitely a treat if the budget allows it.
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| The cake trolley |
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| Berry cheesecake |
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| Chocolate and cookie cake |
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| Art deco inspired space |
Josefov also know as the Jewish Quarter was not initially on our to do list but I am glad we visited. All the attractions will keep you busy for at least half a day. The sites are available in different kind of combination tickets. Check out this website for ticket prices and information.
We visited the following sites
- The Jewish Cemetery
- The Pinkas Synagogue
- The Maisel Synagogue
- All the names of the Holocaust survivors are written on the walls. One of my favourite sights.
- The Spanish Synagogue
- The Ceremonial Hall
- The Klausen Synagogue
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| The Jewish Cemetery |
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| You won't believe the amount of graves |
You don't only learn about the Jews and war times but also about Jewish customs and religion. The one fact that stuck in my mind is that only food that's round in shape is served at a funeral as the circle represents the circular nature of birth to death. Food such as eggs and lentils are a popular choice. Photography at the above attractions are limited so make sure before you snap!
A concert at the Rudolfinum is also a must. We watched the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on Christmas eve. This was such a special evening. The orchestra was excellent and the Rudolfinum is a beautiful venue. The chandeliers are breath taking. I used this website to buy tickets.
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| Outside the Rudolfinum |
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| Inside the Rudolfinum |
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| Standing ovation! |
The State Opera House is also a venue to be mentioned. It's actually more beautiful than the Rudolfinum. We watched The Sleeping Beauty Ballet here. Even the boyfriend was intrigued. Watching a ballet dancer peform is so therapeutic.
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| The State Opera House |
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| Feeling like royalty with our box seats! |
For the shopaholics the main stores such as Zara and H&M are near Wencelas Square. The above mentioned State Opera House and Prague National Museum is just behind it. The big labels such as Prada, Hermes and Louis Vuitton are in Parizska aka Paris street. Prague is the place to buy crystal. My mom went mad and we had to carry crystal glasses and chandeliers to our next destination, Vienna. Swarovski jewellery are also more affordable here. Thank you dad for the spoils :)
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| Bling bling! |
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| Wencelas square |
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| Time to shop! |
You can't leave Prague without a visit to an Absintherie. We visited the one in Jislaka Street with the iconic green bicycle outside it. We did not see the green fairy after our shots! Have you?
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| Outside the Absintherie |
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| Inside the Absintherie |
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| Dad taking on some flaming absence |
So in summary my Prague to do list
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| Take a star jump photo on Charles Bridge |
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| Choose your armour at The Golden Lane |
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| Go for a Rooftop Drink at Hotel U Prince |
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| Indulge in the local cuisine of pork knee, goulash and sour croute |
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| Go ice-scating during the winter months at Ovochy Trh for CZK50 |
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| Visit The Choco café |
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| See the green fairy after a shot of Absence |
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| Hike up Petrin Hill |
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| Watch a show at the Rudolfinum or State Opera House |
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| Visit the Atronomical Clock tower for the best view |
Other things I did not get to but will next time
Prague, you will see me again! Have you been? What will you recommend for my next visit??
P.S For great maps and 1/2/3 day self guided tour visit the Frommer's website!
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