10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO PRAGUE

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This list of best tips for traveling to Prague, will help you organize a getaway to one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world, which we are sure, will become one of your favorites.

Known as the City of 100 towers, Prague has a historic World Heritage Center, in which the fabulous Old Town Square with its Astronomical Clock, is its main jewel. In addition to touring charming neighborhoods such as Stare Mesto and Josefov, crossing the Charles Bridge and arriving at Prague Castle, we recommend getting lost in its narrow streets away from the tourist areas, where you will feel the true essence of the city.

Based on the experience of the time we spent in the city during our trip to the Czech Republic, we have made this list of the 10 essential tips for traveling to Prague.

1. What is the best time?

Although it is always a good time to travel to Prague, the best months are May, June, September and October, during which you will avoid the hottest and coldest times. In addition to the heat, in the summer months you have to take into account the huge amount of tourism that is concentrated during these days and that can make you take a souvenir less beautiful that this city deserves. Remember that this massification can also be found on festive dates such as Christmas and Easter, so if you travel on these dates, you can avoid the crowds in the most tourist sites such as the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square, arriving shortly after of dawn, when organized groups have not yet made an appearance.

2. Entry requirements

If you are Spanish, to enter the Czech Republic you only need the DNI, although we always recommend that you also carry your passport stored in a place other than the DNI, to facilitate leaving the country in case of loss or theft.

Another requirement that is not mandatory, but if highly recommended, is to carry the European Health Card and if you do not have it, have the best travel insurance.
Do not forget that although the European Health Card covers any medical setbacks, there are situations that are not included as a repatriation. You can find all the details in the post "Best travel insurance to Europe".

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Money exchange when traveling to Prague

To get Czech crowns, one euro equals about 26 crowns, it is preferable to withdraw money at ATMs, rather than changing euros at exchange offices or taking changed money from your country's bank. To avoid paying commissions and always having the current change, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
And if you don't have these cards, one of the best tips for traveling to Prague, is to get money at ATMs in the city, rather than at airports where the commission is higher.

Czech crown

4 How to go from Prague airport to downtown?

Václav Havel Prague Airport, located 10 kilometers from the city center, has terminal 1 for international flights and 2 for intra-European flights.
From the two terminals you have the same means of transportation to transfer from the airport to your hotel in Prague and these are three:

Bus: You have bus 119 that connects with metro line A at the Nádrazí Veleslavín station and the 100 bus that connects to line B at the Zlicín station. The price does not exceed the euro and the journey time is about 40 minutes. From these two subway lines you can reach the stop you have closest to your hotel.
If you arrive at dawn you can take the 510 that will take you near Wenceslas Square, in 45 minutes.
If you go with luggage we recommend you to take Airport Express that will leave you at the Hlavní nádrazí train station, near Wenceslas Square, in about 35 minutes, for just over 2 euros.
Direct transfer to the hotel: This is the easiest and fastest way to get to the hotel from the airport, in addition to having a very tight price. In this case the driver will wait for you at the airport with a sign with your name and will take you directly to your hotel. You can book it here.
Cab: the price of around 30 euros and for what we have read, in recent times, there have been several cases of scams, making it the least recommended option.

In this post you can find extended information on how to go from Prague airport to the center.

Prague airport

5. Accommodation in Prague

If you are going to travel to Prague in high season, it is almost essential to book a hotel or hostel, several months in advance, if you do not want to run out of seats or pay high prices.
One of the best areas to stay, if you do not have the high budget requested by the hotels in the historic center, is around Wenceslas Square. In this area you will be about 10 minutes walk from the Old Town Square and you will have a good connection to the airport, having the Airport Express bus stop and several metro lines, very close.

During our 4 days in Prague we stayed at the Archibald City, located 150 meters from Wenceslas Square and we can only recommend it. In addition to an excellent location, this 4-star hotel has a full breakfast, very attentive staff and one of the best quality / price ratios in the city.

If you want to stay in another part of the city you can search here for the best hotels in Prague at the best price.
For more information you can consult this post about where to stay in Prague: best neighborhoods and hotels.

Wenceslas Square

6. Transportation in Prague

To move around Prague and reach the furthest points, the best option is to use one of the 3 metro lines. The green line or A is the most used, with several interesting stops such as Staroměstská, located near the Jewish Quarter and the Old Town Square, Malostranská a few minutes from Malá Strana and Muzeum, next to Wenceslas Square. The metro schedule is from 05h to 00h.

Another public transport that is commonly used when traveling to Prague is the historic tram, which operates 24 hours a day. One of the most used trams is the 22 that brings you closer to the Prague Castle hill linking with the Malostranská metro stop, which can become another experience to live in the city.
The metro and tram will take you to all the city's tourist attractions and to get to other places and surroundings of Prague you can use the bus.

All public transport in Prague shares the same prices and tickets. The single ticket costs 32 crowns, just over one euro and the one-day ticket is priced at 110 crowns.

Use the subway, one of the best tips for traveling to Prague

7. Places of interest

Among the most interesting places in Prague stands out above all, the beautiful Old Town square, which has several wonders such as the Astronomical Clock, the tower of the Old Town Hall, with magnificent views of the historic center and the Church of Our Lady of Týn
Next to this square is the Jewish Quarter or Josefov, which has its jewel in the Old Jewish Cemetery, as well as being able to visit up to 6 synagogues, among which we recommend Hispaniola and Old-New.
In the old part of the city it is also worth visiting the impressive baroque library of the Clementinum and the Powder Tower.

A good option to save money when visiting the main attractions of the city is to book the Prague Card, which includes up to 50 attractions and the tourist bus.

Another of our favorite neighborhoods is Mala Strana, which connects with the old part of the city through the Charles Bridge of the 14th century, one of the most impressive in the world. In this neighborhood it is worth seeing Kampa Island, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Strahov Monastery library and Mount Petrin, which has spectacular views of the city. Although the most visited place in this area is the huge Prague Castle, which has numerous interesting buildings inside such as the St. Vitus Cathedral and the Golden Alley.

It is very interesting, not to miss anything about the history of each place, book this complete tour of Prague or this free tour of Prague Free!, Both with a guide in Spanish.

Other interesting places that are further away are the original Dancing House in the district of Nove Mesto and the fortification of Vyšehrad.

Another of the best tips for traveling to Prague It is to complete this list of the places to visit in Prague essential and this one of the best things to do in Prague, to enjoy the city to the fullest.

8. Routes through the city

Our recommendation is that your trip to Prague last between 2 and 4 days, to visit its main attractions and spend time walking through the streets of the historic center and along the Vltava shore.
You can walk to most interesting places in the city, but you can also use the metro, the tram and the funicular, for example, to reach the top of Mount Petrín.

Something important to make the most of your time in Prague is to plan the itinerary well before leaving the hotel.
Based on our experience we have made these three guides that will serve as a reference to not miss anything important in Prague if you have 2, 3, or 4 days.

Prague by night

9. Where and what to eat in Prague

Another reason to travel to Prague is to try its abundant food dishes that combine meat and vegetables, always accompanied by the famous Czech beer. Some of the most typical dishes are:

Goulash: a dish of beef stewed with spices.
Smazeny syr: battered and fried cheese with a strong flavor.
Knedliky: flour balls made of potato and breadcrumbs that accompany the stews.
Knuckle: pork knuckle that can be eaten smoked with delicious potatoes.
Schnitzel: meat scallop with a touch of lemon.
Utoponec: macerated sausages with different types of spices.

Among the most recommended restaurants in the city to try these dishes, which are also in tourist areas, you have: U Zlateho Hada, U Fleku, Pod Vezi, Vegan's Restaurant Prague and U Kroka, all of them excellent options to try Czech cuisine.
For more information you can consult this list of restaurants to eat in Prague.

If you just want to try the famous Czech craft beers we recommend U Kunstatu.

Goulash

10. Tours and excursions

Once all the important visits of the city are finished, if you still have time, you can complete the trip with one of the best excursions in Prague.
These day tours will take you to one of the most essential places to see in the Czech Republic, such as the spa town of Karlovy Vary, the moving Terezín Concentration Camp or Cesky Krumlov, one of the most beautiful medieval villages in Europe.
To go from Prague to Karlovy Vary you can take one of the daily buses that leave from the central bus station (Florenc) and take about two hours to arrive.
Terezín is less than an hour by bus from Nadrazi Holesovice station while to go from Prague to Cesky Krumlov it will take you less than 3 hours by bus from Na Knizeci station.
A comfortable and interesting way to visit all these places, learning its history, is to book one of these excursions with a guide in Spanish:

More tours and excursions in Prague here

Cesky Krumlov

Do you want to travel to Prague?
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The best hotels at the best prices in Prague: here
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Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in / from Prague in Spanish here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
10 essential tips for traveling to the Czech Republic
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