For the second time, I visited Prague. I choose to go back during the winter to avoid the crowds, but my expectation was a complete disappointment. I was looking for a weekend gateway, and Prague came up on the list, so why not. The capital of Czech is an ideal destination, and there are so many things to do.
Either you’re planning to spend the weekend or a more extended trip, your visit to the capital of the Czech Republic will never go wrong. When is the best time to visit Prague?
My first visit to Prague was in November a couple of years ago. I went back the first week of March and hoping that will be fewer tourists but still packed. So, in my opinion, there’s no best time! Alternatively, January or February probably the right time, but then you may be in the snowfall.
Prague has rich in history, which inspired by many travelers. The city has excellent museums and galleries, and if you’re not into museums, there are absolutely a handful of things to do. For the first time visitor, it can overwhelm as you don’t know where to start. Prague divided into different districts, and choosing a place to stay is easy to say, in the new town or the old town.
By the way, if you want to get out of the city and find peace, Kutna Hora is an ideal place to spend one day. A charming town to discover and only one hour away by train from Prague.
Coming From International Airport to Prague City
There are various possibilities to reach the city center. If you’re looking for comfort – Taxi is the fastest and the most expensive way, it cost 35 euro (800 Czech Koruny). Alternatively, a hotel pick-up, which is slightly cheaper than the cab cost 25 euro. We use the service going back to the airport as we have an early flight. The taxi can be pre-order at the arrival counter; you pay by the driver either in CZECH koruna or in euros.
The cheapest way: A combination of bus and metro from the airport, it’ll less comfy, especially if you have lots of luggage.
Outside the arrival building, there is a ticket vending machine; it accepts cash in CZK koruna or credit card. You can choose a ticket from 30 minutes up to 72 hours. However, for a single trip ticket to the center, you need to buy the 90 minutes, cost 1.25 euros.
You need to take bus number 110 or 119, which terminates at Nadr Veleslavin station. From there, continue with a metro. Check the platform carefully; the subway in Prague is sometimes confusing, especially for first-time visitors. Look for platform number 1 direction center.
Your bus ticket is valid on the subway; you only have to activate once. Also, keep your card until the end of your destination. Controllers are waiting at the stations in Prague. There was a conflict with our tickets we inserted wrongly in the machine, and they can’t find the stamp with their device. I thought we got fines, but we’re good to go. The bus and metro run till midnight to the center in Prague.
Getting Around The City
Walking is the best way when exploring the city, but the city of Prague is relatively large. A right walking shoe is needed as you will have to do lots of walking anyway. The other option is the metro passes: it is available from 24 to 72 hours. You have to know how often you take the subway, for a single trip ticket cost 24 CZK.
Where To Stay In Prague And Which Areas
The selections are massive; you can choose from 1 up to 10 districts. I stayed in the Old part before, and this time I prefer the new section (Praha 1). As we have a late-night arrival, I’m looking for a place to stay close to a metro station, and the Hotel Salvator is just a five minutes walk from Wenceslas station. The hotel located on a steep side I wasn’t aware of it when making the booking. Pulling my small hand luggage with two wheels, it hits me off. The room and bathroom were splendid for the price.
Things that we visited in Prague done mostly on foot. I find walking is the most effective way of exploring a city; we took the metro but scarcely. If you have a mobile phone, download the app maps.me is a great resource app for walking, no internet is needed. It’s an offline map you can pinch the places you want to visit. It is like google maps, but a lot better.
Prague Castle
The Castle is one of the most significant sights in Prague. The building describes gorgeously every architectural style from the last thousand years, situated on a hilly side, which you will have a slight climb to get there. Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens, and defense towers.
Also, you can visit inside as most areas are open to visitors. When entering the castle courtyard, you’ll be passing through a body detector, the same as in the airport, so expect the delay of long lines.
John Lennon Wall
Incredibly busy! I wasn’t aware that this wall becomes one of the things to do in Prague. Everybody poses from this wall. On my first visit, a couple of years back, the wall was not yet fully developed. As of today, every visitor in the city is searching for it.
The wall is a symbol of peace, love, and freedom and continually perish alteration. The original image of John Lennon is long gone, but on the upper side, you can see the paint a new one. Nearby you’ll find John Lennon Pub; The Yellow Submarine checked it out. It has a fantastic interior.
Getting there: The location of the wall is in Mala Strana, near the French Embassy. You can download MAPS.ME on your phone, an offline app, and excellent to use as walking GPS.
Changing Of The Guard In Prague Castle
I’ve seen this occasion in various cities. It may be less spectacular in Prague, but while we’re in the area, we avail to witness the formality during the swaps. It happens daily; the first ceremony showed at noon in Prague Castle courtyard.
Walkthrough Charles Bridge
Prague is a city with bridges, but none can beat the Charles Bridge. The most walked bridge in Europe! What makes this bridge unique? There are thirty statues on which saints are present. Charles Bridge is the highlight! You would not want to miss the bridge when visiting Prague if you like to avoid the crowd going early in the morning.
Getting there: The entrance to the bridge is notable at both ends by towers. For public transport- metro station: Staromestska (lineA) Tram stop: Staromestska (trams 2,17,18)
A River Cruise At Vltava River
There are different cruises offers from classic to luxury. The cheapest one gets you in the water in 45 minutes — a unique experience of viewing the city from the Vltava river. We wanted to do the singular experience; we went for the cheapest cruise.
We haven’t booked anything in advance, but I’ve done a bit of search online. There are people selling river cruises on the spot, which is a better one than online booking. You can ask them for more information, and if you don’t decide right away, you can always say I’ll come back later. Pick wisely before making a booking:
Stroll The Historic Town
This part of Prague is one of the favorites of every visitor. The square encircled with beautiful buildings, as well the old city churches of Lady before Tyn, from the 11th century, an impressive gothic religious monument.
You also find the famous medieval clock mounted on the southern side of the old town tower hall. A pedestrian zone, you can squirm through small alleys from there. There is no shortage of things to do; even shopping or dining, you can do both.
The Twisted Head Of Franz Kafka
While searching on it, it took us to another Kafka statue bronze sculpture. Don’t get confused with another figure of Kafka as these are entirely different from each other. The head statue is eleven meters tall and made in a rotating hatch. Kafka is the German tongue writer of Jewish origin relevant value literature from the twenty century. The Kafka museum has some exhibitions from his work. Where to find the statue: located outside Quadro Shopping Mall
Try The Trdelnik Pastry
From the smells only it gives a mouthwatering, hard to resist. The pastry can be found all over the city, follow where the scents are. Not originals in Czech, some says its Hungarian delicacy. Indeed if you go to Hungarian capital Budapest, you’ll find the pastry as well, is called a chimney cake in Hungary. In Prague, the rolled pastry is available in a variety of filling. You pay 60 CZK for the plain cake.
The Medieval Clock
It harshly without anyone standing in front of the clock. An extraordinary piece of Prague and the most photographed clock in the world. So far, one of the unique timepiece I’ve seen around. The medieval clock mounted in the town hall in the old town square. The stunning 15th-century masterpiece shows different times. The best time to see the clock is late in the afternoon or very early in the morning; you have the whole area on your own. You find the Astronomical Clock in the old town square!
Prague Food Sreet
Food street? Yes, it does exist in Prague. It may be not like Thailand or Vietnam, but surely worth a try. I’m picky when it comes to food, but I love to try the local dish. Food stalls are great! An excellent spot to sample some local food, inexpensive, and freshly prepared. If you want to have a quick bite during the day, it is the place to be. There is one down under the Charles Bridge on the west side, and another one in the old town square.
Wander At Wenceslas Square
Sooner or later, you were probably passing through there. Wenceslas Square is not so pretty as the old town, but as a tourist center of Prague, you should see it. The area is lined up with shops, restaurants, bars, etcetera. It may be the best area to hunt some souvenirs. They’re cheaper here than elsewhere in the city, and often you get a discount.
Moreover, if you walk through the end of the street, you came to the beautiful building of the National Museum. As our hotel nearby, we passed through several times there. At night time the museum is wonderfully lit.
To get there: The Prague Metro line A runs underneath Wenceslas Square.
Go Up for A View Inside Of Dancing House
It may not look like a dancing house, but due to its conical style is something you can’t ignore. The construction of the Dancing House began in 1994 and completed in 1996. Fantastic work from Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic. Frank Gehry, a Canadian-born American architect, as well as a designer at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
The bent structure consists mainly of glass — nothing special inside; except all offices.
It would best going up to the viewing terrace; you pay 4 euro, but in the Glass Bar, you can enjoy a drink as well as the panoramic view of river Vltava.
To get there: Take the tram Jiraskovo Namesti; the station is right next to the building. For the metro, take the “Karlovo Namesti” station.
A Glimpse from the Vltava Beach With Birds In The Surrounding
From this point, an excellent look-out across the river. Not exactly a beach, the word has little expectations. The wildlife around gives the most attention to the public. So it is worth walking down there.
A Day Trip To Kutna Hora
If you want to see something outside the capital of Czech, with no doubt, you must set Kutna Hora on the list. After strolling for two days in the crowd, we seek for peace, and Kutna Hora was directly into our mind. We don’t know what to expect, but it was a fulfilling day. Wandering like in the ghost town, how wonderful it is! It can’t compare with Prague, the city is relatively small in architecture but described on UNESCO heritage list in 1995.
It is only one hour with a train from Prague, effortless to do it by yourself. Just one thing can be bothered; you do a lot of walking.
It is not like Prague that you can take a tram or the metro. There are buses in Kutna Hora, but you can’t rely on them as they’re infrequent. It gets you faster on foot than waiting for a long time for the bus to come.
Getting to Kutna Hora From Prague
You need to go to the Hlavni Nadrazi train station in Prague. No need to reserve the ticket in advance, you pay more online than at the station. Ticket price when purchasing at the counter cost 192.5 CZK per person for a round trip. And they accept credit card as well.
It’s an open return ticket you can take the train from Kutna Hora anytime you want. Beware: going back to Prague is a pretty lousy connection. There’s no direct train; we have to change in Brno.
Things To Do in Kutna Hora
Kutna Hora is a pretty small village in the Czech Republic, and there isn’t much to do. This town makes a perfect day trip from Prague. If you want to escape the hassles and bustle from the city, this is an easy trip to spend for one day.
Sedlec Ossuary Bone Church
The church is a short walk of 15 minutes from the train station — a very odd place contains the skeletons of people who form the ornaments of the chapel. In the early 15th century, a gothic church built in the middle of the cemetery, for which many graves exhibited. The bones were first stored temporarily in the basement of the new church.
The cemetery also had to be reduced, so that the exhumation continued. According to tradition, this work performed by a half-blind Cistercian monk, who systematically arranged all bones. There’s an entrance fee of 90 CZK.
Medieval Silver mine
Kutna Hora was a silver mining town in medieval times. As of today, visitors can take the underground tour of the silver mine. It may not be a cheaper thing to do, but something I would love to see while we’re there. But it was closed during our visit in March. So if you intend to visit all the sights, first check the opening hours. I presume more sites closed during the winter.
Saint Barbara's Church
With so many churches in Europe, especially in Rome, were full of them, but every church has a distinct style and history. The cathedral of St Barbara is a real gem; it took more than 500 years to finished.
The church is one of the notable buildings of Kutna Hora. It sits on a hilltop for five centuries and contemplating as an excellent sample of Bohemian Gothic architecture. The church interior has medieval frescoes, chapels, and explicit reliefs and statues.
Stroll The Historic Center Of Kutna Hora
In spite of its essential sights, the historic center of Kutna Hora is relatively small and easy to navigate on foot, unlike Prague, you barely meet anyone on the street. It abounds with numerous residential buildings.
Did you know that Kutna Hora has a low and upper town? You’re likely ascending your way up in a while. The lower part in the city is amply endowed, mainly because it was destroyed by fire on several occasions — while in the upper town is an essential expression where the St.Barbara Cathedral stood.