Prague...

[Renoah]

What is there to do? Any good and cheap hotels anyone can recommend? Any vital information i need to know before traveling to Czech Republic from UK? Thank you!

[Buenchico]

For cheap hotels (with customer ratings and reviews) try this website:
http://www.hostelworld.com/
(Don't be put off by the word 'hostel' in that URL. Use the 'Additional search options' to select 'Guesthouses' and 'Budget hotels').

For loads of info about Prague, see here:
http://www.pragueexperience.com/

To see which airlines fly to Prague, and from which airports, see here:
http://www.pragueairport.co.uk/airlines-airpor t.htm

For information about transport links from Prague Airport, see here:
http://www.pragueairport.co.uk/

Chris

[dot.hawkes]

I have let two of my staff have this coming weekend off to go to prague on a short 3 day break, they have bought more woolie hats and thermal gloves than anything and they are taking thick walking boots cos it is -3 in the day and they will be doing alot of ambling from market to market apparently,

[Renoah]

thank you. we're all going in April so it should hopefully be a bit warmer by then. we've already got our flights booked, but thank you for everything guys. x

[dawndevil]

Enjoy the cheap large beers! visit the tourist information and have good walking shoes! we walked everywhere there are trams though stayed at the best western City Hotel Moran once you have seen all the main sites in prague take a trip to Kutna Hora, have recommended it to many people we booked through our hotel you are away most of the day, you visit the little town of Sedlec and visit the small ossuary decorated with hundreds of human bones you really have to see it to believe it! then visit st barbaras cathedral and a walking tour of the town stopping at the italian court (royal mint)
www.sacred-destinations.com/czech-republic/sedlec-ossuary-kutna-hora.htm
google any of the names of the places to see photos

[Eve]

Some more ideas here inc a link to one of my favourite restaurants ever...

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Destinat ions/Question610481.html

[Diane1954]

if you are offered grandmas traditional pudding say no thank you. It is disgusting. Suet pastry with jam scraped on folded into little parcels and steamed for a few minutes.Slimy
We stayed at Elysee hotel in Wenceslas Square.when we got there we wondered what on earth we'd done.It was just a door off a shopping arcade but once we got upstairs it was beautiful and we really enjoyed it. They arranged for a taxi to collect us at the airport and we had a lovely driver who showed us lots of things to see.
Shops include C&A,McDonalds,KFC etc.Lots of Czech shops but few assistants spoke English
Czech for hello is ahoy

[Narolines]

I lived & worked in Prague on & off for several years; what there is to do depends really on what you're interested in & what you like doing! If you can give me an idea of the things you emjoy I can probably help.

Dawndevil, you are right that some of the excursions out of Prague are interesting, but you would need a long time to see the main sites, as you put it, in the city. I reckon it took me the best part of 6 months of spare time to really cover everything the city has to offer. If you do go for an excursion, I'd recommend Cesky Krumlov for a full day out. Karlstejn is quite interesting but a bit commercialised. Kutna Hora is an interesting place to visit, but if you go there try to go on a small mini-bus trip rather than a full-sized coachload - you'll get much more out of your guide.

[Narolines]

Oh - on the hotel front, really cheap hotels are a thing of the past in the city centre. Again, if you can give me an idea of the kind of area you'd be happy to saty in I might have some suggestions. Bear in mind that Prague isn't a huge city in terms of area, and public transport is easy, quick and cheap.

[Renoah]

oo erm. well i like live music. obviously i dont want to go to prague to watch an english band. but maybe an area where theres some nice bars with live music? im an art student, so if theres sort of an artist area, quirky shops, small galleries etc? you know like the jordaan type area of amsterdam? something like that...

tell me all. ive got 4 days there. i really want to find some secret places away from the tourist attractions..

obviously when i know what sort of "district" id most likely to hang around in, i can work out a hotel from that i guess... thank you. x

[Narolines]

If you're an art student I can't think of many better places to go than Prague; you're surrounded by Secessionist & Cubist influences everywhere you go! In your shoes I'd probably look at Zizkov or Vinohrady (they're next to each other, near to the main railway station). Zizkov is traditionally the Bohemian quarter of Prague and has plenty of bars with live music. Unfortunately - like most Bohemian quarters - it also has a few, shall we say "questionable" premises, but they're generally easy to spot and avoid. I've stayed at the Olsanka before now - it's actually a few minutes out from Zizkov (funnily enough, in the district of Olsanka!) but there's a tramstop right outside and it's easy to get to & from. It's one of those huge monolithic Soviet-built places, but don't let that put you off; it's very reasonably priced, the rooms are clean & comfortable, and the service is quite good. Breakfast is a bit institutional - an enormous refectory with a big buffet - but filling, if not exactly haute cuisine! Closer in to town, in Zizkov, you might try the Ariston, though I believe it's not as cheap as it used to be.

Other live music venues (depending on the type of music you're looking for, of course!) include the Salmovska near to Charles Square, the Bordo in Vinohradska (walking distance from the Ariston!) and the Rock Cafe quite near to the National Theatre.

There are SO many galleries - fine arts, applied arts, Cubist, Secesssionst, you name it - that you could spend every day for a month doing two a day and still not cover them all. You really should go the the Modern Art Museum - but it's HUGE, so allow plenty of time!
(Continued below)

[Narolines]

As soon as you get there find a copy of the Prague Post; it's an English-language newspaper on sale at all the kiosks, and carries comprehensive listings of exhibitions, concerts, live music etc etc. There are certainly plenty of quirky shops, but they tend to be a bit spread rather than in a specific area; for that kind of thing I'd probably recommend Mala Strana, the area across the river at the foot of the castle. You can't go to Prague and not walk across the Charles Bridge, and that will take you straight into Mala Strana. Enjoy my favourite city!

[Narolines]

Just one final thing - I had a flat in Zizkov for a time, and although it's in many ways the Prague equivalent of London's Soho I always felt perfectly safe, even waiting for a tram at 2am, never had anything stolen (though of course you need to be as sensible with your possessions in Prague as anywhere else) and never got ripped off or had anything less than a friendly reception in any of the bars and restaurants I used.

[Narolines]

Actually, another final final thing! Depending on how basic you want your accommodation to be, near to Dejvicka Metro terminus (which incidentally is where the 117 bus from the airport will drop you if that's the way you come into town) there's a cheap hostel-***-hotel called the Denisa; I stayed there once and it was OK; quite big rooms, but you have to go down and collect your breakfast from a hatch and take it up to your room. It's actually a sort of semi-converted block of flats. If you just want somewhere to lay your head it's OK for a few days. Only snag is there aren't many places to eat locally and it's out on the edge of town. Having said that, if you buy a 5-day ticket from the ticket office in the airport concourse when you arrive, you've got the choice of Metro or three or four tram routes into the centre; roughky 20 minutes.

[Narolines]

Ah - AB's "taste filter" at it again. OK, let's try "hostel/hotel". I wonder how you get on if you live in Chorlton-***-Hardy....?

[Renoah]

oh wow. thats literally amazing, thank you so much for those posts. i cant wait to get there now, should be amazing.. ill let you know how i get on! haha... thank you...! xx

[Eve]

It is a gorgeous place!

I stayed here...

http://www.987hotels.com/en/prague/

It's a gorgeous hotel with the comfiest beds ever and good breakfast buffet.

We got a good deal on the net and there was a great late night (12pm) bistro and cafe and pizza place, all at cheaper more local prices, on the street leading from it down to Wenceslas Square and the post office and a little convenience store.

There's a tram stop nearby but we walked everywhere, only used an airport bus to and from the airport.

We found a thai massage place while we were there and went for some pampering (well, I did, the ex had the more brutal full thai version!). So good we went back twice.

This restaurant is a must at night for a dinner overlooking the Charles bridge all lit up...

http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?Pla ceID=788

There is a big Tesco's if you wanted to go and pick up some stuff for the hotel to save some money.

[Elrick]

I stayed at the Maximillian Hotel in Prague. Look it up in web. I would highly recommend it and location is good. Short walk to main square and not in a noisy location, which Wenceslas Square is! Do not change money at Exchange booths as you will be ripped off! Hotels will give you better rate which is different from other places I know. Beware of pickpockets. One of my group had bag picked in Golden Row up at the castle. Backpack of course! I keep telling people not to use backpacks with a purse in - it's only an enticement! Enjoy.

[Diane1954]

yes I found it weird.When I asked where to get a bus/tram to the Castle I was told the stop was outside Tesco!!!! and it was.

[mayankgates]

This website has cheap rates than many other websites
http://www.easydestination.net/hotel_booking.h tml