PRAGUE
Survival Guide
Arrival & transport
Prague airport, Ruzyne (pictured left), is 20km north-west of the centre, served by a CEDAZ bus to Dejvicka and Namesti Republiky metro stations. A taxi should cost about 500 crowns (Kc) (£12); agree a price beforehand.
The city has a three-line metro network and a plethora of trams and buses. Complicated machines offer short-hop single (14Kc; 35p) and one-ride multi-transfer (20Kc; 50p) tickets as well as passes. The centre is walkable, however.
Hotels
Although designer hotels now abound, there are still plenty of cheap options. You can book accommodation with the Prague Information Service (Old Town Hall, Staromestske namesti; +420 221 714 444; www.pis.cz) online or in person.
Hotel Yasmin (pictured second top) (Politickych veznu 12; +420 234 100 100; www.hotel-yasmin.cz), near Wenceslas Square, is the latest in the designer genre.
Grand Hotel Evropa (Vaclavske namesti 25; +420 224 228 215; www.evropahotel.cz), on Wenceslas Square, is certainly grand on the outside but modest on the inside, hence the mid-range prices for something so central. The tranquil Hotel Villa Schwaiger (Schwaigerova 3; +420 233 320 271;
www.villaschwaiger.cz) is handy for the Toyota Arena.
Eating & drinking
Czech food is traditionally heavy and unadventurous. Pork and dumplings are served at dozens of cheap neighbourhood eateries, where the kitchen tends to have closed by 9pm. Typical of the genre are U Medvidku (Na perstyne 7) and U Radnice (U Radnice 2). For a more modern take on Czech cuisine, try Celnice (V Celnici 4) or Zahrada v opere (Legerova 75).
Czech beer is cheap and arguably the best in the world. Brews such as Budweiser, Staropramen and Pilsner Urquell can be enjoyed at a traditional beerhall, such as the famous, tourist-swamped U Fleku (Kremencova 11), or at the many modern venues – Zelezne dvere (Kremencova 10) and Ultramarin (Ostrovni 32) are as good as any and livelier than most.
Daytime entertainment
The key sight is Prague Castle (middle picture), where you’ll find St Vitus Cathedral. Old Town Square is the site of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. Charles Bridge is a short walk away.
After dark
Prague is party city. Mainstay clubs Roxy (Dlouha 33) and Radost FX (Belehradska 120) face competition at the weekend from Mecca (U pruhonu) in Holesovice, Klub Lavka (Novotneho lavka 1) and Duplex (Vaclavske namesti 21).
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