Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. Lying at the heart of Europe not in East and not in Rushia like I have been told many times. The city has a rich architectural heritage. One or two days are just not enough to see it all but, if you are on a tight schedule, you can see a lot in one day. I will plan you a step by step plan, where you can see as much as possible on the side of river where Prague castle is.
In this post I will cover:
Where to start?
Let’s say, you have many Hilton points and you are looking at a quick getaway. Prague or the Czech Republic is the best place to visit. Book a couple of nights and enjoy the beauty! This particular hotel is right in the heart of Prague and close to everywhere. There are many hotels to choose from and I am using this one as an example. This part of Prague is for me like central to everywhere and I know this area very well as I always travel home from the nearby train station. Get very comfy shoes and let’s start a day…
Let’s get comfy shoes, and start your day…
How to use public transportation in Prague
Grab a good breakfast, and walk out for the first experience of the day! Traveling by Tram!!! Make sure you bought yourself a ticket. You can buy multiple tickets at one time, and stamp as you need or just buy one at a time.
Which ticket to choose from?
- “one-way ticket” for 30 min which cost 24CZK ($1), you cannot transfer between trams, metro or bus
- “one-way ticket” for 90 min which costs 32CZK ($1.50), you can transfer to any transportation, even use it as a ticket for Petrin Tower lift.
- 24-hour tickets which costs 110CZK ($6)
- 72-hour ticket which costs 310CZK ($14)
“don’t forget to stamp your ticket” Put your ticket away and do not lose it. Mark your ticket only once, even if you transfer between trains and underground. (with the right ticket). Be ready to show your “stamped” ticket if asked. The control person randomly travels on trains, metro, or buses and will ask you for a ticket to show. It is not fun to get fined! Trust me on this.
Let’s go towards Prague Castle:
Take tram number 15 towards KOTLARKA station and you will go to MALOSTRANSKA station where you will exit (5th station)!!!! If you go towards Olšanské hřbitovy, you will go the opposite way. The tram station is right in front of the hotel. Right next to a big train station. (Masarikovo nadrazi). The tram will be leaving right infront of your hotel, that’s the direction, you want to go.
At MALOSTRANSKA station, switch to tram #22 and go towards Vypich ( up the hill) and you will get off on the second stop called Prazsky hard ( Prague Castle)
Prague Castle
Cross the road and walk towards the main entrance of Prague castle. I would recommend buying yourself an audio tour. Pick a tour B. There is plenty to see in my opinion. You will hit all the main buildings inside of Prague Castle. The main attraction is st. Vitus Cathedral. Don’t forget to buy a photography permit. That way you can take pictures inside of buildings. If you want to see it all do tour A. Be prepared to spend all day at Prague Castle. lol
Where to buy your tickets?
Here is a link, where you can read about Prague Castle, tickets and such. You can buy tickets right there in the first courtyard. If you buy from agents and people outside of the castle’s official shop, you might be paying extra fees and such. Sadly, some people take advantage of tourists who don’t know much. I would recommend getting tickets to the Great South Tower of the Cathedral. The view is breathtaking!
What can you excplore at Prague Castle?
Your tour starts at st. Vitus Cathedral and will walk you towards the Castle steps. The view from the steps is breathtaking. All the rooftops as far as you can see. Walk the steps down and end up back at MALOSTRANSKA tram station where you started.
These are the buildings you will tour – ” VIII – St. Vitus Cathedral, I – Old Royal Palace, III – St. George‘s Basilica, V – Golden Lane”, if you buy Tour B as you walk towards Prague steps. Don’t forget about “Great South Tower of the Cathedral with a View Gallery”.
From Prague Castle towards Charles Bridge
You have a couple of options, walk more and see more things, or take a tram and be done…
Let’s walk… Walking from the MALOSTRANSKA station towards Charles Bridge is a “short” and nice walk, it will be probably lunchtime…. If you are hungry, stop and find any restaurant which feels lovely to you. ” Vojanuv Dvur” sounds good and has good reviews. “Kampa Park” is a cute area to sit down and rest as well.
1 – Piss Sculpture
An outdoor sculpture and fountain by Czech artist David Černý, installed outside of the Franz Kafka Museum. The fountain’s basin is made of bronze and shaped like the Czech Republic. Mechanical statues of men are standing in the fountain, opposite one another, with bronze penises, urinating. Visitors can command the men to write messages into the water via text. Read more – Wikipedia
2 – If you know anything about the writer Franz Kafka, feel free to visit his museum here as well.
3 – The Narrowest street in Prague
A street is so narrow that it’s impossible for two people to get past each other no matter how hard they try. The street named Vinarna Certovka is actually a 50-centimeter wide passage, that runs for a length of about 10 meters between several houses. Info and picture credit.
4 – The Lesser Town tower
Charles Bridge is on both sides ended with bridge towers. On the western side of the Lesser Town bank stand the Lesser Town Bridge Tower and you can walk right towards Charles bridge from here and on the other end of Charles bridge is the second tower – The Old Town Bridge Tower
5 – Lennon Wall
Is located in a small and secluded square across from the French Embassy. The wall had been decorated with love poems and short messages against the regime since the 1960s. Info from Wikipedia
Now, off to Charles bridge
If you have seen pictures of Prague, Czech Republic you have seen the famous Charles bridge.
An old tale says, that when they were building this bridge, fresh eggs were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge to make it stronger. Is it true? Nobody knows, but it did survive so many bad floods and high waters.
Getting back where we started
The night or evening is approaching fast at this point. You are probably tired by now. We can stop here and continue the next day for more places to visit when you get a good night’s sleep. You have 4 different ways how to get back to the hotel:
1 – walk for about a mile, but you might get distracted by a beauty around you 🙂 and I have another post for a walk in this area hitting all important and interesting sights here.
2 – Cross Charles Bridge back to Lesser town, from where you came, and grab a tram #15 at Malostranské náměstí station and go towards Olšanské hřbitovy. You exit on the fifth station called Masarykovo nádraží, where you started your journey in the morning.
the directions on the map for #3 and #4 are a little bit more difficult and you will have to transfer from one tram to another. If you stamped in the morning “one-way” ticket you have to get a new one, If you got a 24hour one no need to stamp anymore, just make sure you didn’t lose it.
Continue reading more about Prague, Czech Republic
If you wonder what can you see after Charles Bridge? I wrote a perfect step-by-step day trip about Clementinum, Jewish quoters, Old Town, and many more places. You can read my post here.
Easy day trips in Czech Republic
Are you planing trip to Czech Republic? Are you a bit overwhelm what place to go visit and see? I know there is so much to see and not just in Prague! The whole country is full of beautiful Gems. Here are couple of my blog posts to help you plan some day trips.
- Romantic day trip to Prague – On this Day Trip, I follow the previous post but move to the Old town square and areas around.
- Lovely day trip – Kutna Hora – Kutna Hora is a favorite place for tourists to visit. You should definitely put it on your bucket list.
- Sedlec Ossuary – Kutna Hora – Kutna Hora is a UNESCO city famous for sights such as St. Barbara Church or Sedlec Ossuary, alias Bone Church and much more.
- Celiac? Traveling to the Czech Republic? – When you are traveling to the Czech Republic, here are helpful tips on letting people you are Gluten-Free, where to eat, and shop.
and there you have it….Enjoy the city and whole country!!!!
Until next time…!
DOBROU CHUT!
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