Thursday, November 2, 2017

Prague - Useful info

 Hi guys, welcome to my next set of interesting and hopefully useful facts about Prague. I will do my best to describe the basics about how to get to, get around the city and generally what one should know before visiting. 


Getting to Prague
There are generally four ways you can get to Prague. 
Firstly, you can obviously drive there. Even though you will hear a lot of complains from the Czech people on the shape of the country's highways, there is quite a reliable and pleasant system of long distance highways that connect Prague not only to other major cities in the Czech republic, but also to the nearest cities across the border, Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava, Munich and in extension basically the rest of central Europe. 




If you choose to arrive at Prague by plane, you will end up at the Vaclav Havel International Airport. The two departure terminals are serving flights to many major cities around the world, with Terminal 2 for Shengen Area flights and Terminal 1 for the rest. If you are leaving Prague by plane, be sure to depart the city center at least 3 hours before the scheduled departure for the traffic can slow your transport. Also note that the security check at the Terminal 1 takes place after the Passport control directly at each gate, so, be there a little earlier. 
Getting to and from the airport is fairly simple. Buses Nr. 119 depart from the metro line A station Nádraží Veleslavín and take about 15 minutes, while buses Nr. 100 depart from B line station Zličín and take about 18 minutes. Both buses are in the standard fare for municipal public transportation (so you can freely change from metro, tram or other bus without the need to buy any other ticket). You can buy the ticket from the driver or in ticket machines at every bigger metro or tram station and also directly at the airport. 
You can also take the Airport Express bus going directly from the main railway station. This costs 60 CZK and takes about 35 minutes. From the main Bus station, you can take a bus of the Regiojet company. These also cost 60 CZK and take about 40 minutes. 




If you decide to arrive by train, you will most likely end up at the Prague main railway station. (Praha hlavní nádraží). International trains connect the city with most cities in the central Europe, but you can also find direct EC and EN trains to Amsterdam, Zurich, Kiev or as far as Moscow. The station is situated directly at the C metro line station Hlavní nádraží. It is also in the walking distance to the city center. 




Buses will most likely drop you off at the central bus station Florenc. This one is also situated directly at a metro station, in this case transfer station between the C and B line Florenc. There are frequent bus lines to all near cities and many long distance routes around the whole of Europe. 

Getting around


bus / tram station


The public transportation in Prague is extensive, quite cheap and mostly reliable. 
There are 3 metro lines (green A, yellow B and red C). Bigger part of the city center is serviced by a large tram network. At the suburbs and further parts of the city, you need to take a bus, but don't worry, they depart quite often and it is generally very easy to get from point A to B. 


newer trams


Metro, tram and bus network is further supported by several routes of the urban railway called eSko.
You can find any routes at the address www.idos.cz or with the iOS and Android app IDOS. 


one of the older T3 trams



Standard fare costs 32 CZK for 1,5 hour, 110 CZK for 24 hours or 310 CZK for 62 hours. (The countdown always starts at the moment you mark the ticket in the bus or at the metro station). 


eSko trains


More basics
The language generally spoken in Prague is Czech, but you will be quite ok with your English. Most signs are at least bilingual and most of the people in the city center speak it at least to some extend. Do not expect the same from cashiers at the supermarkets though, they are underpaid and do not generally feel the need to learn or attempt to understand you. But near the center you should be fine.

The currency in the Czech republic is Czech Crown / Koruna (CZK), you can exchange around 25 - 26 crowns for one euro. The best way to get your money is withdrawal from the ATM, there are some decent cash vendors, but many of them are a well known tourist traps, especially near the tourist centers, so be careful. Trying to exchange in a bank is also a plausible possibility. 
Even though you can pay by Euro in most restaurants, pubs or shops, this is not generally recommended since the exchange rate is very unfavorable. 

One last point - you can choose to get around the city by a taxi. You may have heard it though (and it is unfortunatelly true) many of the taxi drivers in Prague will give you an outrageous price for your drive, especially if you catch them on the street or at the airport. So always try to order one by phone or let your hotel do it, it can save you a lot of money. 
Alternatively, you can of course use Uber


Did you find this article helpful? Would you like more? Then don't forget to subscribe and follow me and let me know your opinions and wishes for the future articles in the comments bellow. 

Stay tuned for the next post where you will find out what do to in Prague for free.  :)

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