Loud crowds can be experienced anywhere and cheap beer makes Prague a night life hot spot. Fortunately, Prague actually has a whole host more to offer and doesn’t let itself become overrun with stag dos and hen parties. You can easily have a wonderful time in Prague and be tee total.
The city has implemented rules to ensure everyone can have a good time. With bans on drinking in public, time limits for alcohol sales and restricted organised bar crawls the boozy side of Prague is well controlled, leaving the rest of us to enjoy everything Prague has to offer.
Prague is an amazing Czech city full of culture and history. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV had a huge impact on the city leading to its growth culturally and in wealth creating many of the landmarks which you can visit today but there a large mix of eras and styles as you wonder around these historic streets.
The good news is that there is now loads to see and do in this city. It comes with all the grandeur but as a fraction of the cost of neighbouring countries cities. There is far more here than some cheap beer.
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How Long Should You Spend In Prague?
You could tick off the main parts of Prague in a long weekend if you like long busy days. You can spend all day wandering the streets and the following day exploring the castle as a basic whistle stop tour.
When wandering through the old town consider a guided tour. Audio guides are an excellent alternative for being informative but allowing freedom of pace. Visit the St. Vitus Cathedral in the old town and watch the astronomical clock perform on the hour. Maybe treat yourself to the theatre in the evening.
On the second day allow that time to explore Prague castle and the surrounding area, of course crossing Charles Bridge.
Despite this I think it is well worth allowing another day if you can. Not only does it make it more relaxing, it gives you time to explore other attractions too.
Four Day Itinerary For Prague
There is a lot to do in the city of Prague itself, and even more so on the doorstep so four days will not allow you to do everything.
Day 1- Arriving Into Prague
Once you touch there are a few ways from the Václav Havel Airport Prague. The simplest and cheapest is to catch the Airport Express bus and it will have you in the city centre in 40 minutes. This was what I planned to get from the airport but ended up at a public transport ticket booth instead.
What I ended up getting was the normal public transport. This involves a bus to the metro station before taking the metro into the city centre. The ticket covers both modes of transport and the gentleman at the ticket kiosk explained it all really well.
You take bus 59 to Nádraží Veleslavín train station and then hop on metro line A. These were all frequent and really easy to follow. On the metro there are maps to help you find the closest stop to your hotel. If your Czech is a bit questionable, the famous landmarks have pictures to help you.
Of course as with most airports there are always the options of taxi, uber and private transfers. These will be more costly but can get you there in 30 minutes subject to traffic.
Once your in the city settle into your hotel. I really enjoyed my stay in Pytloun Old Armoury Hotel. Breakfast is amazing and served in a beautiful painted old style banquet hall and the staff are all really friendly. The hotel is ideally located by a quiet park yet five minute walk from Charles bridge where you can turn left to head into the castle district or cross the bridge to head into Prague 1 and the old town.
Day 2- Explore The City
Prague is a lovely city. Spend your first day having a wander around. You don’t need to be an architecture fanatic to appreciate all the different styles in the city. Wander around and you will see all sorts from gothic spires and renaissance extravagance to modern cubist buildings. Get yourself on a walking tour to really dive into the special nature of the city.
Personally, I love a food tour and these are great to do on day 1. Your guide will give you a walking tour between hand picked eateries. You may not tick off all the tourist hotspots with this but you get to try some good grub. Make note of the places and recommendations for the rest of your trip.
There really are loads of options to do today. Spend some time in the old town square and on the hour the astronomical clock will strike and play out its little dance. The height means that even the shortest of us can get a good look.
End the day with a cruise along the river to get an even better view of the city. Some offer sight seeing but you can also get lunch and dinner options.
Pilsners is a Prague thing and they are very proud of it. Many of the tours offer beer but I found in my food tour they were more than happy to provide wine or non alcoholic options. Other tours do come with a free beer too but in my experience places that offered beer were easy to politely decline and would have soft drinks available.
Day 3- Bohemian And Saxon Switzerland National Park
These are two national parks, one in the Czech Republic and the other in Germany and they really do form an interesting landscape. For this tour we had a high view point overlooking the river and these wonderful rock pillars known as Tisa rocks. Out in the distance it was flat despite these table top hills. I enjoyed hearing the stories that came from these forts.
We then descended down to walk across Bastei Bridge to the remains on an old fort. There are a lot of steps here and it can get icy in the winter months. When I went there was still snow in the shade beneath the rocks from the previous week.
Once we all had our fill of photographs it was time to grab some lunch at this lovely local restaurant. The food was lovely, nice and heartwarming grub to fuel us for the next bit of a hike down between the Tisa rocks.
For those who are Narnia fans, this was where parts were filmed. For those who are not it’s still a really surreal walk. You weave through these rocks, sometimes under archways.
Many of the rocks are named about what they look like. Some are spot on, others need a little more imagination. There are several which are referred to as elephants! At the end you ascend through the rocks and end up on top of the formations again where I enjoyed the sunset. Few perks of it being winter!
It was a good day out and really worth visiting. The hikes are manageable for anyone who is ok on their feet as it is a series of short walks. They are lovely parks and a lovely day out. It is a long day so pick somewhere close to your hotel for dinner and have a relax.
Day 4- Prague Castle
Definitely allow yourself a day to explore the castle and the surrounding area. From Charles bridge go through the gates and you are in the castle district. You can wander around here and explore the shops to your hearts content without a ticket.
The grounds of the castle offer some impressive views back over the city too so allow plenty of time for that perfect selfie. There are other museums up there but to get tickets into the castle it looks like you are already walking into it through a narrow part on the left. This is just a courtyard and you will see the ticket off there.
Once you’re ready to enter there are a few ticket options you can do. The basic ticket is the main circuit so this includes the Old Royal Palace, St. Georges Basilica, Golden Land and St. Vitus cathedral. You then have the options of adding on the permanent exhibitions, the picture gallery or the cathedral tower. Alternatively, you can pre buy the tickets.
Make the most of all the exhibits. I particularly liked the golden lane and if you turn left after entering you can enjoy a little cafe set in the courtyard.
It can get quite narrow and with lots of people can be quite difficult to take your time to explore the one off shops and Museum show rooms. Try not to walk back up as its essentially one way so take a systematic approach. At the end though you can explore some dungeons and enjoy imagining all the people who have annoyed you!
Once you are done stay in the castle district a little longer and walk across into the park. It’s a lovely bit of quiet with iconic views over the city. You can even climb up the Petřín Tower for even more unforgettable views from over the trees and back into the castle and cathedral. Carry on with the park until you reach some old walls and that’s a good view too.
Wander back through the trees and you will pass some witches cavern and eventually end up back towards the river. This makes a lovely evening stroll on any day too. There is also another section of park on the other side should you fancy another stroll with a different view point.
Day 5- Departure
Finish up with some last minute sightseeing and grab some souvenirs if you haven’t already and retrace your steps in reverse to get back to the airport.
For me that was to hop on the metro and then only the bus. This worked so well that I really did just hop off one and straight onto the bus. The only slightly confusing part is that there are two terminals which are two separate bus stops for Prague airport and it does not clearly state which one your flight is from.
The first stop is for terminal 2. If you are travelling between the Schengen Area. This covers 29 members of the European Union. Not all European countries, even if they are a EU member are part of this so make sure to check. Everyone else will fly from Terminal 1. This is the last stop on the bus. This includes flights to the UK. If you do get off at the wrong stop the buses are frequent enough that it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Prague has a slightly unusual airport in that you have lots of smaller airport security instead of a main one prior to the departure gates. You can still buy everything you would expect from duty free but it will just be put in a tamper proof bag to get it through security. Although the security queue was smaller this way there was still a long queue to get into this area.
What To Do With Longer In Prague?
Lucky for you there is still plenty of things to keep you busy in Prague. Whether you take a longer day relaxing or seek out some other attractions.
Museums
Prague has lots of interesting Museum to keep your brain occupied. The National Museum stands tall above the shops with its grande facade. Or perhaps art is more your scene and you rather check out the Illusion Art Museum. Book worms would love the Franz Kafka Museum (you can also buy copies of his book from the house he wrote them in whilst in the Golden Lane, Prague Castle) or keep the history buff entertained with the Communism Museum. Make sure to get a glimpse of the communist baby statue outside regardless. If museums bore you then consider something a bit quirky and embrace the giggles at the Sex Machine Museum.
Visit Kutna Hora And The Bone Chapel
Head into the heart of Bohemia and visit Kutna Hora. This is an incredible town if filled with beautiful historic buildings and a majestic cathedral (St Barbara’s Cathedral). Explore these lovely streets and explore inside the UNESCO world heritage site of Sedlec Ossuary which is known as the Bone Chapel as it really is decorated with human bones.
You can choose to do this trip either with a tour or it is easily to get the train too. Some of the guided trips actually get you there via the train, others are coaches so check which tour you book.
Getting a tour is awesome for learning all about the place but if you want to spend more time exploring the town then getting there on your own steam allows for more freedom. You can always get an audio guide or do a bit of prior reading. It’s not the same but does help give you more appreciation of a place.
Tips For Visiting Prague
The good news is that Prague is a super tourist friendly. This makes it relatively easy to get around and work out most things but to make life even easier and to give you ideas.
Try The Dumplings
Traditional Czech dumplings come in two forms. The bread dumpling and the potato dumpling. Usually these are made in a loaf or sausage shape and cut up to mop up your sauces. Goulash is a good one here. You don’t need a lot of them to be filling as they are quite dense especially the potato versions.
If you don’t feel like sitting down to try them as part of a meal then there are a few places which have got creative with the recipe. You can buy spherical dumplings to eat on the go with both sweet and savoury fillings. These balls are not small either so can be quite filling. Two was more than enough for me.
Avoid All You Can Drink Beer Restaurants
Many tour companies sell medival dinners with unlimited drinks. But fear not these aren’t the only places to dine in history. For traditional Czech meals in a medieval styled banquet hall head to U Fleků. They do come round and offer beer but they are more than accepting of non alcoholic choices. Avoid the gimmicks and enjoy real food.
Carry Small Change For The Bathrooms
Many places in Prague charge for the use of the bathroom and people will be stood at the door to collect change. It’s not much but for someone who doesn’t carry change it can be a problem. I have even seen this even within the castle and in cafes. Always worth keeping some extra change with you so you aren’t caught up when you really need to go.
Avoid Staying Near Nightclubs
A quick google map search of nightclubs will show you where to avoid if you enjoy your sleep. There is literally a nightclub right by Charles Bridge and that vibe follows some streets south of here too. There are also some venues in the old town too.
Some fancy hotels can be right in the thick of it so make sure if you are booking here to check out the reviews. An honest review should let you know whether the soundproofing is up to scratch in that hotel or if there is a nightclub right on the doorstep.
Conclusion
Just because Prague has cheap beer doesn’t mean it’s allowed this disrespectful tourists to taint its beautiful city. Prague is proud of its beer but manages it well and although you may encounter the odd lads holiday in the evening it really can be enjoyed within the need to drink or explore the nightlife. There is such a rich history to this city and its grandeur is demonstrated all around. Get yourself seeing the sights, visiting the museum and making the most of this wonderful place. Happy Holidays.
