Prague (Praha) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic and the historical capital of *Bohemia. Prague was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the main residence of several Holy Roman Emperors. It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Main attractions include Prague Castle (map), Charles Bridge (Karlův most, map), *Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí, map) with the *Prague astronomical clock (Pražský orloj, map), the Jewish Quarter (Josefov, map), *Petřín hill (map) and Vyšehrad (map).
+ Больше информации > Wikipedia • Wikivoyage • UNESCO
+ TOURIST INFORMATION > Czech Republic
In 2017 Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome and Istanbul.
Prague is divided into ten numbered districts (Praha 1 through to Praha 10). Praha 1 (map) is the oldest part of the city, the original ‘Town of Prague’, and has by far the most attractions.
Buildings in big cities in the Czech Republic have two numbers, one blue and one red. The blue ones are the orientation numbers – it is the ordinal number of the building on its street. The red numbers are related to the house register of the entire quarter (for example, Staré Město). Most people do not remember them; if somebody says, e.g., the house is in Dlouha str. number 8, they will usually mean the blue number.
The city has many world-class museums, including the National Museum (Národní muzeum, map), the Museum of the Capital City of Prague (map), the Alfons Mucha Museum (map). The Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (map), the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (map), the Josef Sudek Gallery (map) and The Josef Sudek Studio (map). The National Library (map) and the National Gallery (map), which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic.
In Malá Strana (map), Staré Město (map) there are hundreds of restaurants, bars and pubs, especially with *Czech beer.
! Taxi drivers of Prague are a major “image issue”. The risk of overcharging is greatly overplayed, however especially non-Czech speaking customers are often ripped off due in various ways.
ROPID (Prague Integrated Transport) + FOR TOURISTS
Public transport buses do not enter the historic districts (Old Town, New Town, Lower Town, etc.) to prevent air and noise pollution. One must transfer to a cleaner and quieter electric-powered tram or a metro before reaching historic areas.
All services (metro, tramways, city buses, funiculars and ferries) have a common ticketing system that operates on a proof-of-payment system. Short-term tourist passes are available for periods of 24 hours or 3 days, longer-term tickets can be bought on the smart ticketing system Lítačka card.
+ Transport (praha.eu) • Public Transport (prague.eu)
BUS > –
RAIL > Czech Railways (*Rail travel in the Czech Republic). The train line from Berlin to Prague passes through Saxon Switzerland, and for a couple of hours the passengers are treated to a series of beautiful alpine river valleys, surrounded by rocky escarpments and mountains. If going from Berlin, try to sit on the left side of the train. LEO Express • RegioJet. (*Rail travel in the Czech Republic)
AIRPORTS > Václav Havel Airport Prague (20 km (12 mi) north-west of the city centre). Public buses offer connections to several metro stations, from which you can travel to the city center in a total travel time of 45 minutes.
WATERWAYS > There also few small passenger ferries across the river, integrated with the Prague’s public transport tariff. Some of them are even free. Korn Ferry • River Boats Prague