Visiting Prague in 2023

The city of hundred towers. The city of old myths and legends. The place where you can buy the cheapest and the best beer. And also, the capital of Czech republic. Here are some tips and useful information for those visiting Prague, coming from a local. 

P.S: There is a lot of info and I currently don´t have that much time, but I will do my best to add information gradually and as often as possible. Thank you for understanding!  <3

Transportation- how to get around Prague in 2023

Walking, bikes, Segway or scooters

Compared to other European cities, Prague is very small. Therefore, walking is really good option here- trust me, if you want to stay just around the old town and city centre, you can definitely and comfortably just walk. plus it's a great way how to discover some hidden gems you wouldn´t be able to see from a car or a train. Also, you don´t have to worry about finding a parking space (moreover paying for it) or space for a bike. And it is free. Therefore, I think I would recommend this as the best option.

Bikes and scooters- this is another great way how to get around Prague, while enjoying the fresh air and the scenery. However, I have to warn you, Prague has lot of hills, so unless you have an electric bike, the nice ride might turn into an intense workout. 

Segway- This option I ´ve tried just once hence don´t have that many experiences with it. However it definitely seems like super cool option of getting around here- I mean you can enjoy the scenery, you don´t waste that much time walking from one place to another and you don´t have to do any physical activity like on a bike. Moreover, there are many interesting tours with Segway, that include the visit of some famous places and sometimes even a lunch and taxi. For this, I would definitely recommend the website GetYourGuide, where could be found many other interesting tour options.

Of course, riding bike, scooter or Segway comes with some risks and limitations. If you have electric bike, scooter or Segway, you probably won´t be allowed to ride on a sidewalk- you will have to ride on the street and that comes with its own risks- in addition to that, the traffic in the centre is usually quite heavy. Lastly, it will cost some money. In my opinion, for the Segway it is worthy paying, since you have a tour guide included, but I probably wouldn´t recommend the bikes or the scooters. 

Public transport

Even though walking is a really good option, the weather might get bad, or you are in a hurry and so the best option might be public transport. And even though I am a big fan of walking, riding public transport while visiting a foreign city is a must, since it's a whole experience itself.

in Prague we have three mostly used types of public transport- buses, trams and metro (underground). Out of these three I personally mostly use the metro, because it´s the quickest (no traffic jams underground :) ). Moreover, it's really easy to orientate (definitely easier than in London or Paris hahah)- we have only three lines A (green), B (yellow) and C (red), and during the day on the weekdays the metro comes every 2-3 mins (on the weekends and at night every 5-10 mins). Here is a map:

Most popular metro stations:

Anděl- Shopping centre, shops, bus and tram stations, lot of people

Můstek- this is basically in the centre- on Vencezslav square+ you can walk to the oldtown square from here as well. !!! Just warning- if you are getting off from the line B, you have to take the long escalators at the end of the station (not the smaller stairs in the middle- those lead to the C line)

All the station around Můstek are in centre as well (Národní třída, Muzeum, Náměstí republiky, Staroměstská)

Hradčanská- The easiest way to get to the Prague castle

But of course, since it's only three lines, you cannot get everywhere with this, and for this reason we also have tram and bus lines. timetables for these depend on each line+ these aren´t as reliable as metro and can get delayed sometimes. Here is a map of tram lines:

Tickets and fares

Most of the ticket can be bought both online or there are definitely tickets automats on every metro station. You can buy tickets for either 30 mins (30 CZK = 1.23 EUR = 1.31 USD), 90 mins (40 CZK = 1.64 EUR = 1.75 USD),  24 hours (120 CZK = 4.92 EUR = 5.24 USD) or 72 hours (330 CZK = 13.53 EUR = 14.42 USD). These tickets are valid and can be used for every type of public transport (except the Petřín funicular) and children under 15 yo travel for free, elderly people and students pay less. For more info I would definitely recommend visiting the official pages- Prague Integrated Transport and Prague Public Transit Company. Both of these websites also shows all the timetables, or you can search for connections and plan your journey.

Other options

of course there are the normal possibilities, such as getting a taxi or renting a car. You can do both straight at the airport, even though there are car rentals in the city as well, that might be a bit cheaper. or of course, as we are in the 21st century, you could book a car online. For this I would definitely recommend using website Discover Cars - I find their prices really good and they have a nice variety of cars.  Another cheaper option is to book an Uber.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if it's a nice weather, I would definitely recommend walking, combined with the public transport. It's free (or at least cheaper than taxis), you have time to enjoy everything you see around and you may even find some hidden gems.