Prague has been one of those must see cities on my travel bucket list for a while and ever since fellow blogger and Czech pal, Tereza, moved back home from Birmingham to the Czech Republic last year, we’ve been planning a visit to see her and the beautiful city of red tiled roofs.  With a rich history and beautiful buildings, Prague is one of those postcard pretty cities where it’s impossible to snap a bad photo and you’re sure to stumble upon somewhere stunning around every corner.

Although Prague is up there with Amsterdam as one of the number one spots for a wild stag weekend (due to its incredibly cheap booze and metropolitan feel) we wanted to discover the Prague away from the main tourist squares and get a feel for the hidden and not so hidden “first time visitor in Prague” sights.

When looking at dates for our trip, we found the cheapest time to visit Prague (for both flights and accommodation) was early September and then onwards into the colder winter months.   There is a price hike in December when tourists seeking out baubles and warm wine descend on the city for the Christmas markets which I’d love to fly back out for, albeit wrapped in my winter warmers as I’ve heard that when Prague is cold, its super cold.

Our Clickstay Apartment in Prague:

As Tereza was going to be our local tour guide for the weekend, we wanted to stay somewhere in close proximity to her apartment and spent hours pouring over Airbnb looking for the perfect place to stay within our budget.  After finding what seemed like the perfect place, unfortunately the owner cancelled our stay just a couple of weeks before we were due to travel and so were left without accommodation for our time in Prague.  Not ideal but is the risk you take when booking through a holiday rental website.  Clickstay is very much like Airbnb in that you can rent apartments and villas worldwide that are often ideally situated within a city centre or are unique buildings that give you thr opportunity to live like a local with a little more space than a hotel room.  They’re often kinder on your budget because you aren’t paying for a maid service during your stay or any fancy hotel bells and whistles.  You also get the added bonus of saving money by being able to eat in your apartment rather than go out every evening.

Checking into our apartment was easy.  We were emailed an access code for the building we were to stay in and the key was waiting for us in a locked box once inside.  Up a couple of flights of stairs, we were surprised at just how spacious the apartment was.  With two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen, the apartment is intended to sleep up to 8 people (so works out a bargain if there’s a group of you) and so was plenty big enough for the three of us.  The kitchen was equipped with everything you’d need if you wanted to enjoy breakfast “at home”.

Our Clickstay apartment was in New Town on Na Zaborenci, within walking distance of our friend Tereza’s apartment and ideally located to everything you could need during your stay including bars, shops and restaurants.  There’s public transport stops just a short walk away if like us you’d hit your walking limit for the day and wanted to hop on one of the reasonably priced trams to go a little further afield but for the most part, our apartment was located well enough that we could have walked most places.

How to get to Prague Centre:

We flew to Prague with Easyjet from Manchester Airport (MAN) with return flights coming out around £60-£90 in September with hand luggage only.  For a 3 night stay, a cabin bag is plenty for the essentials and I still somehow manage to overpack.

The cheapest way to get to the city centre from the airport is public transport.  There’s no direct metro or bus link and so it’s a hop on the bus, hop off and jump on the metro kinda deal.  Bus tickets are available outside the airport and cost 32CZK (or £1.10ish) for a 90 minute journey which includes both the bus and metro.

Take the 119 bus from outside the airport until the last stop Nadrazi Veleslavin where you can transfer to Metro Line A.  The bus station is directly outside the metro station so it’s super easy to find your way.  Make sure you keep hold of that travel ticket!

Once on the metro, you want to get off at Malostranska if travelling to Male Strana (Lesser Town), Staromestska if going to the Old Town or Mustek or Museum if going to Wenceslas Square.  From there I’m a fan of good old Google mapping my hotel/accommodation but make sure you’ve sorted your internet data so you don’t have any nasty surprises when you’re back in the UK.

Getting Around Prague

As with most European cities, Prague is quite compact and the majority of the spots you’ll want to see are accessible on foot.  I’ve always found that the best way to get your bearings in a new city is just walk, get lost (if needs be) and only refer to Google maps if you really really need it.  It’s the easiest way to become familiar and means that you’ll often stumble on some beautiful sights or places to eat without feeling like you’re restricted to a set route.

Public transport in Prague is the easiest way to get around, other than on foot.  It’s regular and in comparison to transport prices in the UK, it’s pretty damn cheap.  You can even pay for your tram journey via text.  Hello 21st Century.  Prices are 32CZK for 90 minutes for hop on, hop off public transport (around £1.10) or if you want the ease of a travel card, 72 hours is 310CZK (£11ish).

Two key tramlines when travelling around the city are…

No 22 The classic tram line that climbs to Prague Castle from Malá Strana, though you can board it in Vinohrady, at Národní třídá, or Národní Divadlo (National Theatre) too.

No 9 One of the busiest cross-city trams that links Žižkov (the main train station) Wenceslas Square, the National Theatre and Smíchov. You can transfer to line No 22 (see above) at Národní třídá, Národní Divadlo or Újezd.

Euros or Czech Crowns?

If you were thinking of taking euros to Prague, then you’re not alone.  Although some hotels, shops and restaurants will accept Euros, many places only take Czech Crowns and prices tend to be inflated if you’re paying in Euros over CZK.

The exchange rate for GBP to Czech Crowns is usually better in Prague than at home but only if you withdraw Czech Crowns from a bank’s cash machine (ATM) in Prague.When offered the the option to pay using ‘home currency’ always select ‘local currency’, that means you’re offered the best rate and not the Dynamic Currency Conversion – which is a fancy word for “you’re being ripped off”.