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HRADCANY CASTLE
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"It is the number one attraction in Prague. It is
smaller than other tourist attractions and therefore, it gets very crowded.
The secret is to visit before the other tourists arrive. Although the museums,
cathedral, and other sites open at 9 or 10 o'clock, the castle itself opens
at 6 am. So if you arrive by 8, you should have enough time to see and
photograph the outside of the Sv. Vit (St. Guy) Cathedral, Sv. Jiri (St.
George) statue, Zlata Ulicka (Golden Lane), etc. Be ready to enter Sv.
Vit at 8:50, since about a dozen 30-member guided tourist groups will arrive
5 minutes before the 9 o'clock opening. Do likewise for the museums that
open at 10."
"The view from the top of the cathedral is worth the climb. However do not go up if you are unfit or suffer from claustrophobia. It's a single spiral staircase maybe 10 feet across with people going up and down simultaneously. It gets very hot in there and if you get stuck behind a slow climber (i.e. always), then it will take about 20 minutes to get up there."
"If you find yourself on the tram 22 labouring up the hill towards the Castle (hold onto your possessions like mad), do not disembark with the
bulk of the visitors at the Castle stop. Instead, travel another TWO stops - to Pohorelec. Then walk back, downhill, to the Castle. Explore the side streets there. They offer some of the most stunning vistas of Prague."
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JOSEFOV
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"The Old Jewish Ghetto has some really interesting old synagogues with
different architectures (moorish, gothic, etc.), plus the Old Jewish Cemetery is amazingly interesting and cool to see. The only drawback is the high admission fee -- a bit of a scandal, really. But, if you really want, you can see it from the window of the public toilets for free :-)"
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CUBISM
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"Even if you have only a passing interest in modern architecture,
it's worth seeking out the Cubist Villas, when you make the trek to the
Vysehrad Fortress. They are located on Neklanova St., #2 and 30 and along
the Rasinovo nabr. (embankment) around the corner. (Look for the "Kovarovicova
vila" and the "rodinny trojdum" further along.)
"In front of the Panna Marie Snezna church in Jungmannovo nam.
is the finest (and only) example of a Cubist Lampost anywhere in the world.
And the best view is from the 3rd floor of the Bata shoe store."
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TOURIST CARD
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"We bought a 'Prague Card' and found that it wasn't as good a value as it could have been. There were many places that were closed or too far out of the center to be of interest, and there were a couple of places that were advertised in the book, but refused to honor the pass.
Later we found out it was a rip-off of the legitimate PragueCard and Prague Passport Service. Next time we'll make sure to purchase the real deal."
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AVOID
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Don't waste your time on the National Museum (at the top of Wenceslas
Square), the building's architecture is the best thing about it. Inside,
there are room after room of dusty rocks. On second thought, if you are a
geologist, it would be fantastic... Go on a boat ride on the Vltava instead!
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A DAY TRIP IN THE CITY
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"If you have a few hours to spare, take the boat from Palacky Bridge to
Troja and the Zoo. This goes under all the bridges and is much
cheaper than any of the other boats. To return, you can either walk about a mile through Stromovka park to the tram, or just take the boat back. There is a reasonably cheap little restaurant right down by the Palacky Bridge landing when you get back."
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DAY TRIP TO THE CASTLES
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"We went on a day trip to two castles (Konopiste and Karlstejn), supposedly organized by Premiant City Tours. The price was about US$63.00/person. We bought the tickets at the tourist information centre in Old Town Square. We duly showed up only to be shooed away to the booth of another company (Prague Sightseeing Tours - Welcome Touristic Praha), who exchanged our
original tickets for others bearing their own company's name. The bus departed
an hour late. The standard offered by the guide was, to the say the least,
slipshod; neither of his two 'main' languages (English and Italian) was
exactly perfect. When we arrived at the Karlstejn car park (about 3.30
p.m.) he announced that 'as the company had an evening programme, he couldn't
afford to be late, so anyone who arrived back at the car park later than
5.35 would be left behind. The station was to the left, and there were
trains to Prague every hour'. We do not feel attitudes like this are acceptable.
The official guide at Konopiste, who showed us round in English, was also
substandard. One wonders if they would respond to any complaint, as the
tour was 'officially' organized by Premiant. What is behind this peculiar
collusion (?) between officially separate companies? Anyway, next time
we visit Czech castles we will make our own arrangements!"
"We drove to Karlstejn, and now when we "been there and done that", I suggest you arrive early, drive directly to the castle, have some change with you (money exchange was more expensive than in Prague) and make it a half-day excursion. Taxis and horse carriages from the village to the castle are overpriced. Walk up the hill. The castle is beautiful, very well preserved, but if you come there during their lunch break (noon to 1 p.m.) you will have to wait for the ticket office to open."
"If you do go to Karlstejn, make sure you book ahead for the tour which
takes you through the Chapel of the Holy Cross which was re-opened to
visitors in around 2000 after a lengthy renovation process (I believe
it had been closed for approx 30 years). Its amazing!!"
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