Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and home to one of the largest castles in the world! When you visit Prague, you will take a step back in time. The city is almost unparalleled in architecture and beauty. When you visit Prague, you will love it!

In this blog, we will give you some insights about the city, environment, activities, public transport, housing, and healthcare. We will provide you with some links which give you even more information on the topics we are about to share with you. 

City overview

Prague is the capital and the largest city in the Czech Republic. The river Vltava is floating through Prague and separating the town into two parts, the right bank and the left bank. Prague was the biggest town in Europe in the 14th century. It became the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. The city has not been significantly damaged since the 16th century, not even during World War II.

This is why it has been conserved so beautifully, with hundreds of stunning sights including Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petrin hill and Vysehrad.

Prague is a political and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gotch, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public and private school, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.

Environment

The city of Prague has a temperate continental climate, with characteristics of a maritime climate. The winter is fresh without getting too cold, and the summer is warm with periods of prolonged heat. It is perfect when you do not like too much cold or heat! The highest temperature ever recorded in Prague is 37.8 degrees Celsius (in 1983). With an average of just over five hundred millimetres of precipitation on an annual basis, Prague is drier than the French capital Paris.

The winters in Prague are pretty grey and cool. The city is surrounded by mountains and hills, hereby the wind force is not that strong which makes the perceived temperature higher than the actual temperature. An exception is when there is a heavy high-pressure area above the Baltic Sea or Germany, then a powerful easterly current that brings cold air from Russia. 

The summer is quite sunny, with not too much rain and pleasantly warm. On many days the temperature is between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius. The number of days that it is cooler than twenty degrees Celsius is quite limited and sometimes it is tropically warm in the city, with no less than thirty degrees or slightly above. 

Activities

Did you know that Prague is the cultural capital of the Czech Republic? It is full of theatres, music, clubs, art as well as multiplex cinemas. If you love culture, then you will not get bored in Prague! Prague has so much to offer, that we selected the most beautiful things to do for you!

It can be difficult to prioritize and determine what to see and do on each day of your trip when there is so much to see and do in Prague. If you try to see everything, you will undoubtedly feel disappointed and rushed.Instead, concentrate on a few areas/districts of the city and spend time getting to know them properly. You’ll have an excuse to return to Prague at a later date if you don’t see everything!

Avoid eating in the city centre, like you would in many other touristic destinations around Europe such as Barcelona, Budapest, and Lanarca. Instead, walk a few streets back and you’ll get much better-quality meals at significantly lower prices.

Public transport

Public transport in Prague is cheap and efficient. The easiest way to travel to the city from the Airport is by taxi. But once you are in the city, it is simple to travel around by metro and tram. There are no metro stations at Prague Airport. To travel into Prague by public transport requires taking a bus and then the metro. It takes one hour to travel by public transport to the city, there are two main routes:

Bus

The Prague bus network mainly services the suburbs of Prague, areas where the metro and trams do not go. Buses generally terminate at metro stations or tram stops, to facilitate onward travel by tram or metro to destinations in the city centre. Day buses run from 04:30-24:00: every 6-8 minutes during peak hours, every 10-20 minutes off-peak and every 15-30 minutes on weekends. Night buses run from 24:00 to 04:30: every 30-60 minutes.

Metro

In the city, there are multiple ways to travel through the city. You can choose to go by metro, tram or bus. The metro has three colour-coded lines:

You can transfer to another metro at the following locations:

Tram

Trams in Prague are reliable and convenient. Daytime trams start running at 4:30 am approximately every 10 minutes until midnight. Night trams, numbers 51 to 59 run from midnight until 4:30 am every 30 to 40 minutes.

The most useful tram is tram number 22. This tram goes to Prague’s top attractions. It also provides breath-taking views of the city along its route. The tram runs through Hradčany, passing by the National Theatre and stopping at Prague Castle, Loreta and Strahov Monastery.

Train

There are 2 train stations in Prague.

You can check train times and book tickets here. Information on this website is in Czech, English and German. You can also buy train tickets from any train station.

Housing

If you intend to apply for a long-term visa (stay of more than 90 days) in the Czech Republic, you should begin looking for a long-term place as soon as possible. A long-term housing contract is required as part of your visa application, and you will be unable to apply for one without it.

You can either hire a real estate agent or search on your own when looking for an apartment. If you are looking for an apartment on your own, keep in mind that the owner may demand a higher price than you would pay if you used a real estate agent. The good news is that there are multiple-friendly websites that are very useful when looking for accommodation.

Accommodation costs vary in Prague and are largely determined by factors such as location (city vs suburb), size, and whether the flat is furnished or unfurnished. The most expensive flats are in the centre, with 2 rooms and a kitchenette in the centre costing 15.000 CZK per month on average. 2 rooms with a full kitchen apartment in the suburbs cost roughly 10.000 CZK on average. If you are only renting a room, expect to pay between 8.000 and 12.000 CZK per month.

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How does this work?

Use one of these links to register and get 10% discount!

Healthcare

In case of an emergency, dial 112 to be connected to the EU emergency line. This guarantees an English-speaking operator. Otherwise, Czech medical emergency services can be reached on 155.

In the Czech Republic, health insurance is required, whether provided by a public or private health insurance provider. Czech citizens, residents, and anyone working for a Czech company are automatically covered and pay monthly contributions to the country’s public healthcare system. Long-term tourists will need to use a private insurance firm, while short-term visitors will be expected to have travel insurance.

EU citizens can use their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to access state healthcare during a short-term visit to Prague. UK citizens can make use of their Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), which replaced the EHIC for UK citizens. The EHIC is a free health insurance card that entitles you to emergency medical care while travelling in one of the EEG nations (Europe, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) or Switzerland. The EHIC provides coverage for emergency medical care. It does not cover private or non-urgent medical care, dentist, or free care if the treatment is the sole purpose of your visit. It is important to keep in mind that some treatments that are free in your country could not be free in Czech Republic.

For further information on the EHIC, please refer to the schengenvisainfo.com website.

Some words to get you started

The official language of the Czech Republic is Czech, which is spoken by 96 percent of the population. Czech is considered by many to be the best Slavic language to learn. Its use of the Latin alphabet and what appears to be simple phoneme writing (each character represents only one sound). To assist you with the Czech language, we’ve compiled a short list of the most popular terms.