By Air in Prague

By Air

The nonstop flight from New York to Prague takes about 8 hours, but the entire journey will take longer (12 to 15 hours) if you have to change planes at a European hub. If you have a stopover, be sure to leave at least 90 minutes (two hours is ideal) between connections to allow both you and your luggage to make the next flight. The flight from London to Prague takes about 2 hours; the flight from Vienna to Prague takes less than an hour.

Prague's Ruzyne Airport is the country's main international airport and lies about 15 km (10 mi) northwest of the city center. The airport has two terminals -- Sever 1 (North 1, or N1) and Sever 2 (North 2, or N2) -- so make sure to read your ticket carefully to see where you are arriving at and departing from. The trip from the airport to the downtown area by car or taxi will take about 30 minutes -- add another 20 minutes during rush hour (7 AM to 9 AM and 4 PM to 6 PM).

CSA (Czech Airlines), the Czech national carrier, at the time of this writing was the only airline to offer nonstop flights from the United States (from New York's Newark airport) to Prague (daily flights during the busiest season). Most major U.S.-based airlines fly to Prague through codeshare arrangements with their European counterparts. However, nearly all the major European airlines fly there, so it's usually easy to connect through a major European airport (such as London-Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam, or Vienna) and continue to Prague; indeed, flights between the U.K. and Prague are numerous and frequent, including some on cheap discount airlines, though in London most of these leave from Gatwick or Stansted airports rather than Heathrow, making them less attractive options for Americans. Fares from the U.S. tend to rise dramatically during the busy summer season, particularly from June through August or September. There are many discounts during the slow winter months.

Ruzyne Airport (220-113-314. www.csl.cz).