Tours in Prague

Old Sep 10th, 2015, 08:15 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Tours in Prague

We will be with a party of 12 people doing the Viking three day extended stay in Prague in mid October. We are all in our 70" and three people not able to walk very far. They are willing to stick with the bus while others do the walks. Would they see anything?

There is a Viking included "Panoramic" tour the morning after we arrive. We seem to be having trouble finding out exactly what we will see, and length of tour. Literature mentions only Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge. Has anyone done that tour?

We would like to arrange a private tour, but don't want to repeat anything. The Prague Tourist Bureau has a "Grand Sightseeing Tour" with a great itinerary. Anyone done that? We would like to include the Jewish Quarter in our tour, but not sure if it is worthwhile to just "walk through" Thanks so much for any advice.
dlk3010 is offline  
Old Sep 10th, 2015, 09:00 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You can self-guide with a good guidebook (michelin green or whatever) and see all of the major sights.

A bus tour is OK for some things but parts of the old town are either pedestrian or definitely streets not large enough for buses - so anyone who can;t walk will miss some things. The only way to determine if tours are repetitive is to just review the exact itinerary for both.

What we found most fascinating was a walking tour - but almost 2 hours - of the old town with an architecture student from the university. Picked it up at the town hall and it was only 7 people and very inexpensive.

As for visiting the Jewish sight is does require some walking and I think it's necessary to know some of the history to understand what you are seeing. We did without a guide - but my degree is in history and I already knew the big picture. The sights themselves provide many of the details.

But for all of this an overall knowledge of the history of Prague s useful - starting with Jan Hus, it's role in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the unique cultural and religious past - approx 1/3 each catholic, protestant and jewish until WWII.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Sep 10th, 2015, 09:05 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 275
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Do a search for "Free walking tour Prague." They all start from the old town square. See if you can find one with just a few people in it. We had a transplanted Aussie guide and he was excellent. 6 people in our group and we comprised 4 of the 6!
zorrosf is offline  
Old Sep 10th, 2015, 09:06 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 275
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Correction: our guide was a transplanted South African.
zorrosf is offline  
Old Sep 10th, 2015, 09:07 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,840
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Of course they'll see something, an overview of the city and its areas and buildings, it has some good views. If they can't walk, what's the alternative? To not do anything? The bus tour will be better than nothing.

Prague Sightseeing Tours, which is the company of Cedok has good tours, I've used them. Not for that particular one, though. As for the Jewish Quarter, it really depends what you would see -- literally just walking through it, not so interesting, you'd have to at least see the cemetery and the interiors of a couple synagogues to be worth anything. www.pstours.cz

PST has one of the Jewish Quarter, and it certainly isn't just walking through it without going into anything, you can see by the description, it includes the cemetery. It says you visit the synagogues, I'd query them by email if that means going into them or not.

This is the PRague Tourist bureau's website and it doesn't list anything called a "Grand Sightseeing Tour", so not sure what you are seeing.
http://eshop.prague.eu/catalog/en/pr...643.1441215230

Their Jewish Quarter walking tour implies they are not literally just walking through it, as it mentions the cemetery, but you could again email to make sure. However, the Prague Sightseeing Tours seems to be a lot cheaper.
http://www.pstours.cz/tour/t14-jewish-prague/

You can bet Viking isn't doing the tour themself, they are using a local company. Seems like they could tell you the company and you find out what it is. I can't believe any city tour would only consist of two things.

The Jewish Museum itself has tours but is very vague on what it includes, as two options sound the same (Jewish Museum vs. Jewish Town). Jewish Museum FYI isn't the name they use just for one building, it's for the entire area.
http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/info/visit/guided-tours/

You have to go into each site listed (ie, Pinkas Synagogue, etc., to find out which tour it is included in).
Christina is offline  
Old Sep 11th, 2015, 09:09 AM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you all so much. Great information! Also thanks for the links - they were a huge help.
dlk3010 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
centex
Europe
17
Mar 18th, 2018 02:28 AM
bsomers
Europe
4
Apr 13th, 2017 04:50 PM
packmybags
Europe
5
Aug 7th, 2014 02:31 PM
saianel
Europe
6
Apr 8th, 2013 09:27 PM
cherikm
Europe
12
May 24th, 2007 02:04 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -