I'm taking a holiday to Prague this year and I'm wondering if anyone can give advice on the best time to travel and any wonderful hotels. Are there any places to see near/outside of Prague that might be fun?

I actually stayed in an apartment hotel which was right near Charles Bridge on the Old Town side. It was called Residence Retezova which you could consider as an alternative to a normal hotel.

You can find info about it on my site at http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/c...zech-republic/

Have a brilliant time

I think most people try to take a day trip/tour to Cesky Krumlov, which is supposed to be beautiful. However, when I got to Prague, I found that the tours there only ran on certain days of the week. I took a tour to the spa town of Karlovy Vary instead, and found it to be very charming. A bunch of us wanted to get a massage at the main spa in town, but it was closed for renovations at the time! Boo. In any case, if you do get to do that, I hear the spa treatments are heavenly.

Will you be taking a tour of Prague itself? I did a walking tour with Martina Doskova (her email is on this site) and she was great.

We took the tour of the Jewish section and were disappointed. The self guided tour (by purchase) was confusing and we stopped listening after awhile. The cost was high and not being Jewish, we failed to appreciate what we saw.

Not sure what you mean by a wonderful hotel. Is this the best in town? Most elegant? Most expensive? Most typical? Cutest? Best bargain?

And what's your budget?

For more info on what to see do I suggest one of the basic guidebooks - as well as the destination setion above.

Couldn't disagree more about the tours of the Jewish section of Prague. Found the sites incredibly moving and interesting (before the Nazis Prague was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in europe - with a population divided about egaully between catholic, protestant and jewish). Seeing the results of their drpredations was a very stong learning experience (even though we're not Jewish - I'm not sure how one's religion would affect your feelings about the destruciton of other people's lives).

I think Prague is one city where having a guide (small group) adds greatly to the experience, either in the Jewish section, or any section really. If you are from the USA, I find that we didn't learn much in schools about the history of this area of Europe, and having an informed guide was very helpful. That might be a better bet than an audio guide. I used one audio guide once in the Castle area of Prague, and it was quite dull.

I went early October & the masses of people from bus tours took over the bridge, the squares & the museums. Friends who went before May or after October had a more enjoyable experience.

Thank you for all your suggestions. As for hotels, I'd hope to find somthing local (not a Best Western), cute, resonably priced but it wouldn't have to be cheap and in a convenient area of the city. What are your thoughts on how long to stay?

Prague is a very popular tourist city now, so it can get crowded at any popular time and is very crowded in the summer. I've been in May twice and enjoyed that time very much because they have the classical music festival at that time, which I enjoy. YOu do have to book hotels far ahead because of that, though.

There are many good day trips from Prague. www.pis.cz is one company I used and they were very good. Their website lists the main ones various companies do. I did Cesky Krumlov and Kutna Hora. I really liked both of those. Next time, I'd like to try Telc. There are some castles to see much closer (Karlstejn).

I did the self-guided Jewish section tour and liked it a lot. I didn't find it confusing, but I have read a lot of history of that area (and history in general), and had some good guidebooks other than that. Maybe willis is referring to something on audio, though, and I didn't do that. I just had written material, so maybe that's a better idea. There are certainly guides there who do that, also.

We stayed at Pension Dietzenhoffer in Mala Strana. Loved it. I can recommend Wittman Tours for a tour of the Jewish Quarter or a day trip to Terezin.
Prague is beautiful. They also do tours of Cesky Krumlov and Kutna Hora. Prague is small and easy to maneuver and there is a lot to see.

Please try to see the village of Ledice while you are there - it is easily reachable by bus or car. This is the village that was razed by the Nazis, its women deported, its men murdered, in retaliation for the murder of a Nazi official there during the war. Although an attempt was made to obliterate it from the map, survivors returned, children were born, and it is once again a thriving place.
And all over the world, after the war, children and towns wre being named and re-named after the village to keep it alive.
There is a museum there that is very moving.

I went to Prague last August for four days.
Even in August we had a bit of rain. So I'm not sure when the ideal time really is.
I stayed in a beautiful hotel called The Carlo IV, It is a Boscolo hotel.
It was right up there with the best service I have ever received in a hotel.
It is slightly off the beaten path but a few minutes walk from the Powder Tower and the Municiple House. There is a tram right outside the door of the hotel.
I would reccomend going during the Opera season, Which is dark during the summer months. (if you're interested in seeing an opera)
The Charles bridge does get crowded during the day, I went first thing one morning just to see it empty. It was completely worth it.
The Jewish Cemetary(even for a non Jew) was one of the most moving things I've ever seen. I really got a sence of what the Jewish experience was like.
There is a restaurant there called Kampa Park, on Kampa Island. Someone had suggested it to me before I went.
The food was incredible.
Have a great trip.