Prague Castle Area
 

Can anyone tell me if it is convenient to Old Town Square if we stay in Mala Strana, the castle area?
Thanks,
DJL

Not convenient for walking to Old Town from Castle. However, you can take the tram. Now you can walk from the Castle area to Old Town because it is down hill most of the way but it will take a long while. I have done this. The tram is easy to use (if you get on the right one) but you will still do some walking.

Most of Mala Strana is at the bottom of the hill, the castle is at the top. Check the address and location of your hotel on a map (or post the name here); if it is at the bottom of the hill, then it is an easy walk accross the Charles Bridge to the old town square. As is most European cities, the old parts are quite close together and walkable. The walk down from the Castle would add about 10-15 minutes to your walk. I also would not want to walk up the hill at the end of a day to get to a hotel.

Mala Strana is beautiful, and all it takes to get to Old Town Sq. is crossing the Charles Bridge, a treat at any time of day. If you are staying near the castle, however, that's a bit farther. The castle is on a hill up from Mala Strana, and it's a good 20 minute walk from the bottom (Mala Strana) to the top. If you give me the address or name of the hotel I could give you a better sense of the distance. If you plan to center your trip around the Old Town side of the river, you'd be better off staying on that side. As someone mentioned above, there is a tram that takes you down the hill from the castle to a stop near Old Town Sq., but this tram is on the other side of the castle from Mala Strana and would require a walk through the castle grounds to get to--which means making a significant, albeit pleasant, detour.

I would recommend staying in Mala Strana. It is very beautiful, has some nice restaurants and pubs within it that are not chock-full of tourists (and the mediocre food prepared for them), and you need only walk 10 minutes or so to the Old Town.

Too much info, perhaps! Let me know if you have any specific questions, I used to live in Prague and know it well. And I love talking about it!

Mala Strana isn't the castle area -- that is known as Hradcany. I don't
consider the castle area that convenient, but most of Mala Strana would be. There aren't a whole lot of hotels in the castle area I know of -- the Savoy and the Romantik Hotel U Raka are the main ones I can think of. They are both supposed to be very nice hotels from what I've read, though. The U Krale Karla is another
that is sort of straddling the castle and Mala Strana areas.

I would agree more with the 20 min walk estimate. The tram didn't seem that convenient to me the few times I've taken it.