Prague for a Week in March with Sister and 12-Year Old - Help!
Jan 6th, 2011, 08:10 PM
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Prague for a Week in March with Sister and 12-Year Old - Help!
Hello. I'm planning a trip to Prague for a week in mid-March (I know - cold!) with my sister and my 12-year old daughter. We each got a different tour book in our Christmas stockings so I think we'll be able to figure out what to do and what to see in the city but we're a bit overwhelmed by all the options for where to stay and what to do for side trips. I'm hoping you can help us!
Sleeping: We'd love to find an apartment where we could spread out a bit and still be centrally located. Our budget is mid-range - not hostel but not 5-star either. Someone recommended Miss Sophie's apartments - anyone have any experience with them? Where would you recommend that has at least 2 bedrooms, a sitting area and private bath?
Outside Prague: What's your favorite day trip and what tour guide / company do you recommend (since we won't be renting a car)?
Dining: What's your favorite non-touristy restaurant in the city for breakfast, lunch and dinner? We like to experience the neighborhood places where the locals go.
Entertaining a Tween: We've found a bunch of stuff for kids to see and do but most seem focused on younger kids. Any suggestions for what will keep the interest of a 12-year old? I'm afraid she'll tire of the museums after the first few. Castles will be fun - what else?
Shopping: My 12-year old can spend a whole day on Canal Street in NYC looking for bargains. We like unique, independent shops vs chain stores. Any suggestions for what / where she might look for clothes, souvenirs?
Finally, any words of wisdom for first-time visitors to Prague?
Thanks for your great ideas!
Sleeping: We'd love to find an apartment where we could spread out a bit and still be centrally located. Our budget is mid-range - not hostel but not 5-star either. Someone recommended Miss Sophie's apartments - anyone have any experience with them? Where would you recommend that has at least 2 bedrooms, a sitting area and private bath?
Outside Prague: What's your favorite day trip and what tour guide / company do you recommend (since we won't be renting a car)?
Dining: What's your favorite non-touristy restaurant in the city for breakfast, lunch and dinner? We like to experience the neighborhood places where the locals go.
Entertaining a Tween: We've found a bunch of stuff for kids to see and do but most seem focused on younger kids. Any suggestions for what will keep the interest of a 12-year old? I'm afraid she'll tire of the museums after the first few. Castles will be fun - what else?
Shopping: My 12-year old can spend a whole day on Canal Street in NYC looking for bargains. We like unique, independent shops vs chain stores. Any suggestions for what / where she might look for clothes, souvenirs?
Finally, any words of wisdom for first-time visitors to Prague?
Thanks for your great ideas!
Jan 6th, 2011, 11:53 PM
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Hi Gin-beach. I am going to Prague for the first time early next month. I have booked this apartment http://www.vrbo.com/232274 ( sorry as my name implies I am very new to this and don't know how to embed a link).
I was attracted to it because of the reviews which I hope are bone fide. We are paying 115Euros per night for 4 people. It seems to be in a central location. I have paid a deposit via paypal so I am hoping all is above board.
Hope this is helpful and I look forward to cashing in on advice from other more seasoned travellers. I will likewise be traveling with my sister and will have in tow a 16 yr old an 18 yr old and a 20 yr old. Somehow I think 12 yr old will be more of a challenge!
I was attracted to it because of the reviews which I hope are bone fide. We are paying 115Euros per night for 4 people. It seems to be in a central location. I have paid a deposit via paypal so I am hoping all is above board.
Hope this is helpful and I look forward to cashing in on advice from other more seasoned travellers. I will likewise be traveling with my sister and will have in tow a 16 yr old an 18 yr old and a 20 yr old. Somehow I think 12 yr old will be more of a challenge!
Jan 7th, 2011, 12:26 AM
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I am a regular visitor to Prague on my last trip in November I stayed in the Orion Hotel which is really a series of apartments.
http://www.hotel-orion-prague.com/
not city center bit close to a Metro stop that will get you into the city center in 5 minutes.
http://www.prague.net/useful-info
this website might be of use to you lots of info there.also this website
http://www.livingprague.com/kids.htm
run by an English guy that lives near Prague,lots of great info.
Lots of great shopping,the Palladium center near the Municiple house is huge and has some good returants on the top floor,but if you jump on the metro there are big shopping centers at Zilcin ,Andel and Pankrac.
http://www.hotel-orion-prague.com/
not city center bit close to a Metro stop that will get you into the city center in 5 minutes.
http://www.prague.net/useful-info
this website might be of use to you lots of info there.also this website
http://www.livingprague.com/kids.htm
run by an English guy that lives near Prague,lots of great info.
Lots of great shopping,the Palladium center near the Municiple house is huge and has some good returants on the top floor,but if you jump on the metro there are big shopping centers at Zilcin ,Andel and Pankrac.
Jan 7th, 2011, 02:46 AM
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Newbi - your link worked just fine and that looks like a great place. I hope you'll let me know how it goes, esp with the teen.
Unclegus - thank you for your suggestions! Will definitely check them out. I had found the livingprague site through another fodors post and I learned a lot about how to get around and what to expect.
I appreciate the help!
Unclegus - thank you for your suggestions! Will definitely check them out. I had found the livingprague site through another fodors post and I learned a lot about how to get around and what to expect.
I appreciate the help!
Jan 7th, 2011, 03:57 AM
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A little information on Prague. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague and www.inyourpocket.com for a download of Prague.
Jan 7th, 2011, 05:26 AM
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As for day trips out of Prague, here are 3 that could appeal to a 12 year old (and adults).
Kutna Hora has a bone church where lots of bones have been displayed artistically. Some people consider it morbid but you can make up your own mind. Kutna Hora also has a spectacular cathedral and is a nice place to hang out. One hour by direct train from Prague.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/kutna_hora_1.htm
Krivoklat is a very old castle which has been tastefully renovated. It is possible to walk around the castle and there is an excellent restaurant in the town.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/czech_republic_krivoklat.htm
Cesky Krumlov would have to be a 2 day trip as it is too far to go just for one day - and is particularly attractive at night. A real fairy tale town that just about everyone falls in love with.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/cesky_krumlov_photos.htm
Kutna Hora has a bone church where lots of bones have been displayed artistically. Some people consider it morbid but you can make up your own mind. Kutna Hora also has a spectacular cathedral and is a nice place to hang out. One hour by direct train from Prague.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/kutna_hora_1.htm
Krivoklat is a very old castle which has been tastefully renovated. It is possible to walk around the castle and there is an excellent restaurant in the town.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/czech_republic_krivoklat.htm
Cesky Krumlov would have to be a 2 day trip as it is too far to go just for one day - and is particularly attractive at night. A real fairy tale town that just about everyone falls in love with.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/cesky_krumlov_photos.htm
Jan 7th, 2011, 09:30 AM
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We took our 12yo son to Prague (and other places in Central Europe) several years ago, and he enjoyed Prague. We saw all the usual tourist sites, so I won't mention those.
We had a private guided walking tour through Prague Guide, www.prague-guide.info, a tour called "Revolutions in Prague." We were most interested in the Velvet Revolution and the changes since 1989, but the entire tour was informative for all of us. Especially touching is the small memorial to the events of November, 1989.
DS and I are into art, so we visited the Museum of Czech Cubism, which we enjoyed (and DH put up with). It has a wonderful cafe on the second floor with a balcony. We had pastries on the balcony and watched tourists take pictures of us!
Also meaningful were the Museum of Communism, somewhat amateur, very sincere and interesting (and not your usual museum); and our time in Josefov, the Jewish area. There are several synagogues and other sites on one ticket, which you can buy from any of the locations. In the first synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova Synagóga), the display of pictures drawn by children at Terezin was heartbreaking, and the names inscribed on the walls of this temple (no longer in use) were moving. We also visited the Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue (Klausová synagóga), and the Spanish Synagogue (Španělská synagóga). DS visited the Museum of the Holocaust in Washington, DC after our visit to Prague, and he said that museum, as good as it was, was not as meaningful to him as seeing the chidrens' pictures in the synagogue in Prague. Something about being there (we did not visit any concentration camps).
Black Light theaters are a big deal in Prague; Google it for a description of what it was. My son loved it; DH and I liked it, though I found the noise level a bit high. We went to the All Colours Theatre for a performance of “Faust – Man and the Devil.”
I would agree that Křivoklát Castle makes a good day trip (we drove there, though); when we were there, in May, guided tours of the inside were available. The tour was conducted in Czech, but they gave us brochures printed in English, and the guide (who spoke English) would stop in each room to see if we had additional questions.
We're not big fans of Czech cuisine, but we did have a typical dinner at Kolkovna, V Kolkovně 8, Staré Mesto. I thought it was funny that it was decorated like you see lots of restaurant / bar places in the U.S., only this place was "for real." Note that many restaurants are located in the basement level; the ground level is where the bars are.
We had a fun lunch on castle hill (on the day we visited that area) at Klášterní Pivovar, Strahovské nádvoří 301, Hradčany. It's a Czech brewery, but with decent food, as well. Most other days we had pizza outdoors (Café Restaurant Metamorphis, Týnsky dvur, Malá Stupartská 5, Staré Mesto, was good), as a lunch of Czech would have then required an afternoon nap!
Keep an eye out for carts selling a local pastry, trdlo. It’s made using pretzel dough, but rolled out, cut into strips, and wrapped around a thick oven-proof ring, or stick. When it’s baked, the pastries are the size of large bracelets. After they’re baked, they’re rolled in butter sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts.
We made many, many stops at cafes - they're all over, and all delicious! It was our son's birthday while we were there, so that day, after a fancy dinner and the Black Light Theatre, we stopped at an old-fashioned historic cafe, Café Restaurant Louvre, Národní trída 22, Nové Mesto. DS got both (as only a tween or teen can do) their special hot chocolate and a large piece of chocolate cake. (I had poppyseed strudel, which was also good and not quite as rich.)
We've traveled a lot throughout Europe, and Prague was the only place were we experienced so many scams. I had read to check our bills, especially on Old Town Square. We stopped for drinks and/or desserts there several times, because it's just so scenic, but once time we were given a bill with too many items on it - we noted it to the waiter, and he corrected it. At another cafe, a large tip was "automatically" added. Again, once we questioned it, it was fixed. So just check your bills and be careful.
We had a private guided walking tour through Prague Guide, www.prague-guide.info, a tour called "Revolutions in Prague." We were most interested in the Velvet Revolution and the changes since 1989, but the entire tour was informative for all of us. Especially touching is the small memorial to the events of November, 1989.
DS and I are into art, so we visited the Museum of Czech Cubism, which we enjoyed (and DH put up with). It has a wonderful cafe on the second floor with a balcony. We had pastries on the balcony and watched tourists take pictures of us!
Also meaningful were the Museum of Communism, somewhat amateur, very sincere and interesting (and not your usual museum); and our time in Josefov, the Jewish area. There are several synagogues and other sites on one ticket, which you can buy from any of the locations. In the first synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova Synagóga), the display of pictures drawn by children at Terezin was heartbreaking, and the names inscribed on the walls of this temple (no longer in use) were moving. We also visited the Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue (Klausová synagóga), and the Spanish Synagogue (Španělská synagóga). DS visited the Museum of the Holocaust in Washington, DC after our visit to Prague, and he said that museum, as good as it was, was not as meaningful to him as seeing the chidrens' pictures in the synagogue in Prague. Something about being there (we did not visit any concentration camps).
Black Light theaters are a big deal in Prague; Google it for a description of what it was. My son loved it; DH and I liked it, though I found the noise level a bit high. We went to the All Colours Theatre for a performance of “Faust – Man and the Devil.”
I would agree that Křivoklát Castle makes a good day trip (we drove there, though); when we were there, in May, guided tours of the inside were available. The tour was conducted in Czech, but they gave us brochures printed in English, and the guide (who spoke English) would stop in each room to see if we had additional questions.
We're not big fans of Czech cuisine, but we did have a typical dinner at Kolkovna, V Kolkovně 8, Staré Mesto. I thought it was funny that it was decorated like you see lots of restaurant / bar places in the U.S., only this place was "for real." Note that many restaurants are located in the basement level; the ground level is where the bars are.
We had a fun lunch on castle hill (on the day we visited that area) at Klášterní Pivovar, Strahovské nádvoří 301, Hradčany. It's a Czech brewery, but with decent food, as well. Most other days we had pizza outdoors (Café Restaurant Metamorphis, Týnsky dvur, Malá Stupartská 5, Staré Mesto, was good), as a lunch of Czech would have then required an afternoon nap!
Keep an eye out for carts selling a local pastry, trdlo. It’s made using pretzel dough, but rolled out, cut into strips, and wrapped around a thick oven-proof ring, or stick. When it’s baked, the pastries are the size of large bracelets. After they’re baked, they’re rolled in butter sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts.
We made many, many stops at cafes - they're all over, and all delicious! It was our son's birthday while we were there, so that day, after a fancy dinner and the Black Light Theatre, we stopped at an old-fashioned historic cafe, Café Restaurant Louvre, Národní trída 22, Nové Mesto. DS got both (as only a tween or teen can do) their special hot chocolate and a large piece of chocolate cake. (I had poppyseed strudel, which was also good and not quite as rich.)
We've traveled a lot throughout Europe, and Prague was the only place were we experienced so many scams. I had read to check our bills, especially on Old Town Square. We stopped for drinks and/or desserts there several times, because it's just so scenic, but once time we were given a bill with too many items on it - we noted it to the waiter, and he corrected it. At another cafe, a large tip was "automatically" added. Again, once we questioned it, it was fixed. So just check your bills and be careful.
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