Hi, we are leaving in about 3 weeks for a trip to Prague/Vienna/Budapest. We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 teens. The kids (and adults) are good travelers. We tend to cram a lot into our vacations! We usually cover a lot of ground in any given day. Having said that, I am in charge in our itinerary and I wanted to get some comments on the my Prague itinerary. I am still working on Vienna and Budapest and will post them shortly. We will only be in Prague for 2.5 days. Here goes for Prague: We arrive in Prague mid-day. I thought we would check into our hotel (Maxmilian), then walk to the Old Town Square for lunch and to look around and then head back toward our hotel and see the Jewish Quarter. I plan on us seeing the synagogues and cemetery that comprise the Jewish Museum. Other than dinner, near the hotel, and an early bedtime, that is it for the first day. I thought that our second day in Prague would be devoted to the Castle area and Mala Strana. I was planning on us seeing the Castle (comments on which tour and whether to get the audio guide?), then lunch in the area and then Church of St. Nicholas, Church of Our Lady Victorious, Torture Museum (my daughter - a fan of the London Dungeon, insists) and general wandering. Should we fit in the Loretto as well? Possibly Kampa Island as well. For our third day I planned a long visit to the Old Town Square, (is tour of Town Hall worth it?), including the Tyn Church, and then walk to Wenceslas Square, visiting Havelska Market on the way. We would also like to see the Mucha Museum and possibly the Museusm of Communism. We are also considering an evening at a black light theater show - comments? So, have I missed anything? Does this timing make sense? All suggestions are welcome and restaurant suggestions as well. Since we are traveling with the kids, the dinners will be very casual, they are too picky for very nice places! We leave early on the fourth day for Vienna. Thanks for any help you may give. Susan.

Hi susan56,
I have a few suggestions.
A visit to Petrin hill is great to give you time to see the city from the small Eiffel tower they have, also the ride on the funicular? railway is great too.
You must find the 3 black roses which is a small relaxed pub and the teenagers can chill. Food is great and the beer is better.
The 3 black roses is near to the castle. (I found this on line somewhere)
"Thunova Street On the left-hand corner is the small, friendly Three Black Roses (U tøych èernych ruži) with well kept Pilsner and a good mixed menu. Try “Smažak”, cheese fritter with salad: for the adventurous, the Roses also serves a range of Czech fruit brandies, of which the best known is plum (slivovice). You can also get the pear, apple, cherry or walnut varieties."
My other recommendation for a restaurant your daughter will love is U Sadlu,
This is down a flight of stairs and into a dundgeon, the food and beer are great and the the ambiance is truly amazing. Have a look at this website, they have their own site but can't locate it at the moment.
Meanwhile check this one.
http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?PlaceID=402

Good luck

Muck

It sounds pretty good to me with exception of the first day.

First, I've stayed at Maximilian twice and love it, so you'll have a nice time there and it is a great area and very convenient.

I think the first day may be crowded, although possible. It may depend how busy things are when you are there, but many of the "attractions" in the Jewish Quarter have long lines to wait to get in, and then you have to take some time to see things. I think there are at least 3-4 synagogues people typically see, plus the cemetery. Now these aren't too far apart but some distance from the hotel. However, I think because the Maximilian is described as being in the Jewish Qtr, you think you are right next to these things, and you aren't. Those attractions are over on the west side of the quarter. Now it is not a far walk, but still, you have to get over there. I presume that is why you are backtracking back to the hotel after lunch (for no reason that I can see). The hotel is in a different direction from Old Town Square as the Jewish Museum (NE rather than NW). Things close at 6 pm. So it really depends when you finish lunch and how long that takes.

Things at Old Town Square are open all the time, though. So, the main thing I'd do is not spend time looking around Old Town Square upon arrival. I'd have lunch and do the Jewish Quarter things. I wouldn't even go to the Old Town Sq at that point -- I'd walk from the hotel directly west to the area with the Pinkas/Maisel synagogues, etc (around Siroka and Maselova streets). You will see places to lunch along the way or at the destination.

Then, after doing everything you want there, you can go futz around Old Town Square and have dinner there. The hotel is a short walk from the Old Town Sq mainly up Dlouha, with a slight turn near it onto Hastalska square. Anyway, that's probably what I would do.

Other than that, I think it's a good itinerary with leeway. You might want to see the Municipal House, Powder Gate, etc (I'm sure you will) and that would go with the Old Town Square visit. I haven't seen the black light theater so can't comment on that. I don't remember taking any special tour of the Castle myself. I really liked the Loreto chapel so would fit that in if you can. I have never been on Kampa Island itself, haven't got around to that yet

I think missing the Loreto would be a major mistake. Your children would probably love the Baroque chapel, decorated with skeletons dressed in ornate clothing. Upstairs, you will find a room filled with monstrances that rival the Crown Jewels of Great Britian.

I would rather have my fingers slammed in a car door than see a "black light" show. I have never met anyone who enjoyed one.

There are some very nice cafes on Tynska, which is right off of Old Town Square. You will also find Dr. Botinicus on Tynska, a fabulous shop filled with homemade soap, jam, and perfume.

Thank you all! I have tweaked the itinerary to include the Loreto Chapel on the day we visit the Castle and I have also taken Christina's suggestions for our first day and we will have lunch on the way to Jewish Museum. You were right Christina, I made our plans based on thinking that the hotel and the Jewish Museum were very, very close. Thank you all. Now on the the Vienna itinerary.

Hi
I strongly suggest that when you see the Jewish Quarter you use a guide.
Two companies are Wittmann, and Precious Legacy. Both have websites.It would be hard to put the buildings and the cemetery in historical context, imo, without the tour.

So, I'd say first day, visit the Havelska Market and Old Town Square. Maybe add in the Mucha Museum--it's small. (By the way, I'm going back in mid-April myself, leave on April 16. Last time whenever we tried to go inside the Tyn church it was closed--I think it opens only for services. If you are successful in getting inside, I'd appreciate the info when you return.)

Second day, do the Castle area and Mala Strana. We thought the Castle audio guide was worthless. Again, consider going with a tour guide, or at least buy one of the guide books in the Castle book shop. There are many buildings, gardens, etc to explore--it's a very large complex. We thought the Loreto remarkable, don't know if everyone agrees. If you are out of time, I'd vote for St Nicholas though.

3rd day: Jewish section with a tour in the morning. Afternoon, whatever you didn't get to. Maybe the funicular up to Petrin Hill.

I have a long file on Prague and also one on Vienna; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

sorry about the redundancies, when I first read your posting the other responses weren't appearing on my screen for some reason

Of the "smaller" places, I would encourage you not to miss Kampa Island, the Mucha Museum, and the Municipal House (Obecni Dum). If there is a concert in the Municipal House, try to get tickets (if you like classical music). I liked eating on Kampa Island -- just liked the atmosphere -- outside, of course. And looking across the river from Kampa is very nice.

Elaine, thank you for the information and I am going to email you for your files on Vienna and Prague. I neglected to tell you the days of our trip however, we are arriving on a Thursday afternoon and leaving Prague on Sunday morning. So we can't visit the Jewish quarter the last day. I could switch it for the second day. I will think about a guide for the Jewish Quarter. It is hard of us to exactly schedule our time on vacation so I was leaning against using guides. Also, I am dissappointed to hear that the audio guide for the castle is not worthwhile. We usually rely on those!
Susan

HI Susan
we were very disappointed with the audio guides as we often use those too.
We are history buffs, and we enjoy detail. The audio guides were relatively expensive but that wasn't the problem. The information on each (mostly empty) room in the Castle was minimal, and what was provided was really quite boring. So it was hard to fill in the blanks and imagine how the rooms must have looked with furnishings and such.

The best things to see in our opinion were St Vitus Cathedral (though you could skip the extra charge to see the tiny, dark, underground crypt) and St George's Convent. On my next trip I want to include the Picture Gallery and the Gardens.

Another vote for the Loretto if you have the time and the inclination. A lot of people either aren't aware of it or just don't consider it. The "vault room" with the many monstrances is as described above...jewel encrusted pieces that have to be seen to be believed.

They are very picky about picture-taking there as I recall...in fact, this employee kept "shadowing" us to make sure we didn't use the camera we had along with us.

Compared to the Loretto I was somewhat disappointed when we actually saw the better-known "Infant of Prague." The church was the usual Prague over-the-top with the gold and baroque adornment but the Infant seemed rather insignificant for some reason.

You may, or may not, want to cosnider buying the so-called "Prague Welcome Card" which includes admission to the major sites (including the Castle complex) and unlimited public transport. However, I do not know how good a value it is..but public transport in the city is convenient and well-located for most of the things you want to see.

You might also consider a marionette performance should one be available.