luv2c

Hello. My boyfriend and I will be arriving in Prague the second of March and staying for 3 days. I've started my research but I am hoping to get some advice here. thank you in advance!!
(1) For Hotels: we are looking for price range around 175 euro/US 200. CLeanliness and a great breakfast is important and we would like to be centrally located, preferably near public transportation.
I would prefer the hotel is NOT modern and minimalistic design. Also, what area would you recommend, old town, new town, etcc.
(2) What will the weather be like then? Any suggestions to dressing.
(3) I've seen on other messages that tours are not recommeneded, but has anyone gone on a tour and glad they did? ANy suggestions? When going to a new city, we usually like to start with a tour, then pick the places we like best and return on our own.
(4) We will be spending one evening at the COngress Centre, what would be the best way to get there if we were to stay in the New Town area?
(5) We would like to see one classical performance, any suggestions with this?
(6) and last but most important, any tips or stories or "must dos" would be great!! I'm so excited to go there and having only 3 days there, I want to see and experience as much as possible.

Btw - we are in our late thirties, not interested in bar/club scene, definitly love food and discovering new great places.

Intrepid1

The first time we went we took one of those half-day or several hour city tours and we thought the overview was VERY helpful.

You might also do an assessment of the so-called "Prague Welcome Card" which includes admission to various sites including the castle complex and unlimited use of the public transport system including the subway and the trams. I do not know how many times you would have to use it to get to the break-even point, however.

I'm sorry I cannot help with your particular range of hotels.

chuut_riit

I stayed at the Hoffmeister in Dec. '04. The "off-season" rates seem to meet your budget criterion:

http://www.hoffmeister.cz/en/rates-rackrates-2005.php

The rooms were very nice, as was the breakfast; pretty much everything you could want. I enjoyed the location: close to the castle steps, 5-10 min walk to Charles Bridge, Old Town, Mala Strana, and far enough off the beaten path to be relatively quiet (at least in December).

As far as "must do's", I would include some time to wander around the old medieval streets of the Old Town and Mala Strana areas.

Shalott

Sorry, but if there are a lot of opinions about no tours in Prague (or anywhere), I disagree. I've taken a small group tour of the Jewish Quarter
and a 4 hours introductory tour of Prague, and thought it time well spent.
Especially on a short visit, it would help you with some of the more famous sights and still leave you plenty of time to explore on your own.

I think staying within 15 minutes' walk of either end of the Charles Bridge is very central, with a slight edge given to the Old Town side of the bridge.
On the other side of the bridge is Mala Strana, Little Quarter, which leads to the Castle district, but not far from the bridge it becomes very hilly.
I don't recommend staying in New Town
if you have other options, I think New Town is just as hectic with less charm and it's less central to many of the major sights.

With a central location and only 3 days, you may find that you use public transportation very little and are able to walk to most places.

I've been there in early March , temps are likely to be quite cold and perhaps with some snow.
For historical trends and forecasts, see
www.weatherbase.com
www.wunderground.com
www.accuweather.com

luv2c

Thank you for your replies.
I think I will definitly take a tour. Does anyone have any specific recommendations? A half day tour sounds perfect.

As far as hotels, THe Hoffmeister looks terrific but, at least on Expeida, there is no availability during our travel dates. Does anyone have any other specific recommendations?

I will definitly bring comfortable shoes!

Thanks!

Shalott

Always check directly with the hotel imo, just because the booking websites don't have availability doesn't mean for sure that the hotel is 100% full.

Group tours of the Jewish Quarter (just two suggestions)

www.wittman-tours.com
www.legacytours.cz

We had two small group guided tours of Prague provided by General Tours, and our knowledgeable and English-fluent guide, Jana Lukesova, freelances as well.
Her email address is [email protected]

Christina

I think city overview tours are often enjoyable, I don't remember who said you shouldn't take one but I don't remember that being a consensus opinion on here for Prague.

I like the Old Town area myself, but that is a broad area with different names -- it includes the Josefov, for example, which is where I like to stay.

I think you may get decent rates in March -- you might also check out the Hotel Pariz and the Grand Hotel Bohemia. They are in an excellent central location and near each other. Both are older Czech style.

bardo1

I highly recommend the Seven Angels hotel.

It's between Old Town Square (2 blocks) and the Charles bridge (4 blocks). Beautiful rooms/suites, great location, and a perfect Czech restaurant. Prices start at 115 Euro.

http://www.7angels.cz

bardo1

Opera: http://www.czechopera.cz

Orchestral & Vocal: http://www.czechphilharmonic.cz/en/index.php

There are also hundreds of other nightly concerts - they hand out flyers thoughout all tourist areas (some good, some not). For the best music quality, the two sites listed above are your best bet. Expect to pay only 1/4 to 1/2 for comparable music quailty/seats at the Met in NYC.

luv2c

I appreciate all these responses! Looks like I will concentrate the hotel search to the Charles Bridge/Old town area. I'm looking at all the hotels that were recommended and I just have one question - are the beds comfortable and king size? I have a little back problem and a good bed makes a big difference.

Thanks again!!

LindaW

We stayed at the Penzion Balbin on Balbinova near the Muzeum Metro and Wenceslas Square. It is on the top floors of an apartment building so safe. The breakfast buffet is excellent. The rooms are clean and the staff is English-speaking and helpful.
The one place you need to see is the Charles Bridge at night--very romantic. The half-day tour was very good in our arranging of priorities and getting the lay of the land.

bardo1

ALL of the beds at Seven Angels are king beds. Mine was quite comfortable. They use a duvet in lieu of a bedspread and top sheet if that matters.

Christina

oh, as far as tours go, I do recommend the company Prague Sightseeing Tours.
www.pstours.cz

I didn't do a city overview tour with them, but a day trip -- but they were excellent at that, and I know they are one of the most wellknown tour companies (and oldest) in Prague.

Fidel

Just a note regarding 7 Angels:

I had lunch in their restaurant last week...chicken soup with canned mushrooms and a few frozen peas and carrots; the few pieces of chicken had only recently been introduced to the stock. The pork dish, I literally took one bite only, a first in my life.

I spied the Heinz 57 Ketchup bottles on the condiment tray too late, oh well.

Going to TripAdvisor now...

amp322

Waldstein Hotel in Mala Strana (check rates for the dependance building). Old world decor, good breakfast...

MacPrague

Just a quick clarification, so you know when you are looking for places--Old Town (east of the river)is actually newer than Mala Strana ("Little City"--west of the river; the side of the river with the castle hill). New Town is still further east of Old Town, and has little to none of the "Old Town" charm. You'll be more residential there and a bit more isolated, probably, than a three-day visit would enjoy.

My husband and I recently moved to Prague (in August) and have been on tours with City Walks (there is a link at praguer.com) and with Budget Walks (www.budgetwalks.com). With City Walks, we took the Praguer all-in-one tour (4 hours) and enjoyed it except for the refreshment break which seemed overpriced and a waste of time. With Budget Walks, I went with some of our guests on the Communist Walk and found it to be tremendously interesting. Our guide had grown up under communism and was about my age (28), so it was a very interesting perspective. (great price, too)

I have heard exceptionally good things about Sylvie Wittman of Wittman Tours (www.wittmann-tours.com), and am waiting for an opportunity to take one of her tours of the Jewish Quarter. (Figure I should wait until some more of our guests arrive!

We've seen two operas at the Estates theatre, and have enjoyed both. Don Giovanni is the resident performance, and Mozart debuted it there, so the set actually reflects the theatre itself. Interesting, but a bit strange, perhaps....the performances were both very, very good, and the subtitles are in English. (always a bonus

There are also a number of good restaurants here, so closer to time, let us know if you need suggestions.

s1951

MacPrague:
My husband and I will be flying to Prague on April 16th to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We will be using HH points and staying at the Hilton Prague. I just purchased Fodor's new book on Prague and notice the Hilton Prague is not even listed in the book. Is there something we should know? Is the Hilton within walking distance to the major sites? Any info will be appreciated.

risab

We loved the Pension Dientzenhoffer. Great rooms, pleasant staff, great breakfast and wonderful location in Mala Strana. We were in Prague in April and the weather was cool. You'll need to bring winter clothing and layers. We did a tour of the Jewish Quarter and also a bus tour to Terezin. We loved both tours as the Jewish history and sad history of Nazi invasion is very important to Prague's history.Many of the other museums and points of interest we toured on our own with a good guide book. We went to the ballet on night and to the Prague symphony. It was very inexpensive to do both. We also saw a lousy black light theatre show but, hey, it is the touristy thing to do. We really like the Mucha Museum. Of course the Charles Bridge is a must do at least twice a day- go to the castle and the Wallenstein gardens, see the clock and hang out in the square adjacent to the clock, walk through Kampa Park and the surrounding side street, walk to the Loreto from the castle then up to Petrin Hill. Prague is a jewel.

MacPrague

s1951, my husband's company recently held a coference at the Hilton Prague, and there were certainly people who walked to the major sites from there. It can be done. There was also a strong contingency of taxi-takers at the same conference. Some sites may be a bit farther, but it is certainly do-able. If you have other questions or concerns, let me know!

warobison

If you haven't already made your arrangements, here are a couple of ideas:

(1) We've always stayed at the Domus Henrici in the Hradcany area between the castle and the Loreto. It's in your price range and is one of our favorite places in Europe. If you prefer to stay closer to the Old Town, they have a sister (brother?) hotel, the Balthasar, very near the Charles Bridge. You can see both at www.hidden-places.com.

(2) We were there in March 2004. There was a light snow one day, and it was cool most of the time we were there. But it was not bone-chilling cold. We never wore a heavy coat at all.

(3) Some have mentioned Wittmann's and they are great for the Jewish Quarter. We've also used them for a half-day trip to Terezin. We've also used Sarka Pelantova (www.prague-guide.info) for walking tours. I think you'd enjoy her trips. She's full of energy and reasonably priced.

(4) No clue about the Congress Centre. Sorry.

(5) We saw Don Giovanni at the Estates a few years ago. It was well worth it to see it in the theater where it had its debut. As someone else mentioned, there are many inexpensive choices for good music.

(6) We enjoyed Peklo (or Hell) for dinner one night. It's underground near the Strahov Monastery. We enjoyed both the Mucha Museum and the Museum of Communism. The Communism museum, by the way, is upstairs above a McDonald's! Another of our favorites is Laura's Wine Bar. It's a little hard to find, uphill on the right on Nerudova as you walk toward the castle from the Little Quarter Square.

We don't have any info from our 2004 trip on our web page (I've been too lazy), but if you go to warobison.com and go to the Travel Albums link, you'll find some pictures from our earlier trips. Have a great time.