VeeDubb

Hello,

I will be in Prague next month for three days. This will be my first time there. I like to walk around and enjoy the sights and local culture, taking some good photos of the architecture and historic sites. I would also like visit some of the pubs and experience the nightlife there. I will be staying in Modern Town close to Wenceslas square. I plan to travel around the city by walking and underground or tram. Any suggestions on where to go and what to see while I am there would be much appreciated.

I will be cooking meals while I am there, so I would also like to visit some local markets. Any suggestions on where to go? What are some of the local foods and ingredients?

Thanks in advance!

sparkchaser

Three days and cooking meals? Are you insane? Prague is not expensive for eating out and Bohemian cuisine is tasty. Plus dat Czech beer.


<i>What are some of the local foods and ingredients? </i>

Any corner grocery store will have "local foods" and "ingredients" you are looking for, plus delicious Czech beer, but good luck making a delicious venison stew with bread dumplings if you can't read the package instructions.

sparkchaser

As for things to do, I really enjoyed seeing Don Giovanni at the National Marionette Theater.

unclegus

there are small farmer markets on various days a week at Andel, Namesti Miru and Jihiro Z Podebrad metro stations with lots of local goodies on sale .the one at Jihiro sometime has a guy smoking fish at the market.
if there for 3 days I would seriously think about eating out most times,food is pretty cheap ,good size portions a pretty tasty.
http://www.prague.net/
this link will give lots of info on what to see and do.
for pubs and beer look at many of my previous posts on the subject lots of info in them.

nytraveler

Czech food does not really lend itself to casual cooking in a microwave.

It's heavy on meat and game - esp in the fall - and creating dumplings is an art - not like putting together a quick pasta in italy.

I would definitely eat out - prices are very low unless you go to upscale places (and even then low vs western europe or US) and don;t eat in the cafes in old town square - which have double prices for the view/atmosphere.

RobIm

You might look at my trip report on our trip to Prague. We should have done more then we did. www.rimerson.com

unclegus

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-285749-3.cfm
this is a link to my trip report from May/june this year,very different from Robim's but I am a regular visitor to the city and go there mainly for the beer.

unclegus

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop....html#50337875
sorry this is the full trip report,sorry no pics.but there are quite a few on my reviews on trip advisor.

november_moon

If you like walking tours, you might consider taking the free tour with Sandeman. We found the tour to be really worthwhile - we learned a lot about the city and saw some really interesting areas. It was a really good introduction to the city.

http://www.newpraguetours.com/

Christina

I really don't think it makes sense to cook meals for just 3 days, either. I think in English that part of town where you are staying is generally called New Town (versus Old Town), not MOdern Town. The word in Czech is Nove which means new (eg, Nove Mesto means new town or new city). Old Town is called Stare Mesto in Czech.

There is a permanent market called Havel's Market (Havelske trziste ) near the Mustek metro stop which is right at the end of Wencelas square (which is really a street). It has fruit and vegetables, as well as some souvenirs, toys, clothing, etc. I don't think it has major food items like meat, but I'm not sure. Here's an article on the various markets, including farmers markets http://prague-stay.com/lifestyle/cat...tdoor-markets/

kismetchimera

Bring warm clothings ..I was there few weeks ago and I was freezing because I just had a jeans jacket and never expected to encounter such cold weather..Bring an Umbrella also because it may rain, which it did off and on during the 5 days that I was there.
Prague is a beautiful city..

VeeDubb

I guess that it would be too much trouble cooking meals while I’m there for such a short trip, language barriers, etc…
I went to huge food markets (they also sold many other things) while in Budapest and Toronto and I really enjoyed it. I’m an avid cook. I just thought that it would be a unique experience to cook a meal with local ingredients and I will have a kitchen in the place that I am staying in Prague. I’ll scratch this idea and just eat out. I could always just bring some prepackaged ingredients home or try to replicate some of the meals that I've had a restaurants once I get home.

Thank you all for forwarding the links and trip reports. I will read through them today.

Regarding the places to eat while there. Venison stew with bread dumplings sounds delicious. What other foods should I try while there? I will avoid eating in touristy places like the Old Town Square. I would really like to go some places that cater more to locals then tourists and experience some of the culture. What areas and places should I eat?

Regarding the beer and pubs. I really like visiting local pubs in different cities and countries. Do most of them serve food as well? I read something about good pubs being in the basement of establishments in Prague. Is this accurate? I haven’t had much Czech beer up until this point (only Pilsner Urquell) so I am looking forward to having it. I love German and Belgium beers. Are Czech beers similar?

Will I get around pretty well with just speaking English? I don’t know any Czech at this point, but I am going to try to learn some of the basics before my trip.

Thanks again!

babylon

Prague is beautiful. We went to the Lobkowicz Palace which is near the castle. The audio guide and family history are amazing -- a real highlight. The food in Prague was pretty heavy. A good restaurant was Cafe Imperial near Republic Square. Definitely avoid the restaurants overlooking Old Town Square, very overpriced and not very good.

unclegus

http://www.praguebeergarden.com/
this is a great website for pub info lists them by area and by and by beers they serve. so have a look through it.It also will list various beer related event that are on.
Czech beers are some of the best in the world and most lagers are based on the Pilsner Beer but there are some great beers out there and that link will let you se what's there.
There are a lot of basement pubs in the city and some can go down several Floors but they are not all basement bars.
Food is served in most bars and at worst you will be able to get pickled sausage and pickled cheese usually served with some bread.but most places serve a good range of food,
http://www.livingprague.com/food.htm
this link will give you some info.
My favourite things to eat are Goulash with dumplings, duck leg with red cabbage and dumplings, Schnitzle with whatever it served with but mash potatoes with leeks through it is a favourite.
Deep fried cheese served with chips is on most menus, various forms of roast pork with sauerkraut and dumplings, a raost beef with gravey,cranberry sauce,sour cream and dumplings and my absolute favourite is smoked ham with red cabbage and potato pancakes.

centraleurope

VeeDubb... I wouldn't necessarily scratch your plans to eat in. Granted, restaurants are cheap (esp. the further you go from Old Town). In general, these are pretty poor countries at their core and the locals do not eat out that much. When they eat in, they eat far differently than the restaurant fare.

So whereas fruits and vegetables are ubiquitous in the markets - they are scarce on the menus. And due to the expense of meat, it is far less seldom eaten at home than in the restaurants.

After living in Slovakia for 18 months, and Budapest now for 8 more, I have started to always eat in. I love the fresh produce and cook a far different meal than the very heavy things commonly associated with local cooking. And the produce is of far higher quality than I would get for 10 times the price back home.

unclegus

I sort of agree and disagree with CentralEurope.
yes there are many places that have less fruit and veg on the menus but it is certainly much better than when I first visited the Czech republic over 20 years ago and though cabbage in it various forms is the most served veg i have had many other veg on my plate, lightly pickled veg being quite common ,but on most menus there is a reasonable choice of salads to have as a side dish or main course.I do think that the Czech republic is in the main not that much poorer than many of its european cousins and certainly in Prague there are plenty of signs of people being better off than they were years ago.
Loads of locals eat out especially at lunchtime when there is a pretty cheap Denni menu, limited choice but usually a soup and a main course for anything from 85- 150Kc.
I do find after a few days in the Czech republic my body is craving fresh fruit and i usually solve that by buying a tray of fresh fruit salad in the supermakets like Billa or Albert. out in the suburbs it is sometime difficult to get a table in the popular hospodas (bars that serve food) and a few times i have been disapointed in not being able to get to a favouite place so i do try to book a table especially if meeting up with friends.
I would still say eat out lunch and dinner and have breakfast at your apartment,if you feel you need a fruit fix do as i do and buy a tray of stuff at the supermarket, you could always have it with yougurt for breakfast.

VeeDubb

That is a good point centraleurope. I can still get some local produce from the markets to eat as part of my breakfast or a snack.

centraleurope

Agree unclegus... The Monday thru Friday dirt cheap "menus" are the time when everyone goes out. And for the cost, you can not beat it. We go to our favorite places by about 11:30 to have a chance to eat.

Just saying, I would not automatically dismiss eating in. Particularly if you are a fruit and vege fan.

VeeDubb

I am planning to take the bus that travels from Munich to Prague on the DB website below (29 Euro each way). I will also need a return trip. Can anyone tell me if I should purchase these online before I go to Europe, or wait until I get to Europe and purchase them at the DB train station? How far in advance should I purchase them?
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Also, I did some research online, and it looks like the “Zizkov” neighborhood in Prague is not that far away from downtown, yet is less touristy, less expensive and has many local beer halls and restaurants. Is this and area that you would recommend visiting?

Thanks!

unclegus

Can't really help with the buses but as long as your are not booking months in advance i would get tickets on-line.
Zizkov area is pretty good,a little run down in places but as safe as anywhere,there is a real good Beer garden in Rigrovy Sady which is nice to visit if the weather is warm, lots and lots of pubs abd restuarants in the area..
I usually stay in the Dejvicka area of the city and like Zizkov has loats of pubs and resturaunts. Prague has such a good transport system that is really cheap and very efficient so it really does not matter where you stay as you can easily get round the city quickly and cheaply.just make sure you are close to a tram or metro stop.