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Where to stay…either Old Town/New Town/Mala Strana (Lesser Town)?

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Where to stay…either Old Town/New Town/Mala Strana (Lesser Town)?

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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 01:35 PM
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Where to stay…either Old Town/New Town/Mala Strana (Lesser Town)?

Can someone please make some suggestions/recommendations on which area to stay in while in Prague? I have read several reviews on all and they all have perks and seem great. Any advice/tips/pros or cons on these particular areas. Thanks everyone.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 02:10 PM
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We just stayed in an apartment in mala Strana, and loved the area. It made for a great base. Very near Prague Castle, Wallenstein Gardens, a couple of churches and Petrin Hill funicular.

Five minute walk to Charles Bridge and Kampa Island.

Fifteen to twenty minute walk over the bridge to get to Old Town or Jewish Quarter.

It was quiet at night where we stayed. We like night life, just not right outside our hotel/apartment. I would highly recommend that area to stay in.

My trip report (a work in process) is right now in the Prague stage and can give you some other info, and there are some other good Prague reports going on right now on the board.

Have fun. Prague is terrific!!!

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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 02:17 PM
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Ditto to the above. We love staying in the Mala Strana area for convenience to Charles Bridge, the Old Town, Castle, etc. All within easy walking distance. There are some cool restaurants nearby as well.

Last time we stayed in Prague we left the windows open in our room and heard the birds singing on Petrin Hill early in the morning. A lovely sound in a city!
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 02:23 PM
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I also enjoyed staying in the Lower Quarter becasue it offered easy access to lots of sights, but was quiet at night. If you choose to stay there, try to get a hotel lower on the hill (closer to Charles Bridge, not right up near the castle) unless you enjoy walking up and down hills alot. Kampa Island seems to be a similar location to Mala Strana and might be a good choice too. If you are interested in nightlife, you might prefer Old Town.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 03:53 PM
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I stayed at the Residence Hotel Mala Strana about two blocks from Vitezna where five tram lines converge to cross the bridge (Most Legli) to the National Theater.

The theater, however, was within easy walking distance when there was no thunder storm!!

We found it most convenient because of the tram lines. Line 22 curled around the hill between our stop and the Castle. Line 6 took us to Wenceslas Square.

Except for normal traffic noise, which was mild, the area was calm.

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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 04:42 PM
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I find the new town too, well, new. When you're going to the most well-preserved city in Central Europe definitely stay in the Old Town - or Mala Strana if need be - not the new area.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 06:05 PM
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"New Town" in Prague is not new!
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 06:21 AM
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Thanks all for your prompt replies. Sounds like Mala Strana might be the most central place to find a hotel.
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 06:55 PM
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it's true new town isn't really that new, but it's hard to say where you have in mind with that term, as it's a large area. But I think you'd prefer either of the other two. I prefer Old Town myself, but as you can see, many others like Mala Strana. Mala Strana is not the most central, Old Town Square is the center of the city. It depends where you stay, I stay in Old Town and it isn't noisy at all, because I don't stay in the small noisy areas people may think of when they say that, and no one is noisy right outside my hotel. Old Town is also a huge area, really.
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 08:31 PM
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How did you enjoy the Residence Hotel Mala Strana? Accomadations? Etc?
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 09:36 PM
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Halsa, try a text search with "residence mala strana". I have stayed there 4 times so far and posted some details about the hotel. Bob may have decided on this hotel partly because of my posts.

Relating to what Christina wrote, I love Mala Strana area so have stayed there 6 times out of 7 in last 2 years. However the only time I stayed in Old Town/Josehof (due to unavailability of hotels for my budget in Mala Strana), I had no problem with noise. Yet the hotel was 3 minutes walk from the Old Town Square. But I tend to think Mala Strana = quieter, especially at night & The Old Town - Wenceslas Squqre = Noisy, Stag parties even if it's not always true.

Mala Strana (Little Quareter), why this name? I found the following on a site of a hotel that is located in Mala Starana.

" Mala Strana (in English literally "Little Side", though more frequently described as "Lesser Quarter" or "Lesser Side&quot is originally a popular and nowadays also official name for former "The Lesser Town of Prague", one of Prague´s historical and oldest boroughs.

Its name comes from its position on the left (west) bank of the river Vltava, on the slopes immediately below the Prague Castle, in opposition to the larger cities of prague on the right bank, to which it is conjoined by Charles Bridge.

In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant centre of the German settlement of Prague. It also housed a large number of noble palaces, while the right-bank cities were comparatively more bourgeous and more Czech.
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 09:51 PM
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RE : Residence Mala Starana

I have not posted much details after all but the name pops up often. There is one like this.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35123123

This is a nice budget 3*hotel (paid €39 for a double room last winter/ lowest season rate - a big bargain considering the quality of the things offered - even in high season it's about €90) that's perfectly fine with me but what's your budget and what level of comfort are you looking for? And when are you going (see prices difference depending on the seasons)?
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Old Jul 29th, 2008, 10:47 PM
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And here is the post by Bob. R.Mala Strana is mentioned at the bottom.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35143142
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Old Jul 30th, 2008, 03:06 AM
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I too have stayed in the Residence Hotel Mala Strana and would go there again in a flash. Large room per European standards, great staff, super breakfast, good location.

Enjoy your trip. It's a wonderful, uniZue city.
sal
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Old Jul 30th, 2008, 04:06 AM
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i likedthe look of hotel antik
it was well located
but be very careful
we booked it once and were put into their sister hotel 'hotel antik city ' which is much further away from the old town
we still walked it but we were fuming that this was not explained to us when we were booking from our hometown
i talked to the agent and the hotel directly - email and phone several times

we wasted a whole morning looking for hotel antik when we actually had the address for hotel antik city
antik hotel has good reviews and although i didnt go beyond reception, im sure it was better than we stayed out in the sticks!
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