Prague travel guide: where to stay, where to eat, and getting in from the airport

Prague is the Bohemian capital and one of the most-walked old towns in Europe. The river Vltava splits the city into Staré Město on the east bank and Malá Strana below the castle on the west. A long weekend covers the headlines: Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, the castle complex, and one beer hall. A week unlocks the smaller neighborhoods.

On this page

• Getting in from the airport
• Festivals and big annual events
• Where to stay
• Where to eat
• Common scams to know going in

Getting in from the airport

Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) sits about 17 km west of the center. The airport bus is the simplest way in, with a taxi as the easier-with-luggage alternative.

Mode	Time	Cost	When to use
Bus 119 + Metro line A	35 to 45 min	40 CZK (a single integrated ticket)	The default. Bus 119 from outside terminals to Nádraží Veleslavín, transfer to the green metro line into the center
Airport Express (AE) bus	35 to 40 min	100 CZK	Direct to Praha hlavní nádraží (main train station) with luggage racks. Useful if you are arriving with bags or continuing on the train
Uber / Bolt / Liftago	25 to 45 min	350 to 650 CZK	The right call with luggage or after a late arrival. Liftago is the Czech rideshare. Bolt and Uber both work too
Taxi from the rank	25 to 45 min	600 to 900 CZK	Last resort. Use the Fix Taxi or AAA Taxi counters inside arrivals to avoid the worse street rates

Festivals and big annual events

Prague's calendar runs on a small set of headline windows that fill the city, plus a quieter year-round programming layer that does not move hotel prices. The Christmas markets and the spring music festival are the trip-shapers.

Event	When	What it changes
Christmas markets (Vánoční trhy)	Late November to January 6	The Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square markets are the two big ones. Mulled wine (svařák), trdelník (the chimney cake that is not technically Czech but is sold to every visitor), grilled klobása, hand-blown glass and wooden toys. The most-visited Prague window of the year. Hotels in Staré Město book heavily
Prague Spring (Pražské jaro) music festival	Mid-May to early June, three weeks	The international classical-music festival, one of the most important in Europe. The opening concert is Smetana's Má vlast on May 12 (the anniversary of Smetana's death) at the Obecní dům. The Rudolfinum, Smetana Hall, and Dvořák Hall host the rest. Tickets sell out for the headline concerts. Smaller hotel-pressure impact because the audience is older and more European than the Christmas-market crowd
Easter markets (Velikonoční trhy)	Two weeks before Easter to the week after	The smaller spring equivalent of the Christmas markets, at the same Old Town and Wenceslas Square locations. Painted eggs, pomlázka (the willow whips used in the Easter Monday tradition), spring food. Smaller hotel impact but a real reason to be in town if Easter falls in your travel window
Signal Festival	Mid-October, four days	The Prague light festival. Free large-format light installations across the historic center. Around half a million attendees. Hotels in the center fill on the festival weekend
Bohemia JazzFest	Mid-July	Free open-air jazz concerts at Old Town Square, plus other Czech cities. Smaller hotel impact, but a reason to spend an evening in the square
Prague Pride	Mid-August, around a week	The parade through the center. Smaller than Madrid or Berlin Pride but the biggest LGBTQ event in the Czech Republic
Prague Marathon	Early May	Road closures across the Old Town and along the Vltava
Czech Independence Day	October 28	National holiday. Many museums open free. Civic ceremonies at Wenceslas Square

The two trip-shaping events are the Christmas markets (the busy window to either book early for or push around) and Prague Spring in May (the right window if classical music is the trip). Easter markets are the underrated alternative to the Christmas window if the spring weather appeals.

Where to stay

Property	Note
Holiday Inn Prague	5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

These are the hotels I have pinned from prior stays. Each links to the pin with the address, the rough nightly band, and any notes.

Where to eat

Czech food is heavier than its neighbours. Cured meats, dumplings, roast pork knuckle, hearty soups. Beer is the national drink in a way few countries can match.

Spot	Rating
BEEF BAR	5/5
[BRICK'S	Hergetova Cihelna](/pins/brick-s-hergetova-cihelna)
Good Food Coffee & Bakery	5/5
Alebrijes, Cocina Mexicana (Malá Strana)	Pinned
Arepas De Lyna	Pinned

Common scams to know going in

Prague's scams are mostly soft and easy to side-step once named. They cluster in the Old Town, on the Charles Bridge, and in the taxi market.

• Currency exchange in the Old Town. The street kiosks advertising "0% commission" between Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge are running a worse rate than the bank or the airport. The board lists buy and sell on the same line and the actual rate you receive is on the wrong column. Use a bank ATM (ČSOB, Komerční banka, Raiffeisen), withdraw CZK directly, skip the kiosks entirely. The notable exception is Exchange.cz on Kaprova, which is a real fair-rate operator.
• Tipped-meter taxis. The traditional Prague taxi scam was a doctored meter charging 4x the real fare. Use Bolt or Liftago instead. If you have to take a curb taxi, confirm the rate before pulling away (max ~36 CZK/km inside the city) and ask for a printed receipt at the end.
• Restaurant bill scams in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Same pattern as Rome. Bread basket added at 80 CZK, sparkling water you didn't order at 120 CZK, "tourist menu" at 2-3x the local rate. The signal is a touter outside the door, picture menus, and English-only chalkboards. Walk one street back from any major square.
• The "drink with us" bar scam. A friendly local invites you for a beer at a club he insists is the best in Prague. The bill arrives at the end with charges of 10,000+ CZK for "VIP service" or "private room." The doormen will make sure you pay. This is a real pattern in the area south of Wenceslas Square at night. If a stranger insists on a specific venue, go to a different venue.
• The "free walking tour" pressure tip. The free walking tours that meet at the Astronomical Clock are legitimate, but the guide will spend the last ten minutes explaining that the "free" tour runs on tips and that "the locals tip 500 CZK" (they don't). 200 CZK is fair if the tour was good. Pay what you think the value was, walk away.
• The Charles Bridge pickpocket press. Mid-bridge during the noon-to-6 p.m. window. The bridge fills, the crowd compresses around the statues, and the wallet leaves with someone behind you. Phone in a zipped pocket, bag in front. Cross the bridge before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m. for the photo and the air.

None of this makes Prague difficult. The metro is safe, the city is safe at every hour, and Czech beer is the cheapest in the EU. The scams are easy to side-step once named.