Are you planning a trip to Prague but don’t know where to start? I have recently been to Prague on a weekend break with friends and it was just spectacular. I cannot recommend enough to visit this historical European city, at least once in your lifetime. So, if you answered yes to my question above, you are at the right place. I have shared below a detailed plan for the trip which you might just use for yourself.
Day 1: Our Flight
We got an easyJet flight from London Gatwick airport (of course you can find any other flights from other London airports) to Prague. A usual flight from London to Prague takes about 2 hours and because we wanted to use much of our first day in Prague, we took an early morning flight around 8 am. The flight, however, was slightly quicker than the scheduled time so we landed in Prague by 9:40 am. I would highly recommend to book flights around 6 am – 8 am, which mean you would be arriving in Prague by 8 am – 10 am.
Because it was a weekend break (Thursday to Sunday), we preferred to take a standard ticket which allow only one hand carry. You can always book a flexi-ticket which allows one hand carry/cabin bag and one checked-in bag for a small price, in case you have extra luggage; but it is best to rather check the guidelines for the easyJet luggage dimensions.
Public Transport
Public transport is very affordable in Prague. We mostly took Uber or trams when needed. But sightseeing on foot is the best way to see this amazing city. There are a lot of private taxis available outside the Prague airport, which are all very expensive. So, we decided to take Uber to our hotel. There are different pick-up points outside the airport. Our Uber arrived in no time and picked us up from the pick-up point 8. Uber drivers in Prague were very friendly and most of them could speak English.
Our Hotel
After arriving at our hotel, 4* Grandior Hotel in Old Town Square, which I highly recommend to book in advance, the staff provided us with amazing service. As we booked the hotel 6 weeks in advance, we got 2 standard large-double bedrooms for £442, which included complimentary breakfast. This price was ok for us as it was divided between four of us. You can of course look for other hotels for even more price options according to your budget via booking.com or go for an Airbnb option, whatever suits you best.
Where to eat?
Upon our early arrival, when our check-in was at 3 pm, they let us check-in early (11 am). After leaving our luggage in our rooms, we headed out to eat something. Just 1 min walk away is KFC where we had our brunch. There is McDonald’s only 5 min walk away and Subway just 6 min walk from the hotel. There are other small cafes around where you can grab some amazing sandwiches if you want to try out the Czech specials.
The landmarks that we had planned to explore were:
A walk across the Charles Bridge |
Explore Prague Castle |
Explore the Old Town Square |
The Astronomical Clock Tower |
The John Lennon Wall |
St. Vitus Cathedral |
Old Town Square
In the afternoon, we headed off to the Old Town Square for sightseeing (on foot, of course). The pastel-coloured buildings in the old town square are a delight to look at. The Astronomical Clock in the square is one of the picturesque spots of Prague. We then headed to the top of the Clock Tower for some amazing views of the city. The ticket for clock tower only costs about £9 and it is all worth it.
Charles Bridge
Our next stop was Charles Bridge, which was about 10 min walk from the clock tower. There are a lot of souvenir shops around the bridge, so if you are interested to get something for friends and family, this is your place. We then headed back to our hotel – grabbed some dinner and slept as we were tired.
Day 2: Dancing House
Next day, we woke up early around 8 am, had our breakfast and headed off to the Dancing House – a building famous for its design structure. We headed up to the top of building where the views are just amazing. There is a small café which connects to the terrace to capture some amazing view of the city.
Although the access to the terrace is not free, however, if you buy some food n drinks from the café, you can get free access to the terrace. This option is way cheaper than paying for the terrace access, so I recommend get something to eat or drink and enjoy the amazing views for free. Some amazing pictures could be taken from in-front of the building – ‘push the dancing house’.
For our next stop, we had to go through the Charles Bridge yet again, so we walked about 10 min from the dancing house toward Charles Bridge. You can take tram if you don’t want to walk. However, it is only 2 tram stops and as I mentioned earlier, buses and trams all cost about £0.50 per single journey. There are other hourly and daily passes available for all public transport, so you can buy according to what suites you better.
When we visited the Charles Bridge on day 1, most of the time it was dark. So, for day 2, we decided to take a few more pictures on the bridge with some amazing natural daylight.
John Lennon Wall
Next stop on our itinerary was the John Lennon Wall. So, we headed down to the left of the bridge and right there was a hidden-picturesque spot (featured image). You must take a picture here. Take some amazing pictures at this secret spot and around some small cafes in the area around the Lennon Wall. Make sure you leave your mark on the graffiti wall.
Read more: A weekend in Venice
Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral
We then walked all the way to Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, which is about 25 min, but you can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the city. Remember the castle has a long staircase of about 200 steps so make sure you wear comfortable footwear.
Petrin Tower
At about 5 pm, we headed off to see the Petrin Tower – the Eiffel tower of Prague, via boarding a tram from outside the Prague Castle. We took the Fenicular Rail to reach the top of the Petrin Tower which costs about £1.50 per person for a single journey.
Upon reaching at the top, we took some amazing photos of the tower as in the evening the tower looks amazing. There are a few cafes around so remember to grab something if you are feeling hungry by then. After it was complete dark, we took Uber and headed to a restaurant for dinner.
Dinner at Lal Kila
For dinner decided to pick LaL Kila – an Indian restaurant with some amazing food and service. This is highly recommended if you are a curry fan. The ambience of the restaurant after a long tiring day is just a perfect way to end your day. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel via Uber again. We all slept by 9 pm as we had an early start again.
Day 3: Bohemian Switzerland
A great breakfast at the hotel and we all left for our day 3 plan – hike! Today we were heading off to the Bohemian Switzerland, which was a 2 hours train ride towards Decin town – just a few miles away from the German border. We booked Uber from the hotel to Praha Main station. We bought our train tickets which was about £5 per person.
How to travel?
I suggest you buy single journey tickets as you don’t know how long you will take to return from the hike. The train journey is beautiful on its own as the train passes along a river and the beautiful mountains in the background.
When reached Decin station, we booked a cab to drop us off at our starting point of the hike. As this area is more of a village, booking cab is very difficult. Hence, we took the contact number of the same cab driver as he suggested to pick us up from the other point where our hike would end. You can book the cab from the same company. Make sure you take the cab driver’s number before you head off for the hike.
The hike itself is probably about 7-8 miles which takes about 3-4 hours, depending on your speed and the stop intervals that you might want to take for pictures. We started the hike from Mezna Hotel (point 19), where our cab driver dropped us off. The hike is of a easy-moderate level and we saw many kids hiking along with their parents.
How to return?
Almost after 3.5 hours of the hike, the same cab driver picked us from the Hrensko bus stand (point 25) and dropped us off at the Decin station. The cab took £30 for the return journey which is very affordable.
Also, there is a bus ride available from Decin station which could be a cheaper option, however, the bus had timings of running every hour and with these included an extra 20 min walk to the starting point of the hike. So, I would highly recommend taking the cab to the starting point as it would save you a lot of hassle.
Then we bought our return tickets to Praha Main station from Decin station for about £5 per person. We reached back to our hotel by 7.30 pm. We then had our dinner at the hotel and after a long and extremely tiring day, hit our beds by 9 pm.
Day 4: Day of return
Finally for day 4, before heading back to London, we had a couple of hours to roam around locally. So, we had our breakfast, left our luggage in the hotel luggage room, checked out, and left to see the rest of the local area.
Amorino Gelato
One last thing that I would highly recommend is the Amorino Gelato – a must try! We tried a few flavours, but my personal favourite was Mango. Another must try is the Prague’s Chimney Cake, which is available with so many flavours – Nutella was my favourite.
We then headed back to the hotel by 2 pm. Our cab arrived and we headed to the airport. Our flight back to London Luton airport was an easyJet flight, scheduled for 4.30 pm. We landed in London at about 5.30 pm (one-hour time difference). Everyone booked their cab and headed back home.
Other travel options from the Airport to Old Town Square
Private Car Hire | Airport to Hotel direct ride via HOPPA | Return travel = £40 |
UBER | Direct UBER ride to hotel | Return travel = £25 |
Bus + Subway | 100 Bus to Nádraží Veleslavín Change stations [4 min walk] A Train to Muzeum – A Change [4 min walk] C Train to Florenc – C Walk 3 min to Hotel | Return travel = £8 |
Bus + Tram | 119/191/322 Bus to Divoká Šárka Change stations [8 min walk] 26 Tram to Masarykovo nádraží Walk 6 min to Hotel | Return travel = £6 |
Bus Only | AE Bus to Hlavní nádraží Walk 14 min to Hotel | Return travel = £5 |
Best Restaurants in Prague
The Tavern | Best Burgers |
Satsang | Vegetarian |
Alforno Focacceria | Italian |
McDonald’s | Fast-food |
Alternate Off-Beaten Path in Prague
While the Bohemian Switzerland might be too far for some of you to travel, there is an alternate option for another off-beaten path. This is a great alternate for your day 3 plan.
Divoka Sarka
Divoka Sarka – A nature reserve, just about 40 min from Prague, has well-marked trails that veer through a wild landscape of rocky cliffs, deep forests and a natural spring which eventually empties into the city’s most beautiful public swimming pool.
To travel to Divoka Sarka, Take the A (Green) Line metro to Nádraží Veleslavín and change to the 20 or 26 tram to their final destination on the outskirts of Divoka Sarka.
Hope this would help you plan your trip better. If you have questions, feel free to get in touch. Don’t forget to leave your comments below. XX
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