I just checked the Visa rate for today and...

If you have a visa card with no bank fee, and you don't have to pay any ATM fee (local or foreign) than the local exchange place is about the same and you might as well use the ATM at the airport.

If, on the other hand, you have to pay a percentage to your bank, or an ATM fee, than the local exchange place is significantly better.

http://www.exchange.cz

servus,

Just to confirm the unfortunately Sue Oz and I will not be able to attend. I was optimistic but it is not to be. :(

Most of the businesses in all the countries have this strange policy of only accepting payments in their local currency. And those who accept foreign currency usually apply a very non-competitive exchange rate. Just sayin'

If you grab a taxi in Israel, or go to a tourist shop, there is no problem in paying in dollars. I remember paying in Euros in Hungary long before it joined the EU (and it still is not in the Euro Zone). I know that I never have a problem in large stores in Switzerland paying in Euros (in fact, the receipts they give you have both the Euro and CH Franc totals, even when you pay in Francs).

I don't think the point was being able to pay in a different denomination (and tell me that Israel taking USD would be any surprise) ... but that you'll be charged a bad exchange rate - just as you would at an airport kiosk. Change a small dollar amount in that situation, not your entire wad and you can take the small hit you'd incur. That hit should be less than the $10 version you were quoted, when trying to change to an uncommon currency somewhere that doesn't do all that much exchanging to begin with.

I wish I had been watching this thread, could have saved you all some time.

The ATMs in the arrivals hall are bank ATMs, and the rate there is going to be the same as the bank ATMs in the center of Prague or in any Czech village.

ATM is almost certainly to give you a more favorable rate than exchanging cash anywhere.


Euros are accepted at some places in the tourist zone, where 1) prices are already greatly inflated and 2) you'll get a lousy rate. But I guess in a pinch it would work.

But really: just withdraw cash from the bank ATMs in the airport (Česka Spořitelna and ČSOB are two of the big ones).

An additional tip: if you can, take out an odd amount (example: 3500 or 3900Kc instead of 4000Kc) because breaking large bills can be a hassle sometimes...like, they won't, or they'll give you stink eye and swear at you if they do...

Maybe I can add some general info from time to time on this thread that would be helpful.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

In my quite biased opinion, one of the best and most comprehensive systems in the world. Subway (metro), trams, buses and one funicular.

18Kc = 'short' ticket...20 minutes on a tram, or 5 stops on a metro line. Can't transfer between modes.

26Kc = normal ticket ... 75 minutes using any or all modes in any direction.

100Kc = 1-day pass

330Kc = 3-day pass (why is it more than 3 one-day passes? because you can bring a child as well)


All tickets need validated one time. This is not intuitive for people used to turnstiles. At the top of the escalators in metro stations, and at the entrances to buses and trams, there is a little yellow box with a glowing arrow. Line the arrow on the ticket up with the arrow on the box, stick it in until you hear it print. Once the ticket is validated, don't do it again (so, if you get a 3-day pass, still, only validate the very first time).

Getting to/from airport:

Since most people are staying in the center, there are a couple options. The AE bus is a special bus, to which none of the above information applies. It runs express from the airport to the main train station and costs 50Kc, payable to the driver.

Otherwise, you can buy tickets in the arrivals hall at the DPP booth, or you can use coins at the machine out front of the terminal.

Take bus 119 to the end of its line, stop Dejvicka. (The ride is 22 or 24 minutes, depending which Terminal you alight from)

Directly out the exit of the bus is the entrance to the metro station on the green line...there's also a tram stop here.

IF you have a large suitcase, hypothetically you should also buy a 13Kc luggage ticket for it.

Services

The regular system runs from approx 5am to midnight Sunday-Thursday, and from 5 til 1am Friday and Saturday.

Metro has three lines, A B and C (or green, yellow, and red).

Regular day trams have numbers from 1-26.

Regular day buses in Prague have numbers in the 100s.

There are a handful of night trams and buses, which have different routes from regular (day) trams. Night trams all have numbers in the 50s. Night buses have numbers in the 500s. They run when the regular service is down for the night, albeit infrequently (I want to say around every 40 or 45 minutes).

Summer is a big time for construction, so trams may be diverted. They are usually numbered in the 30s. Any diverted buses would be in the 300s.

Schedules are posted at every tram and bus stop. They tell you what time the tram/bus will be at that stop, the upcoming stops, and how long it will take to get to those stops.

Transfer points between metro lines are at Mustek, Muzeum, and Florenc.

adventureadam, I will be spending a week in Prague, doing the usual tourist stuff. I prefer to use my Amex wherever possible. How much Czech cash do you suggest that I get?

It depends where you eat. If you're in the big, expensive restaurants, credit cards are no problem. If you're at a beer garden or neighborhood restaurant/pub, it's cash only. Same with small neighborhood shops or corner stores (potraviny).

The Czech Republic is much more of a cash society than my experience in Northern/Western Europe.

How much cash? It's so tough without knowing exactly what you'll be doing and where you'll go.

Coffee is between 30 and 80Kc. Beer is 25-40Kc. (non tourist-zone prices)

PARKS

So I don't feel very much inclined to comment on the main tourist attractions (the castle, the bridge, the clock, and the museums). They're covered extensively elsewhere and far better than I could, because I generally avoid them. :)

(BTW, be cautious with your belongings in Old Town Square -- especially looking at the clock ... if you like, you can sit down for an hour and watch the pickpockets ply their trade ... they're the people who aren't moving at the same pace/direction as the throngs of tourists but somehow are still there 15 minutes later.)

For me, especially in warm weather, some of the best views into Prague life are its parks. Rollerblading (still very big), tennis, frisbee (mostly expats), football...mothers with prams...people smoking joints and drinking beer...grannies, etc.

The park with the best beer garden + view is Letna Park (Letenske Sady), on the west/north bank, kind of across the river from the main Prague Hilton, for those who are staying there. It's a hike up the hill (or a moderately confusing tram ride and walk for the uninitiated), so dress for sweating if it's warm.

Up top you'll find a few things: a tennis club (with beer/ice cream stand), large patches of rather scrubby looking grass, the metronome...where the largest statue of Stalin USED to stand...and the beer garden with the best views of Prague. Last summer I think the price for .5L of beer was 30Kc. Some afternoons there is a grill adjacent. Downside is that the beer is in plastic cups and tables can be hard to come by later in the afternoon.


Another great view + beer garden park is Riegrovy Sady, in the Vinohrady district, on the hill up behind the main train station. Easiest metro access is from Jiriho z Podebrad stop on the green line, tram stop Vinohradská tržnice on the 11 line. Either way it's a couple blocks walk. Beer garden here is probably the best in Prague in many ways. Also the most heavily expat. Gambrinus is the beer on tap in the main hut, 29Kc last year, not sure what it will be this year. Around 30 though. Pilsner is available at another hut for around 45. There's a sausage stand. There's also a cool pub/outdoor cafe halfway down the hill towards the train station.

The highlight of this park is the view around sunset, with the sun setting over the old town and castle almost perfectly.


Petrin hill has "two parks," on either side of the hunger wall, although they're interchangable as far as anyone is concerned. One is more manicured and garden like, the other is a windy path with an orchard towards the park. This is where the funicular is that I mentioned above: you can get on at the bottom of the hill and go to the top (where the eiffel tower- looking- thingy is ). There's an intermediate stop at a restaurant with very nice views. The prices there are not totally unreasonable..but also not what you'd pay elsewhere. There may be fruit on the trees in June, and anyone is free to pick and eat. Supposedly a gift from a long gone king, but the age of the trees indicates that there has been replacement.


Šárka is less a park and more of a natural area. For FTers, the main interest may be that the tops of the hills/cliffs provide a pretty interesting view towards the airport. It's still a few km away, but also looking into the sun at sunset, and you can see the tower and planes landing/departing. Accessible by tram or bus, then a decent and strenuous walk (hilly, and mostly unpaved).

There are lots of other worthwhile parks...Stromovka, the park in Vysehrad, Havlickovy Sady, etc etc., but I think for the short term visitor these provide the best variety, views, and interesting things.

BEER

Czechs drink more beer than anyone, per capita. It's not really a nation of drunks though, it's woven into the social fabric of everyday life. You still may see someone stopping off for a male (small) pivo (beer) on their way to work. If you're around a construction site, you'll almost certainly see the workers taking a beer (or two+) at lunch. Or grannies drinking a beer in a beer garden.

Of course the mainstay is pilsner, so called after the Czech city Plzen between PRague and Munich, and home of what everyone else calls Pilsner Urquell. You may also know Budvar/Budweis/Budweiser (or Czechvar in America and other locales where Anheiser-Busch has won the court battle) from Ceske Budejovice.

Staropramen is a mass-produced beer that is made in Prague, downstream from the Charles Bridge. Gambrinus is another huge brand, and one you'll find in many many beer gardens, bars, etc. It's relatively low-alcohol, but if it's cold it's decently tasty if you like pilsners. And it's cheap. There are plenty of others around as well, and some local microbreweries, which I am definitely not qualified to talk about because I'd rather spend my days drinking 30-crown beers with my friends.

If you order "a beer" (pivo), you'll get a half-liter draft, unless you're in some sketchy place that gouges tourists by selling them a litre of beer or a bottle of beer. If you're in one of these places, don't keep drinking the beer.

If you're out in the sticks, or even in a less-traveled neighborhood bar, you can find a beer for around 20 crowns. In beer gardens and places kind of circling the tourist center, price is more like 30 crowns. In the center, you can find some places in the 30-40 crown range. Much more than 40, and you know that you're not only paying a lot for your beer, but for everything else you're buying there. :) Last summer some stands along the river were charging 80 crowns a beer. Keep in mind this is 4-6 times more than other places in the country. Not abnormal, nor are the prices outrageous for western tourists (80 crowns = 3,50 E or 4.50USD approx). In a grocery or potraviny you can find gambrinus for 14-18Kc, and pilsner for 20-25 Kc, even most places in the middle.

You can drink beer almost anywhere. Buy a beer at the store, take it into the park. Walk down the street. Can't take them on public transportation or into stores. That's about it. You can sit right in front of a church and drink a beer without drawing attention (at least for that) from locals in most instances. Or along the river. Or pretty much any bench you see in town (you'll see lots if you're out walking).

So there's the regular pivo - half liter, and the malé pivo which is a third of a litre. Malé pivo is what women drink. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

If you don't want to even say anything, but you're in a place that is clearly a beer establishment, you can hold up your thumb. It means "one beer." Or if you're in a bar/pub, you can put a paper coaster in front of you. Same idea.

That's all I can think of for now.

WE ARE IN!!!
 

Marlikestotravel and retirement dreams will be flying in a day early..and hopefully will be the first (or one of the first to treat the organizer to a beer!!) or beverage of choice.

Can anyone suggest wine to try?? Preferably white...



We will be staying at the Marriott.

Thanks
 

Thanks adventureadam for all of the information about Prague.... you have covered so much and all of it can only help this first time visitor to Prague. You've saved me, and probably many others attending the Do, an immense amount of research!

Move me to CONFIRMED ^

Flights booked - arriving Thursday afternoon and departing Monday morning. Hotel - Hilton (not the old town one)

The spouse gave me my get out of jail free card so there will be just one of us. Looking forward to the do :cool:

The key to buying Czech wine is to buy anything that has a bronze, silver, or gold star from a wine competition. Whenever I buy a wine without a star it is bad and whenever I buy a wine with a star it is good. Good Czech wine can be had for 125CZK and up.

http://www.danheller.com/images/Euro...g26.html#img30