Arriving in Prague by train had a luxurious grandeur at the
beginning of the 20th century when the main station was new.
These days, one would need look hard to find lost grandeur,
and most visitors need a few tips to guide them smoothly through their arrival.
Here are Hedgie's tips:
When you book your train, choose one of the clean, modern, faster trains (Euro-trains) and reserve well ahead to ensure a seat in high season. Your journey will be much more pleasant.
Next, stay on the train until the main station. (Prague has 5 stations.) It's called "Hlavni nadrazi" --main station-- in Czech. Its real name is Wilson Station, after Woodrow Wilson, that crucial ally of Tomaš Masaryk, who wrested the new nation of Czechoslovakia from Hapsburg rule in 1918.
Orientation: This zoomable map centered on the station gives you details. Notice, at the top of the park on Bolzanova street, the tram stop. The park in front of the station, dubbed Sherwood Forest by locals in recognition of the forced redistribution of wealth that goes on there, is not safe after dark. At the left side of the map, if you move the train station to the right, is the boulevard called Vaclavske Namesti. This is the center of the New Town. (See FAQ #4 for description of the Old Town and other important parts of the city).
The Prague Transport system is completely integrated. Metro, trams, buses, even the funicular, use the same tickets.
You will need crowns, not euros, in the Czech Republic. An ATM/Bankomat gives the best rate. The "change" offices give a poor rate and charge at least 3.5% commission, or charge "0% commission," have misleading information posted, charge you for unwanted maps, AND give you a poor rate. Some restaurants, taxis, and shops will change euros for you, but you will likely get an abysmal rate.
The downside of ATMs is they usually spit out 1000 or 2000 crown bills, considered an enormous amount in everyday transactions. So you'll need to get small change by buying something. Or, the public transit ticket office will give you change when you get your tickets. (They may not be too happy, of course, being inundated all day with visitors with 2000 Czk bills.)
Alternately, if you have a large bill, there is a good newsstand just before you get to the main entry hall. You can get the English language weekly, the Prague Post.
A public transit office (abbreviated MHD) for purchasing tickets valid on
the Metro, trams, buses, and funicular is in the train station entry hall. You can also buy tickets
from the yellow ticket machines near the entrances to the Metro.
Big trilingual signs mark these machines as well as the ticket window.
However, there are no clear signs to guide you from the trains to the ticket office, or to the trams or the Metro. Somehow it has escaped officialdom that this is a common custom in other parts of the world, and that the country is now part of that world.
As you walk out of the old part of the station into the badly neglected "modern" add-on entry hall, you come down some steps and see a wall of glass windows and doors. The Metro/tram ticket booth is to your right, near the 2 towers that house elevators for the handicapped to get to the Metro. It supposed to be open til 6pm. Do not confuse it with a similar but perennially closed booth to your left.
Each person will need an 14 crown (non-transfer) or a 20 crown (transfer) ticket plus a 10 crown ticket for each piece of luggage, if bigger than 25x45x70 cm. See rules for usage, prices for children, types of passes, etc. at the MHD website.
If you plan to use a pass, this would be the time to get one. If you will need to use the Metro or tram daily, a pass may save you money. If not, you may want it simply for the convenience. Consider the Prague Card if you plan to visit a lot of museums. Passes need to be activated in the same stamping machines as regular tickets. Hedgie's Public Transit tips give you explanations and links.
You may also be able to persuade the vendor to give you a guide to the transit system in English. They are often scarce because, of course, they are popular with everyone who doesn't speak Czech. A Czech brochure will still give you the same map of the system, so get that if nothing else is available. There is also a large map of the system posted near the booth.If you know you are going to arrive at night after the ticket office is closed, consider printing out the map on the MHD website to bring with you.
The Metro is in the train station and the trams run by outside at the bottom of the incline. When you arrange your hotel booking, obtain the name of the nearest Metro or tram stop.
The most direct way to get to many hotels in the historical center is to take your tickets and get on the tram. You need to leave the station and walk a bit for this. Go out any of the glass doors at the front of the entry hall. There are no signs. Fortunately, if you need to ask, the Czech word for tram is "tramvaj" (roughly "tram vi" with a long i).
Follow the crowds walking down the path to the right. As you walk, you will see the "freeway" (Czechs call it the "magistrala") and the beautiful old part of the station to your right, and a statue of a soldier embracing another man.
Cross to the "island" in the middle of the street to get #5 going in the direction you want, away from the freeway.
At the tram stop you'll see posted time tables. The underlined station is where you are standing. Read down from there to see where you are going.
NOTE: Due to closure of Stefanik bridge for extensive repairs, trams are rerouted. None are going to Namesti Republiky or Dlouha trida again until August 22, 2007. There is a bus substitute for these stops, but information is complex and in Czech. The Metro to Namesti Republiky is a better option for this area during this period.
Tram 5's table will look roughly like this (The accented Czech letters are rendered as unaccented, as they would might be screwed up by your browser.):
Note: If the time tables are printed on yellow paper, it means there are temporary detours somewhere on the route. Check to see that your stop is still included. If not, don't panic. Ask a likely person for help, using a map and your hotel address. Hedgie has been known to successful help visitors even when we have no language in common. Pantomime and pointing are great tools.
From the train station, there are routes in opposite directions to different parts of the historical center. Tram 5 goes from Hlavni nadrazi to Namesti Republiky and Dlouha trida, then across the river to Prague 7, Holesovice. Tram 9 heads to Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske namesti), to Narodni trida, then across the river to the Mala Strana side.
Many of the hotels Hedgie has reviewed are an easy walk from the Dlouha tram stop, the third stop from the train station. It's 5 minutes. .
The apartment Hedgie rents out near Bethlehem Square in the Old Town is on the Tram 9 route.
Trams run quite frequently.
Be sure to time stamp your tickets or pass in
one of the yellow boxes when you get on.
Map of station and tram area
If your hotel is on a Metro line, you use the same transit tickets.
There are 3 lines, green or A, yellow or B, and red or C.
You need to know your line and metro station. If you are going to transfer
lines, know which station will be your transfer station.
Signs to know: Prestup=transfer, Vstup=entry, and Vystup=exit (Note that crucial "y" which changes the entire meaning!).
Time stamp your tickets before entry to the Metro. As illustrated in the photos, signs above each entrance spell out the Line (linka), identified by color and letter, important stops, transfer points.
Taxis are available from the station but Hedgie does not recommend most of them. Read about taxis, if you plan to take one.
Do NOT, NOT, NOT take just any cab. Bad to VERY bad scene!
See Hedgie's tips on good taxis.
Once you have armed yourself with knowledge about the taxi scene, if you still insist on taking one, the two taxi stands are located on either side of the station in the underground area below the "magistrala" or highway. As you are coming down the corridor after leaving the train platforms, you will enter a broad hall with both columns and the low ceiling painted red. (Is this meant to be a modern rendition of Dante's Inferno? We don't know.) At both the extreme right end and extreme left end of this hall are the taxis. A few may be AAA or Profi, if you are lucky, but you will not be able to "cherry pick" them out of the lineup.
An alternative is to call your own taxi from the recommended honest companies (see the link above). Either use your cell phone or go to the front of the station outside the glass doors and use the public phones. You can ask them to meet you at the Hlavni nadrazi tram stop.(See above.) Carefully note the taxi's number you are given as a security measure, and look for it when it pulls up. The driver should know your name.
Pickpockets and Thieves
The park area around the train station is nicknamed "Sherwood Forest," not because of it's trees, which are few, but because some denizens believe the rich should share generously with the poor. As in the fairy tales you may have grown up with, you are urged to stick to the path and not loiter.
You're probably very savvy about pickpockets and thieves,
but do read about
Prague tactics. You need to be
prepared, both on the train itself and once you step off.
Tourists overcrowd the Metro and many trams in season,
and of course the pickpockets just LOVE that opportunity. They are
very aggressive, extremely persistent, quite deft, and not in the least
ashamed of being seen "in the act." Police have been minimally concerned and ineffective.
Prague residents share their preventive tips with friends and visitors. We pass them on to you.
The thieves will be watching for that moment you are exhausted and distracted. The very moment
you are not alert, they move in.
If you are here with a friend or partner, always be aware of what is happening to the other person. If one or two people step between you in a crowded place,
it may be a setup.
(Various locals have been targets so often they are thinking of volunteering as decoys, should the police ever take the problem seriously.)
Money belts are an absolute must. So are "decoy" wallets. Note that a camera bag or camera around your neck, especially an expensive one, is the
equivalent of a flashing neon sign. Wear your mobil (cell phone) on your belt or hide it
securely. Also avoid having
anything in backpack/knapsack/purse pockets that can be unzipped
quickly.
Taxis and pickpockets are the 2 big problems here. Avoid those and
you'll have a great time!
© Copyright 2004-2005 Hedgehog Holding s.r.o.
To the FAQ Page
Back to the Front Page
Inside Home = Login page