Prague, a metropolis of 1.3 million individuals, is unfold out into 10 sprawling districts that fan clockwise round a central, historic core. The excellent news for guests, although, is that many of the sights are crammed into a comparatively compact space bordering each banks of the Vltava River – and the general public transportation system is great. From metros and trams to Ubers and bikes, this is the whole lot it’s essential find out about every mode of transport and the all-important ticketing system.
Prague Metro
The metro, or subway, is reasonable and environment friendly, and the quickest manner for overlaying lengthy distances. The metro conveniently serves each the primary practice station (metro: Hlavní nádraží) and bus station (Florenc) and runs to the primary connecting level (Nádraží Veleslavín) for catching public buses to and from Prague Airport. The system operates day by day from 5am to midnight.
Suggestions for taking the metro: The A – inexperienced – line is useful for shifting between main sights. It hyperlinks central Wenceslas Sq. (at stations Můstek and Muzeum) to Previous City Sq. (Staroměstská) and Malá Strana (Malostranská), and brings guests to inside strolling distance of Prague Citadel (Hradčanská).
Tram
Prague’s spectacular tram community stretches out like tentacles to all elements of town and is helpful for touring each brief and lengthy distances. Throughout peak occasions, tram automobiles flip up at intervals starting from 4 to eight minutes (longer within the evenings). Regular service runs from round 5am to midnight, after which a skeletal fleet of night time trams enters into service. The Prague tram map appears daunting at first however studying a number of key routes can save money and time.
Suggestions for taking the tram: Tram 22 follows a extremely picturesque route and passes close to many high vacationer sights, together with Prague Citadel and Malá Strana.
Bus
Prague has an intensive community of buses, although most strains serve outlying districts and are of little curiosity to guests. There are two exceptions: Bus 119 runs from Prague Airport to the Nádraží Veleslavín metro station. Bus 112 hyperlinks the Nádraží Holešovice metro station to Prague Zoo.
Strolling
Put together to do a number of strolling and pack snug sneakers. A lot of the middle, together with most of Staré Město (Previous City) and Malá Strana, is closed to vehicular visitors, so touring by foot is usually the one choice for getting round.
Bike
Biking in Prague might be enjoyable and handy, and metropolis officers are slowly constructing out a community of devoted biking routes. That mentioned, Prague’s congested, slim roads, cobblestones, omnipresent trams and slow-moving teams of pedestrians all pose potential risks.
A number of corporations function day leases or short-term, bike-share schemes, although locals choose to rent pink Rekola bikes from stands round city. Obtain the app to get began. Single rides begin at 24 Kč for half-hour.
Boat
The general public transit authority operates a number of commuter ferries that cross the Vltava at common intervals alongside the banks. Ferries are each handy and extremely scenic. Some run all-year, whereas others solely from April to October.
Suggestions for taking the ferry: A reasonably, year-round ferry connects the jap financial institution of the river, south of the Previous City at Výtoň (trams 3, 7, 17) to the Císařská louka cease in Smíchov on the western facet.
Funicular
The Petřín funicular railway climbs to the highest of Petřín Hill, with scenic views of town beneath. The funicular not solely spares guests the lengthy, steep climb, nevertheless it’s enjoyable in its personal proper (particularly for teenagers). Discover the decrease station close to the Újezd tram cease (trams 9, 12, 20, 22) in Malá Strana.
Automobile
As a customer, it’s unlikely you’ll ever have to drive in Prague. The older, central elements of town are warrens of one-way streets, whereas the broader roads that radiate exterior the middle are choked with visitors. To make issues worse, many districts have restricted road parking to residents solely, and discovering a authorized parking spot might be time-consuming. The very best recommendation is to stow the automobile and go for public transport.
Taxi
Uber, Bolt and domestically owned Liftago are extremely common, comparatively low cost ride-share apps. AAA Taxi is a dependable, conventional radio-taxi service. Dishonest drivers stay an issue and it’s higher to order a automobile over the telephone or web site than hail one straight on the road.
Accessible transportation in Prague
The Prague Public Transit Authority (DPP) has made nice strides in refitting metro stations, trams and buses to make them accessible to all travelers, although the scenario stays spotty. Many metro stations now have lifts, however some don’t. Likewise, many trams and buses enable for curb-level entry (however not all). See the DPP web site for info in English on barrier-free journey.
Transport tickets and passes
The Prague Public Transit Authority (DPP) operates an built-in transport community; the website is one of the best supply for up-to-date journey info, together with timetables and fares.
Single-ride tickets of brief (30-minute) and lengthy (90-minute) durations can be found, in addition to passes for one and three days. Kids underneath 15 and seniors over 64 journey free. Tickets and passes are legitimate for all metros, trams, buses and ferries, and can be utilized to switch between providers. These with a sound one- or three-day journey move may journey the Petřín funicular, else tickets might be purchased for 60Kč ($2.70).
Validate tickets in yellow stamping containers earlier than beginning the journey. Discover these on the high of escalators in metro stations and on tram automobiles and buses.
The place to purchase tickets
Purchase tickets and passes at self-service machines in metro stations or in individual at many (however not all) newspaper kiosks. Ticket machines take each money and debit/bank cards. Many trams are outfitted with automated ticket machines, which permit for the acquisition of tickets and passes with a contactless debit/bank card.
Tip for purchasing public transport tickets: It is best to purchase a number of tickets upfront or – even higher but – a one- or three-day move.
