The Hairy giraffe… IN PRAGUE
This two-day trip to Prague was the second leg of our Central European capital tour (which began with Budapest a few years ago). It was also, for us, an opportunity to get back into traveling after our eight-month round-the-world trip.
We decided to take our time. Although 2 days are more than enough to visit Prague, we actually stayed twice as long. This allowed us to maximize our chances of taking photos in the sunshine and to avoid being too bothered by the weekend crowds of tourists.
Here’s everything about our trip!
How long? We stayed two days in Prague.
When? Mid-May. We weren’t very lucky with the weather. During our entire stay in Prague, we had nothing but partly cloudy skies, wind, a few showers, and a high of 16 degrees.
Ease of independent travel: 5 giraffes 
Although Prague is four times larger than Paris, the main sites are concentrated within just a few districts. The city is easy to explore on foot. Public transportation is abundant and efficient (metro and tram). However, be aware that ticket prices are not flat and don’t depend on distance, but on the duration of your trip. When purchasing a ticket, you’ll need to estimate the total length of your journey.
If you prefer to rent a car, know that Czechs follow the rules of the road. They also yield to pedestrians and clear intersections when traffic is heavy at a light.
Costs: 5 giraffes The communist era is long gone. Today, Prague is an expensive city. Accommodation, restaurants, groceries, and souvenirs are all priced at Parisian levels, or sometimes even higher. Prices have gone up recently: the ones listed in our 2023 Green Guide are all outdated. A meal at a restaurant will cost you around €20 per person, and even the smallest trinket in a souvenir shop will set you back €4. The one real bargain in Prague: beer. It’s everywhere and it’s dirt cheap. In fact, it’s even cheaper than tap water sold in some restaurants. Czechs love their beer, and they’re actually the biggest beer consumers in Europe.
In the Czech Republic, tipping is not mandatory. Restaurants in the Old Town (which is very touristy) will almost always remind you of it when it’s time to pay and suggest adding 10% to your bill. To avoid this, choose restaurants away from the tourist areas and popular with locals, no one will hassle you about tipping there.
Ease of communication: 4 giraffes 
Czech is the official language. However, you’ll have no trouble being understood in English in Prague.
Safety: 5 giraffes We didn’t experience any safety issues or feelings of insecurity. Pickpockets can sometimes be found in very touristy areas, but it’s nothing like the situation in Paris.
Health: 5 giraffes This is Europe: health risks are low and the healthcare system is excellent. Don’t forget to bring your European Health Insurance Card.
Gay friendly: 4 giraffes LGBT rights are fairly decent in the Czech Republic. While same-sex marriage is not legal, there are several laws in place against discrimination and harassment.
Travel ease: 5 giraffes Prague is an easy destination and perfect for a short getaway.
Highlights: Art Nouveau buildings, cheap beer, marlenka (a honey cake)
Letdowns: 
The high costs to visit even the smallest museum or monument, which really dampened our enthusiasm, and the tsunami of tourists that floods the Old Town on Saturdays.
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2 DAYS IN PRAGUE
Since it’s a bit difficult to talk about an itinerary when spending just two days in the same city, here’s a list of sights and activities to see or do to help you prepare for your visit to Prague:
Day 0: A direct flight takes us to Prague. Even though the flight lasted only 1.5 hours, we’re glad to land. As soon as we arrive, we’re already out of the airport (long live the Schengen Area and our backpack, our faithful companion around the world, which saves us from waiting for checked luggage). An express bus takes us to the main train station in about thirty minutes.
Fifteen minutes of walking later, we drop off our bags and head out to explore the Old Town.
What to do in 2 days in Prague?
The Old Town
It’s undoubtedly the city’s main attraction. A prime tourist area filled with restaurants and souvenir shops by the dozen, it’s also where you can admire stunning Baroque churches and colorful Art Nouveau buildings.
The streets are largely pedestrian, which makes getting around easier and allows you to enjoy the surroundings more peacefully. However, it’s also the most crowded part of the city. Tourists move around in (large) groups. They’re numerous, loud, and especially present on Saturdays (Prague is a popular weekend destination).
The Old Town Square is the heart of the district, with its beautiful bourgeois houses.
Crowds gather in front of the charming Town Hall tower and its astronomical clock. Every hour, the small shutters at the top open to reveal the procession of the twelve apostles. The show is brief and not really worth the wait.
The imposing memorial to Jan Hus (a reformer burned as a heretic) is impossible to miss. Striking as it is, it’s a shame they forgot to add metal spikes on top of the heads to keep pigeons from landing and defiling the sculpture.
The Church of Our Lady before Týn is also a highlight of the cityscape.
From the Old Town Square, you can easily reach the Josefov district, the Jewish quarter. The wealthiest visitors, or those with expensive tastes, can stroll along Pařižská Street (Paris Street). Luxury shops line the street, but since shopping wasn’t on our agenda, we mainly walked it to admire the colorful buildings.
In this district, you can also visit several synagogues (Pinkas, New Town, Spanish…) and the old Jewish cemetery. As for us, we opted for a trdelník shop instead, those cylindrical pastries coated in sugar (sometimes filled with cream or ice cream) that we had already tried in Budapest. Trdelník shops are everywhere in the center of Prague. Unfortunately, most of them serve pre-made pastries, which are hard and cold, and sold at outrageous prices.
The shop in the Jewish quarter offers by far the best value for money in Prague. The pastries are baked and prepared to order, generously filled, and cheaper. An excellent choice for an afternoon treat!
For a bit of history, the Museum of Communism is an interesting option. Numerous informative panels (in both Czech and English), artifacts, documents, and reconstructions help visitors better understand the regime in place from 1948 to 1989.
Interesting, though expensive (like most activities in the city). We would have liked to see a few more objects and artifacts from the communist era.
Just a few steps from the square is Charles Bridge. This bridge is a must-see according to many travel guides. In fact, the Green Guide to Prague devotes an entire chapter to it.
If you’re heading to the Castle or the Malá Strana district, you’ll inevitably cross it. This 516-meter-long pedestrian bridge spans the Vltava River and is known for the 30 statues lining both sides.
Crossing the bridge is pleasant, but on a sunny Saturday, it can quickly feel like the Paris ring road at rush hour, crowded with tourists and street vendors.
Malá Strana and the Castle District
On the other side of the bridge lies the historic district of Malá Strana. Malá Strana Square is very charming. Its lower part brings you closer to the river, while the upper part leads to St. Nicholas Church. Like many churches in Prague, this one is massive, with an elegantly crafted façade. However, once again, the high entrance fee dampens our desire to go in. We’re content to admire it from the outside.
The district also has some great restaurant options. We chose a traditional Czech restaurant where we enjoyed local dishes like pork in beer sauce served with bread dumplings. And what better way to wash it all down than with a pint of beer?
To burn off some calories, you can take the stairs leading up to the castle. Access to the courtyards is free, but you’ll have to pay to visit the castle itself. Since the entrance fee is quite high, we decided to read online reviews before opening our wallet. The castle is impressive, but the rooms are empty. There are no reconstructions, which makes it hard to imagine what the interiors once looked like—especially for a medieval castle. So we decided to skip the visit. Although the castle is massive, what truly steals the show and draws the eye from nearly anywhere in the city is St. Vitus Cathedral. The largest cathedral in the country stands at the center of the castle grounds. Unfortunately, you can only visit it with a combined ticket that includes the castle…
Hradčany Square, just behind the western gates of the castle, is really charming. The Plague Column at its center is a reminder of the 1713–1714 epidemic.
The colorful houses all around add a touch of freshness, and the Schwarzenberg Palace is simply stunning with its black-and-white sgraffito designs.
The New Town
When we looked at photos of Wenceslas Square online, it all seemed very beautiful with the National Museum in the background. However, in our case, we had to forget about the lovely views—the square was under construction.
We did manage, however, to take some lovely photos of the Jubilee Synagogue, which has recently been renovated.
We walk along Smetanovo Street, by the river. The buildings are, once again, beautiful and colorful. We pass by the National Theatre and arrive at the Dancing House. Then we turn back and head off to get lost once more in the streets of the Old Town.
Prague and Kafka
The Prague-born author can be found all over the capital. Several buildings stand on sites where he once lived, such as the National Gallery or the House at the Minute. His birthplace is open to the public and now serves as an art gallery. His grave can be seen in the New Jewish Cemetery. A museum showcases his work and his relationship with Prague. A square is named after him, and statues in his likeness are scattered throughout the city, plenty to delight fans of the author.
It’s already the end of our stay in Prague. With our eyes full of beautiful colors (and our stomachs full of beer), we board the train for the next leg of our Central European journey: Vienna.
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