Orientation - Prague and the Czech Republic - page 37

daily reminder
Sunday: The St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle is closed
Sunday morning for Mass. Some stores have shorter
hours or are closed.
Monday: The major sights—such as Prague Castle and the
Jewish Quarter—are open, but a number of the lesser
sights are closed, including the Bethlehem Chapel,
Museum of Czech Cubism, House at the Golden Ring,
Loreta Church, Sternberg Palace, Convent of St. George,
and Museum of Medieval Art.
If you're day-tripping today, only Terezín is open.
Kutná Hora's Sedlec Bone Church and the three castles—
Konopiště, Karlštejn, and Křivoklát—are closed.
In Prague's Old Town, classical musicians have a jam
session at 17:00 at St. Martin in the Wall, and the cover is
free at Roxy's music club, where concerts start at 20:00.
Tuesday-Friday: All sights are open.
Saturday: The Jewish Quarter sights are closed. In nearby
Terezín, the Crematorium is closed.
Crowd-Beating Tips: Visit Prague Castle either first thing in
the morning (be at St. Vitus Cathedral at 9:00—except
Sun morning, when it's closed for Mass) or before it
closes (17:00 in summer, 16:00 in winter). Hiring your
own local guide for a historic walk is relatively cheap and
allows you to choose a time (evening or early morning)
and route that avoids crowds.
Summer Activities: Outdoor movies on Střelecký Island
are shown at about 21:00 from mid-July through early
September (see page 86). And a paddle down the river is
always fun in warm weather.
Evening Activities: Prague Castle's grounds stay open until
23:00, and the shop-lined Golden Lane is free and empty
after 18:00. Concerts in the National Theatre, Municipal
House, and Rudolfinum feature superb artists at bargain
prices (see the Entertainment chapter).
the taxi drivers at the train station are a gang of no-neck mafia
thugs who wait around to charge an arriving tourist five times the
regular rate. To get an honest cabbie, I'd walk a few blocks and
hail one off the street; pay a premium for a voucher at the AVE
office (see previous page); or call AAA Taxi (tel. [phone]) or
City Taxi (tel. [phone]). A taxi should get you to your hotel for
no more than 200 Kč (see “Getting Around Prague,” page 46).
A better option may be to take the Metro. It's dirt-cheap and
easy, with very frequent departures. Once you're on the Metro,
you'll wonder why you would ever bother with a taxi (inside sta-
tion, look for the red M with two directions: Háje or Letňany).
Get change at a newsstand or grocery, then buy a ticket from the