Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left
Museum tickets
Right
Guru nightclub
Prague on a Budget
City Public
Transport
You can buy 24-hour,
3-day and 7-day passes
valid for unlimited use on
Prague's metro, trams
and buses. Validate the
ticket once and enjoy the
ride, but don't forget to
sign the back: an
unsigned ticket is not
valid and ticket
inspectors that appear
unexpectedly can levy a
fine up to K≤800.
Unofficial Tours
If you don't care for
leading yourself around
the city, try asking a
student hanging around
Café Konvikt
(see p78)
or
elsewhere to show you
around; you get an
insider's view of the
sights, while the student
gets a welcome free
English lesson. An
additional plus is that you
will see much of Prague
Castle without paying
admission.
not uncommon. Or
journey out to Δi≈kov
(see p116)
or other
working-class neigh-
bourhoods for glasses as
cheap as K≤12.
Food
Even less expensive
than pub fare is the food
served cafeteria-style at
the city's many lunch
counters and buffets.
Grab a tray, your Czech
dictionary and join the
queue. Food is usually
sold by weight. Lunch,
with beer, should be less
than K≤150.
Opera
Prague opera
continues to defy the
laws of supply and
demand. Even the best
seats are cheap by
western standards, but
it's possible to buy
standing-room only
tickets and then slip into
a seat in the largely
empty hall when the
overture begins.
Clubbing
While admission to
Karlovy Lázn∂, Radost
and Roxy will cost you
K≤200 or more at
weekends, even these
big clubs have free
nights during the week.
Smaller clubs further
afield, such as Akropolis,
Guru and Industry 55, are
cheaper and more
intimate but a little less
polished
(see pp66-7)
.
Accommodation
Hostels usually have
small double and even
single rooms that offer
greater privacy
(see
p144)
. Travellers can also
find rooms or even entire
flats for rent by the week
(see p146)
. Check the
bulletin boards at The
Globe Bookstore
(see
p106)
and Radost
nightclub
(see p111)
.
Concerts
Corporate and state
sponsorship keeps ticket
prices - and musicians'
salaries - low for the
city's major orchestras.
The Czech Radio Orches-
tra, Prague Symphony
Orchestra and other
ensembles regularly give
masterful performances,
the tickets to which are
seldom more than a few
hundred crowns.
Museums
Admission to
National Gallery art
exhibits at various
venues around town is
typically low, but not as
low as the entrance to
the National Museum
(see p36)
. Natural history
buffs will be delighted
here as well as at the
Municipal Museum. The
many exhibitions at the
National Technical
Museum
(see p115)
outside the centre are far
more interesting than the
functional name might
initially suggest.
Travel in the
Czech Republic
Students and teachers
qualify for discounts on
bus and train tickets, as
well as airfares offered
by GTS International.
Czech trains have first-
and second-class cabins,
the latter being the
cheaper. You can travel to
most destinations within
the Czech Republic and
back for less than K≤400.
d
GTS International: Ve 33;
Map G5; 257 187100
• www.gtsint.cz
Beer
There's seldom any
need to pay more than
K≤30 for a half-litre of
draft beer. Even within
the centre, K≤20 beer is
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