Busabout Adventures

A Busabout pass for the Northern Loop will take you to the most captivating cultural cities. Priceless artwork, incredible beer, beautiful castles, stunning scenery will dazzle throughout your travels.  Start from any city on the loop and travel at your own pace - stay as long as you like at each stop .... then when you've finished exploring, jump on the next bus and move on to the next destination. Click on the destinations in the map to find out more...

Central Prague nestles in a bend of the Vltava River, which separates Hradčany, the medieval castle district, and Malá Strana (Little Quarter) on the west bank from Staré Město (Old Town) and Nové Město (New Town) on the east.

Prague Castle overlooks Malá Strana, while the twin Gothic spires of Týn Church dominate the open space of Staroměstské nám, the Old Town Square. The broad avenue of Václavské nám (Wenceslas Square) stretches southeast from Staré Město towards the National Museum and the main train station.

All the main sights are in the city centre,
and are easily reached on foot – you can take in the castle, Charles Bridge and the Staroměstské nám in a day. The easiest way to get to the castle is on tram No 22 or 23 (from Národní třída on the southern edge of Staré Město, Malostranská nám in Malá Strana, or Malostranská metro station) to the U Prašného mostu stop.

Prague Castle & Hradčany
If you’re going to do the touristy thing, head for the city’s number one attraction, Prague Castle ((224 373 368; www.hrad.cz; metro Hradčanská; h9am-5pm Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Nov-Mar; grounds 5am-midnight Apr-Oct, 6am-11pm Nov-Mar). Ticket B (adult/concession 220/110Kč) gives access to St Vitus Cathedral (choir, crypt and tower), the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane; Ticket A (350/175Kč) includes these plus the Basilica of St George, Powder Tower and the Story of Prague Castle exhibit. However, you’re free to wander around the castle courtyards and gardens and the cathedral nave, and watch the changing of the guard at noon, without a ticket.

Castle highlights include jewel-studded St Wenceslas Chapel in St Vitus Cathedral; the view from the cathedral tower; the spectacular Vladislav Hall in the Old Royal Palace; and the Basilica of St George, Prague’s finest Romanesque church. Golden Lane, a 16th-century tradesmen’s quarter of tiny houses built into the castle walls, now lined with souvenir shops, is an overcrowded tourist trap that you can safely miss.

If you’re hungry for art rather than spectacle, head for the Convent of St George (adult/concession 100/50Kč; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun), next to the basilica, which houses the National Gallery’s collection of Czech art from the 16th to 18th centuries. Outside the castle entrance is the 18th-century Šternberg Palace home to the main branch of the National Gallery ((220 514 599; adult/concession150/70Kč; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun), the country’s principal collection of 14th- to 18th-century European art.

The exuberantly baroque Sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreta (Loretanské nám 7; adult/conces­sion 90/70Kč;h9.15am-12.15pm & 1-4.30pm), west of the castle, is a place of pilgrimage housing a replica of the Santa Casa (the house of St Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary), and a fabulous treasury of religious artefacts encrusted in diamonds, pearls and gold.

Malá Strana
Heading downhill from the castle takes you through the beautiful baroque backstreets of Malá Strana (Little Quarter), built in the 17th and 18th centuries by Catholic clerics and nobles. Close to the café-crowded main square, Malostranské nám, is St Nicholas Church (metro Malostranská; admission 50Kč; h9am-6pm Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Nov-Mar), one of the greatest baroque buildings in the city – if you only visit one church in Prague, make it this one. Take the stairs up to the gallery to see the 17th-century Passion Cycle paintings and the scratchings of bored 1820s tourists and wannabe Franz Kafkas.

If the old legs need a rest, grab some picnic munchies and head for Kampa park, a broad grassy swathe on a low-lying island beside the river, one of the city’s favourite chill-out zones. At the north end of Kampa is the famous and elegant Charles Bridge (Karlův Most), graced by 30 statues dating from the 18th century, and lined with jewellery stalls, portrait artists and the odd jazz band. In high season the bridge can be one of the most crowded places in Prague. It’s at its most magical at dawn − if you can make the effort.

Staré Město
On the Staré Město (Old Town) side of Charles Bridge, narrow and crowded Karlova leads east towards Prague’s Staroměstské nám (metro Staroměstská), dominated by the twin Gothic steeples of Týn Church (1365), the baroque wedding cake of St Nicholas Church (1730s) and the clock tower of the Old Town Hall, where the famous astronomical clock (1410) entertains the crowds on the hour with its parade of apostles and a bell-ringing skeleton. At the centre of the square is the Jan Hus Monument, erected in 1915 on the 500th anniversary of the religious reformer’s execution at the stake.

East along Celetná is the gorgeous Art Nouveau Obecní dům (Municipal House; (222 002 100; nám Republiky 5; metro Nám Republiky; guided tours 150Kč; h7.30am-11pm), a cultural centre decorated by the finest Czech artists of the early 20th century. If the murals in the Lord Mayor’s Hall pique your interest in artist Alfons Mucha, you can find out more at the nearby Mucha Museum ((221 451 333; Panská 7, Nové Město; metro Můstek; adult/concession 120/60Kč; h10am-6pm).

Josefov – the area north and northwest of Staroměstské nám – was once the city’s Jewish Quarter. It retains a fascinating variety of monuments, all of which are now part of the Prague Jewish Museum ((224 819 456; metro Staroměstská; adult/concession 450/300Kč; h9am-6pm Sun-Fri Apr-Oct, 9am-4.30pm Nov-Mar). Highlights are the Old-New Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, and the Old Jewish Cemetery. You can get a free peek at the cemetery through a tiny opening in the wall to the north of the Museum of Decorative Arts on 17.listopadu, or from the lobby outside the public toilets in the museum itself (1st floor).

Nové Město
Literally ‘New Town’, Nové Město is new only in relation to Staré Město – it was founded in 1348! Its main focus is the broad, sloping avenue of Wenceslas Square (Václavské nám; metro Můstek), lined with shops, banks and restaurants and dominated by a statue of St Wenceslas on horseback. The square has always been a focus for demonstrations and public gatherings. Beneath the Wenceslas statue there is a shrine to the victims of communism, including students Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, both of whom burned themselves alive in 1969 in protest at the Soviet invasion.

If you want to escape the tourist crowds, pack a picnic and take the metro to Vyšehrad ((241 410 348; V Pevnosti 5, Vyšehrad; metro Vyšehrad; admission free; h9.30am-6pm Apr-Oct, 9.30am-5pm Nov-Mar) on the southern edge of Nové Město. This ancient hill-top fortress perches on a cliff top above the Vltava – there are great views from the southern battlements.

Karlovy lázně ((222 220 502; Smetanovo nábřeží 198, Staré Město; metro Staroměstská; admission 50-120Kč; h9pm-5am) Huge club complex near Charles Bridge, playing anything from 1960s hits to the latest DJ mixes on each of its three floors.

Lucerna Music Bar ((224 217 108; Lucerna pasáž, Vodičkova 36, Nové Město; metro Můstek; h8pm-3am) This is a grungy basement bar with a crowd­ed, student-union atmosphere and eclectic programme of live music ranging from rock and blues to classical and even gospel.

Palác Akropolis ((296 330 911; Kubelikova 27, Žižkov; h24 hr) A ‘cultural complex’ comprising pub, café, club, live music stage and theatre, the Akropolis is Prague’s coolest venue – expect anything from hip hop, house and reggae to jazz, bhangra and world
music.

Club Radost FX ((224 254 776; Bělehradská 120, Vinohrady; metro Nám Míru; admission 100Kč; h10pm-5am) Prague’s most comfortable, gorgeous and stylish venue for lounge, soul, R&B, Buddha nights, house and alternative.

Mecca ((283 870 522; U Průhonu 3, Holešovice; metro Nádraží Holešovice; admission 150-250Kč; h10pm-6am Fri & Sat) Prague’s fashionistas, models, film stars, DJs and a legion of clubbers flock to this ultra-trendy, industrial-chic club to dance the night away to house, drum’n’bass and techno.

Jazz
There are dozens of jazz clubs in Prague. Two of the best are the touristy Reduta Jazz Club (Národní 20, Nové Město; metro Národní třída; admission 200Kč; h9-3am), founded in 1958 and one of the oldest in Europe; and the unpretentious AghaRTA Jazz Centrum (Krakovská 5, Nové Město; metro Muzeum; h9pm-midnight).

Public Transport
Buy a ticket before you enter a tram, bus or metro – available from metro stations, vending machines, newsstands, tobacco kiosks, hotels and tourist information offices.

Validate your ticket (once only, even if you transfer) by sticking it in the yellow machine in the metro station lobby or on the bus or tram. Once validated, a 12Kč jízdenka (ticket) remains valid for 60 minutes from the time of stamping (90 minutes if stamped between 8pm and 5am weekdays, or at any time on weekends); within this period, unlimited transfers between tram, metro and bus are allowed. Note that you also need a half-fare (6Kč) ticket for large backpacks.

The metro operates from 5am to midnight daily; night trams and buses continue to rumble across the city about every 40 minutes all night.

Taxi
The best way to avoid being ripped off is to telephone a reliable taxi company such as AAA (%223 11 33 11) or ProfiTaxi (%261 31 41 51). If you feel you’re being overcharged, ask for an účet (bill). Most taxi trips within the city centre should cost around 100Kč to 150Kč.

Internet Access
There are lots of Internet cafés in the city centre.
Bohemia Bagel (per min 1.50Kč; h7am-midnight Mon-Fri, 8am-midnight Sat & Sun) Staré Město (%224 812 560; Masná 2; metro Staroměstská); Malá Strana (%257 310 694; Újezd 16) Good coffee.
net k@fe (Na poříčí 8; Nové Město; metro Nám Republiky; per min 1Kč; h9am-11pm)
Planeta (%267 311 182; Vinohradská 102, Vinohrady; metro Flora; per min 0.40-0.80Kč; h8am-11pm) Cheapest before 10am and after 8pm weekdays, all day weekends.

Medical Services
Canadian Medical Care (%235 360 133, after hr %724 300 301; Veleslavínská 1, Veleslavín; h8am-6pm Mon, Wed & Fri, 8am-8pm Tue & Thu) Expats centre with English-speaking doctors, 24-hour medical aid, physio­therapist and pharmacy.
Na Homolce Hospital (%257 271 111, after hr %257 272 527; 5th Flr, Foreign Pavilion, Roentgenova 2, Motol) City’s main casualty department; 6km southwest of city centre.
Polyclinic at Národní (%222 075 120; Národní 9, Nové Město; metro Národní třída; h8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri) With English-, French- and German-speaking staff.
Praha lékárna (%224 946 982; Palackého 5, Nové Město; metro Můstek) One of several 24-hour lékárna (pharmacies) in the centre; for emergency service after hours, ring the bell.

Money
The major banks – Komerční banka, ČSOB and Živnostenská banka – are the best places for changing cash, but using a debit card in an ATM gives a better rate of exchange. Avoid private exchange booths (směnárna), which advertise misleading rates and make exorbitant charges.
American Express (%222 800 237; Václavské nám 56, Nové Město; metro Můstek; h9am-7pm)
Travelex (%221 105 276; Národní 28, Nové Město; metro Národní třída; h9am-1.30pm & 2-6.30pm)

Post & Telephone
Pick up poste restante at the main post office (%221 131 111; Jindřišská 14, Nové Město; metro Můstek; h7am-8pm). There’s a 24-hour telephone centre to the left of the right-hand entrance.

Bohemia Bagel Bagel (per min 5Kč; h7am-midnight Mon-Fri, 8am-midnight Sat & Sun) Staré Město (%224 812 560; Masná 2; metro Staroměstská); Malá Strana (%257 310 694; Újezd 16) has phones for making international calls (see also Internet Access).

Tourist Information
Prague Information Service (Pražská informační služba, or PIS; %12 444; www.prague-info.cz) Staré Město (Old Town Hall, Staroměstské nám; metro Staroměstská; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun); Nové Město (Na příkopě 20; metro Nám Republiky; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat & Sun); Malá Strana (Bridge Tower, Charles Bridge; metro Malostranská; h10am-6pm Apr-Oct) English-speaking staff. Maps, brochures and guides, as well as public transport tickets, concert tickets, accommodation desk, currency exchange etc.

Travel Agencies
CKM Travel Centre (%222 721 595; www.ckm.cz; Mánesova 77, Vinohrady, metro Jiřího z Poděbrad; h10am-6pm Mon-Thu, 10am-4pm Fri) Books air and bus tickets, with discounts for those aged under 26. Sells International Youth Travel Cards (IYTC).
Eurolines-Sodeli CZ (%224 239 318; www.eurolines.cz; Senovážné nám 6, Nové Město; metro Nám Republiky; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri) Agent for Eurolines buses.
GTS International (%222 211 204; www.gtsint.cz; Ve Smečkách 33, Nové Město; metro Muzeum; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat) Air, bus and train tickets, sells IYTC.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Prague Spring (www.festival.cz; 12 May to 3 June) One of Europe’s biggest festivals of classical music
Mystic Skate Cup (www.mysticsk8cup.cz; early July) Major international skateboarding competition, with pro riders from around the world.
Prague International Jazz Festival (http://philipsjazz .ami.cz; late September)
New Year’s Eve (31 December) Mad crowds in Staroměstské nám and fireworks over Prague Castle.

Traditional Czech cuisine is strong on meat, dumplings and gravy, and weak on fresh vegetables – the classic Bohemian dish is knedlo-zelo-vepřo – bread dumplings, sauer­kraut and roast pork. Other tasty home-grown delicacies to look out for include cesneková (garlic soup), svičková na smetaně (roast beef with sour cream sauce and cranberries) and kapr na kmíní (fried or baked carp with caraway seed).

Prague has several vegetarian restaurants; elsewhere, bezmasá (‘without meat’) dishes are often limited to pizzas, smažený sýr (fried cheese) and knedlíky s vejci (scrambled eggs with dumplings).

Prague has a vast selection of restaurants offering all kinds of cuisines and price ranges. Places in Prague’s main tourist streets and squares tend to be pricey, but you can find considerably cheaper eats just by walking a block or two away from them.

Sate ((220 514 552; Pohořelec 3, Hradčany; mains 80-110Kč; h11am-10pm) Just five minutes’ walk west of the castle, this place serves tasty Indonesian and Malaysian dishes.

Bohemia Bagel ((224 812 560; mains 50-100Kč; h7am-midnight Mon-Fri, 8am-midnight Sat & Sun); Mala Straná (Újezd 18); Staré Město (Masná 2; metro Staroměstská) A great informal place to eat, with fresh bagel sandwiches, home-made soups and free coffee refills; one of the few places offering early morning breakfast. Doubles as an Internet café.

Staroměstská Restaurace ((224 213 015; Staro­městské nám 19, Staré Město; metro Staroměstská; mains 100-300Kč;h9am-midnight Apr-Oct, 9am-11pm Nov-Mar) The best-value place on the square, with good Czech food and beer – it’s cheaper to eat indoors than at the outside tables.

Country Life ((257 044 419; mains 75-150Kč); Staré Město (Melantrichova 15; metro Můstek; h8.30am-7pm Mon-Thu, 8.30am-4pm Fri, 11am-6pm Sun); Nové Město (Jungmannova 1; metro Národní třída; h9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Sat,10am-4pm Sun) All-vegan cafeteria offering inexpensive salads, sandwiches, pizzas, guláš (goulash), soy drinks, sunflower-seed burgers etc.

Beas Vegetarian Dhaba (Týnská 19, Staré Město; metro Staroměstská; meals 78-93Kč; h8.30am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun) This stylish and friendly place offers a vegetarian curry (changes daily) served with rice, salad, chutneys and raita; an extra 15Kč gets you a drink and dessert.

Pivnice Radegast ((222 328 237; Templová 2, Staré Město; metro Nám Republiky; mains 60-120Kč; h11am-12.30am) This is a classic, old-fashioned beer hall with good cheap Czech food; try the tasty goulash.

Pizzeria Kmotra ((224 934 100; V Jirchářích 12, Nové Město; metro Národní třída; pizza 70-160Kč; h11am-midnight) One of Prague’s oldest and best pizzerias – 26 varieties cooked in a wood-fired oven.

Tesco ((222 003 111; Národní 26, Nové Město; h7am-10pm Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm Sat & 9am-8pm Sun) If self-catering you can stock up at Prague’s best-stocked supermarket, in the basement of this four-floor department store.

For up-to-date listings, check the Prague Post, Culture in Prague and the Do města – Downtown freesheet, and keep an eye out for posters and bulletin boards.

For classical music, opera, ballet, theatre and some rock concerts – even the most vyprodáno (sold-out) events – you can often find a ticket or two on sale at the box office 30 minutes before concert time.

In addition, there are plenty of ticket agencies around Prague that will sell the same tickets at a high commission, including Ticketpro ((296 329 999; www.ticketpro.cz; Salvátorská 10, Staré Město; metro Staroměstská; h9am-12.30pm & 1-5.15pm Mon-Fri), with branches in PIS offices and many other places, and Bohemia Ticket International ((224 227 832; www.ticketsbti.cz; Staré Město (Malé nám 13; metro Staroměstská; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm Sat) Nové Město (B° Na příkopě 16; metro Nám Republiky; h10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun).

Cinema
Most films are screened in their original language with Czech subtitles (české titulky), but Hollywood blockbusters are often dubbed into Czech (dabing); look for the labels ‘tit.’ or ‘dab.’ on cinema listings. Tickets generally cost from 90Kč to 170Kč.

Kino Aero ((271 771 349; Biskupcova 31, Žižkov) A couple of kilometres east of the centre, this is Prague’s best-loved arthouse cinema, with
themed weeks, retrospectives and unusual films, often with English subtitles.

Kino Světozor ((224 946 824; Vodičková 41, Nové Město; metro Můstek) Under the same management as Kino Aero but more central – this is your best bet for finding Czech films with English subtitles.

Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům ((257 181 212; Na příkopě 22, Nové Město; metro Nám Republiky) Central Prague’s main popcorn palace – modern 10-screen multiplex showing first-run Holly­wood films.

Classical Music & Performance Arts
The main concert venues in Prague are the Dvořák Hall in the neo-Renaissance Rudolfinum (nám Jana Palacha, Staré Město) and the Smetana Hall in the city’s wonderful Art Nouveau Obecní dům (Municipal House; nám Republiky 5, Staré Město; metro Nám Republiky). The latter always hosts the opening concert of the Prague Spring festival.

You’ll find opera, ballet and classical drama (in Czech) performed at the neo-Renaissance Prague State Opera ((224 227 832; Wilsonova; Nové Město) and National Theatre ((224 901 448; Národní 2; Nové Město). Next door is the modern Laterna Magika ((224 931 482; Národní 4; Nové Město), established in 1983, which offers a combination of theatre, dance and film.

Prague is a beer drinker’s paradise – where else could you get two half-litre glasses of top-quality Pilsner for under a dollar? Bohemian beer is probably the best in the world – the most famous brands are Budvar and Plzeňský Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell), and Prague’s own Staropramen.

As with eating, you can find cheaper drinks by keeping away from the most popular tourist areas; there are plenty of bars selling half-litres for 20Kč or less, compared with 60Kč and up around Malostranské nám and Staroměstské nám.
Trad pubs open from 11am to 11pm daily; more stylish modern bars open from noon to 1am and often stay open till 3am or 4am on Friday and Saturday.

Malostranská beseda ((257 532 092; Malostranské nám 21, Malá Strana) Big, bustling bar popular with students where rock, jazz, folk and country can be heard nightly from 8.30pm.

U malého Glena ((290 003 967; Karmelitská 23, Malá Strana; metro Malostranská) This is a long-established, cosy basement bar that has live jazz most nights.

Letní bar (Summer Bar; Střlecký ostrov, Malá Strana; hnoon-midnight Jun-Sep) Basically a shack serving Budvar in plastic cups (20Kč), this is the place to pick up a beer before hitting the beach at the northern end of the island.

U Zlatého Tygra ((222 221 111; Husova 17, Staré Město; metro Staroměstská; h3-11pm) Just about the only truly authentic Czech pub left in Staré Město, this was a favourite haunt of novelist Bohumil Hrabal.