Johnny's Guide to PRAGUE, Czech Republic

I've traveled a lot and seen a lot of beautiful places but Prague blows every place else out of the water. The best way to describe Prague is that it's so perfect that it almost looks fake.  It feels like you are in a real life Disney World. This is the city that you imagine when you think of "Europe" and is one of the only cities that was completed spared by war.

Prague: The City So Beautiful It Was Spared by Hitler

Watch this video first.

Things you Must See in Prague:

The first thing you need to do just just walk around the main city "prague 1" and look at the beautiful original buildings and gaze up at the Prague Castle.

We did a Free Walking Tour which lasted 3 hours and was a great intro to the city and the buildings.  I'll include links to the free tour and everything else in the resources below.  (Make sure you tip your guide as they work on commission. 200 Czech crowns $10US is considered a decent tip.)

After that make sure you visit the Prague castle.  You don't need a tour and can just go walk around the grounds for free.  There are a few buildings such as the old cathedral that you can enter for an admission fee but they weren't worth it.  

Also make sure you walk over the Charles Bridge which was built in 1357 and through really touristy and crowded was awesome to see.  If you're an early bird, check it out during sunrise for a great view and a bit of elbow room.  

What to Eat and Drink in Prague:

Food in the Czech Republic is just okay, but the beer is the best in the world.  It's crazy that German beer has the reputation for being world class, but it turns out that even when we were in Berlin, the local Germans told us to drink the Czech beer.

They were right.  Beer from the Czech Republic is by far the best in the world that I've ever tasted. And the best beer in Prague is from a small local owned bar named Valašská Pivnice.  (links below)

Beer and Beer Tours

We also went on a Sandeman's Beer Tour and was brought to a few local bars including the Beer Museum and Lokal.  The tour itself was only 14 Euros ($18.78US) and included 3 free beers which sounds like a great deal but was pretty disorganized and included way too much waiting around to get started.  Instead, I would just go to the three places I mentioned above.  

The beers are most places are less than $1.50 a glass, and my favorite beer by far is the unfiltered and unpasteurized Weissbier at Valašská Pivnice which was fresh, tasty and costs less than $1US.  Seriously, for 86 cents you can order the BEST beer I've ever tasted anywhere in the world, and these are bar prices.  

Johnny's $3.50 beer tour:

Go to the Valašská Pivnice for lunch or dinner and have a few of their locally made fresh beers, it's a bit out of the city center but is absolutely worth it.

Then go to the Beer Museum for a flight of tasters and end up at Lokal for a meal.  Buying one beer at each place will cost you less than $4 total.  Enjoy! 

Here's a video of Lokal after I had a few drinks:

I thought you didn't drink?

The first drink I've had in over a year was in Germany, then in Prague I decided to have a beer with every meal.  It was cheaper than water, and tasted incredible.  When I get back to Chiang Mai I won't be having Thai beers and when I get back to the US you won't catch me drinking Coors Lite, but when in Prague, you just gotta enjoy yourself.  

Prague at Night:

If Prague wasn't already beautiful enough during the day, try walking around the city at night.  I didn't think a city could be any more gorgeous but it just gets better after dark.  Here's a quick video of what to expect.

Where to Stay:

Definitely stay in the district of Prague 1.  We booked our rooms at a place called "EA Hotel Jeleni Dvur." It was walking distance to both the Prague Castle and the best beer in prague but you had to take a tram into the city center.  
It included a great breakfast and was quite so I would definitely recommend it.

Co-Working in Prague:

We didn't do too much work while in Prague as there was so much to see and so much beer to drink but we worked for an hour every morning at the hotel.   I would say that Prague is more of a beautiful, romantic place to visit than a place to get work done but there are a few coworking spaces around such as C3 CoWork and Locus Workspace which I didn't get a chance to visit. As for business I've had a fantastic month but a pretty slow last couple of days.  Time to get back to work and put down those tasty Czech beers!  

Prague Resources:

Sign up for the Free Walking Tour in Prague.   Skip the Beer Tour, unless you really want to go. Go to Valasska Pivince my favorite bar. Remember to use my Agoda Link when booking your hotel. =) Listen to Episode 44: Berlin vs. Prague for more info on Prague and the Eurotrip.

Where to Travel

One fantastic thing about traveling in Europe is how easy it is to get to other countries from there. My trip started in Berlin, Germany where we took a train to Prague, down to Austria, and over to Budapest Hungary. The only thing I would have changed was adding in Bratislava, Slovakia into the plan as it looked beautiful from the train ride past on a recent trip.

Read Next:

My travel guide to Vienna also Budapest. Then check out my Guide to Berlin, Germany.

Want to know more?
Read my book 12 Weeks in Thailand: The Good Life on the Cheap.

Read How I've been able to afford my life of travel.

Keep in touch:

Johnny

www.facebook.com/johnnyfdk

www.twitter.com/johnnyfdk

Enjoy this guide?

Make sure you share it with your friends on facebook, twitter, or wherever else you post.