World City Guide

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
A number of companies offer excellent walking tours of Prague, some with themes such as ghosts, Kafka and legends. Most charge approximately Kč300 for a two-hour tour. Leaflets are available at all tourist information service locations (see Tourist Information). Most tours start from beneath the Astrological Clock in the Old Town Square. Guides will hold up an umbrella of some colour so that people joining the tour can locate them.

Prague Walks, Nezamyslova 7, Prague 2 (tel: 60327 1911 or 60525 3494; fax: 26121 4603; e-mail: pwalks@comp.cz; website: www.pragueandcountry.cz/pwalks), offer scheduled themed walks, including the six-hour (with a boat trip and lunch) Grand Walk (Kč900), the 1 hour 30 minute Modern Walk, Life In Communism, Life Today tour (Kč300), which has been updated to take in EU membership, and the }i~kov Pub Walk on Fridays and Saturdays which explores this raffish and very lively suburb away from the tourists hordes. The Kč350 charge includes three beers and a traditional Czech dinner. Departure points vary depending on the tour, but are often underneath the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square or a nearby tram or metro station. Guides speak English, French, German, Russian and Spanish. The company also arranges personal guides for individual tours.

City Walks (tel: 22224 4531; e-mail: praguewalkingtours@hotmail.com; website: www.praguer.com) provides a number of walking tours, as well as bicycle and boat tours. Daily Walks of Prague (tel/fax: 28191 7642; website: www.walks.cz) and Prague Travel Ltd (tel: 22251 6064; fax: 22252 0573; e-mail: info@praguetravel.cz; website: www.praguetravel.cz) both offer a number of walks. Wittmann Tours (tel: 22225 2472; website: www.wittmann-tours.com) specialises in tours of Jewish interest, both in the city and further afield.

Bus Tours
Prague Sightseeing Tours (tel: 22231 4661; e-mail: pstours@pstours.cz; website: www.pstours.cz) depart from Námìstí Republiky and terminate in the city centre – free pick up from most four-star hotels can also be arranged. The ‘Grand City Tour’, which takes in all the major sights and includes a walking tour, takes three and a half hours and costs Kč600. All tours are in English and other major European languages on request.

Bus tours of Prague and other tourist locations are also available through Best Tour (tel: 28481 4141; fax: 22482 6261; website: www.besttour.cz) and Bohemia Travel Service (tel: 22482 6262; fax: 22482 6261; website: www.citytours.cz). Numerous tours of the nearby castles, such as Karlatejn and Konopiatì, are also available through Cedok, Na příkopĕ 18, Prague 1 (tel: 22419 7241; fax: 22421 6324; website: www.cedok.cz), travel agencies and booths and kiosks throughout the city.

Boat Tours
Prague Sightseeing Tours (tel: (2) 2231 4661 or 4655; e-mail: pstours@pstours.cz; website: www.pstours.cz) offers three special boat tours. A cruise on the Vltava River with lunch and music costs Kč750, taking passengers under the Charles Bridge on this two-and-a-half-hour trip. The two-hour cruise on the Vltava River with coffee and cake is cheaper, at Kč450, travelling past the Prague Castle District and Lesser Town. The ‘Prague by Night Tour’, costing Kč1290, is three hours of onboard dining and cruising, before a one-hour coach trip to Prague’s most beautiful squares. All tours depart by coach from Námìstí Republiky.

Other Tours
Dopravní podnik Prahy (tel: 22262 3777; website: www.dp-praha.cz) offers tours around the city centre on the Historic Tram 91. The circular route runs from Výstaviste, through Malá Strana, across the Vltava to the National Theatre, through Wenceslas Square and returns to Výstaniste via Námìstí Republiky. The tram runs hourly 1300-2000 on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, from April to November. A ticket costs Kč25 (concessions available) and travellers can board at any stop en route – an entire round trip takes an hour.

Fiacres (horse-drawn taxis of the pre-car era) offer tours of the centre of the Old Town. Fiacres are found along the west side of the Old Town Square and tours of 20 minutes cost approximately Kč600.

Old Timer History Trip (tel: 77682 9897; website: www.historytrip.cz) offer unique tours in Prague, in beautifully restored cars from the great age of Czech motoring, which took place between the two World Wars. Drivers are suitably attired in 1930s costumes. There are a number of set tours: a three hour tour costs Kč1,100 per person for groups up to 14 people and then Kč900 per person after that.