Destinations
The Czech Republic is remarkable for its mass of medieval sights and beautiful castles, excellent treatment options and a rich cuisine with a hundred sorts of beer. Beautiful Prague, Pardubice resort and Karlovy Vary are all about the Czech Republic.
The concept of “off-season” in Czech Republic does not exist: in January as well as in July you can walk the lanes of medieval cities, wander the enfilades and halls of any of the two thousands of castles, drink fresh beer and eat fried sausages, and then reanimate the liver and pancreas in waters of Karlovy Vary – no wonder why a lot of artists enthusiastically responded about the mineral wealth of Czech Republic.
Czech education is well-deserved in the environment of linguistically minded tourists. Among other things, the Czech Republic boasts fairly high-quality ski resorts. Well, in the summer do not miss the opportunity to relax at the cozy beach resort of Makhovo Lake – in general, everyone will find something for him or her in Czech Republic.
Hotels in Czech Republic, as a rule, meet the stated “star” rate, and on background of the rest in Europe, the level of service and comfort here is quite good, and prices are often below average.
In the country, there are widespread hotels of famous world chains (Marriott, Hilton, Renaissance, Ibis, etc.), as well as local private hotels. Usually guests are offered breakfast, sometimes you can get dinners, and all-inclusive is not as such. Also do not expect any animation for children – all entertainment for small and adult tourists are outside the hotels. At local balneological resorts you will be offered treatment and wellness procedures, and in cities it is customary to entertain yourself on your own – through walks and excursions.
Czech cuisine is a belly feast: lots of meat, dough and calories. Many dishes to this day are prepared according to recipes that have not changed since the Middle Ages.
Meat is always present on the Czech table: fried, stewed, in the form of sausages or pates, with or without garnish. The main national dish – “roasted boar knee”. This is a pork shin that is stewed in beer and then baked or fried over an open fire, traditionally served with sweet mustard and dumplings. The pork shin rarely weighs less than 1 kg, so it makes sense to order at least for two or even three people.
Dumplings is a culinary symbol of Czech Republic. These are boiled rolls of dough or potatoes. They are rarely served as an independent dish, but as a side dish – almost to every dish.
There are a lot of national meat dishes in Czech Republic, and they are all varied and worthy of attention: sausages with horseradish and mustard (the most popular local fast food), Czech zrazes (with bacon and green cucumber), “drownings” ( fatty sausages with spices), “svíčková na smetaně” (baked beef tenderloin), hot and cold meat rolls, as well as an unusual but very beloved Czech dish – “tatarak”. This is a crude raw beef with egg yolk and spices, which is spread on croutons as a pate.
Poultry and fish are not so popular in Czech Republic, but duck with steamed cabbage and baked carp with potato salad on holiday tables are a must.
You should definitely try the local soups. They are very thick, nourishing and simple to cook. The most famous soup – “polevka” – is a liquid mashed potato with slices of meat and vegetables. Also liver soups with meatballs, vegetables soups with dumplings, spicy garlic soups, smoked soups, and the famous goulash soup are popular. They serve soups usually with croutons or dumplings, sometimes in bread.
One more good thing in Czech Republic – Czech baking, people love it here and know how to cook. Vanilla rolls (vanilla and almond croissants) go for everything: for breakfast with coffee, for a snack with beer, and instead of bread for lunch. All restaurants and cafes will always have a choice of puff pastries, pies, waffles, several types of cookies and cakes. Well, of course, the famous Czech “trdlo” buns made from yeast dough with sugar baked on metal cylinders.
National drink – of course, beer. Experienced fans of beer can be advised to eat at restaurants near breweries (for example, the cities of Pilsen, Budujevice or Prague, the villages of Kruszowice or Wielkopolskie). There beer is served fresh from the oven (but invariably cold), and it tastes like the nectar of the gods.
Those who love hard drinks, will appreciate plum drink (fermented plum juice with a strength of 45 to 75 °), “becherovka”, “fernet” (Czech herbal liqueur, which recipe is kept in secret), and the most daring – “absinthe”. Earlier, the Czech absinthe contained tuyon (drug), but the current legislation of the country prohibits it.
The most expensive establishments in the Czech Republic are called Restaurace – there meat dishes cost from 200-300 CZK. It is much cheaper to dine at Restaurace, where any meat dish costs no more than 100 CZK. Even cheaper – Beer (Pivnice), where you can drink delicious beer with fried sausages at very affordable prices (from CZK 50 per mug).
Materials are from the site: tonkosti.ru
The airline connects Prague, Brno and Ostrava, and it is not the most popular and convenient way to travel around the country.
In Czech Republic is a very developed network of railways, there are stations even in the smallest towns. Trains run strictly on a schedule, and in most directions not less than once an hour, on popular routes – even more often. The cheapest and slowest – regional Osobni trains, high-speed and more expensive – Rychlik, Express, InterCity and EuroCity – they run twice faster and do not stop at each station. And the most modern trains are Pendolino. They are 1.5 times more expensive than high-speed, but the most comfortable.
You can buy tickets at the ticket offices, terminals, newspaper booths and cellular lounges, as well as online on Czech Railways website. A one-way ticket from Prague to Brno will cost around CZK 119.
If you buy tickets in both ways, you can save up to 10%. Tickets for a company of 4 people are sold at a discount of about 30%.
The alternative to trains is intercity buses. They are also convenient, but the tripis longer, however, and buses are usually cheaper than trains. A ticket from Prague to Karlovy Vary will cost around 130-173 CZK. All routes, timetables and prices can be found on the website of the Czech Ministry of Transport. Tickets are sold at ticket offices and in busses. Tickets for popular destinations as well as on weekends (especially in the morning) are sold out quickly, so it makes sense to buy them in advance.
In cities and resorts you can travel by bus and in Prague also by subway. All public transport goes to 0:00, then go night routes, their schedule hangs at each stop near the daytime (daily schedule – on the white plate, night – on the blue). On average, buses run at least once every 30 minutes at night, and at regular intervals at weekends, at about every 15-20 minutes.
Tickets are sold at once for all modes of transport, and their duration is limited only by time, not by the number of trips. The shortest ticket is 20 minutes, it costs 18 CZK, 75 minutes – 26 CZK, a day – 100 CZK, 3 days – 330 CZK, 5 days – 500 CZK. All children’s tickets are 2 times cheaper, and trips for passengers under 5 years are free of charge.
Be careful: you can only pay with coins in subway machines.
Tickets are sold at stops or terminals at metro stations (terminals accept only coins), as well as at newsstands and tobacco kiosks. If you have a Czech SIM card, you can pay for the trip by phone. To do this, send an SMS to 90206 with ticket code: DPT24 – 30 minutes, DPT32 – 90 minutes, DPT100 – 24 hours, etc.). The electronic version of the ticket will be answered and the money will be withdrawn from the mobile account.
You can rent a car in Czech Republic only is you are over 21 years and have a driver’s license (in most it is enough to have national driver’s license) and a credit card. You will also need to make a security deposit for the car, which is between 300 and 1000 EUR depending on the class of car. Some rental offices charge extra for drivers under 25 and with less than 3 years of driving experience. Large companies give only low-cost cars to young and inexperienced drivers, but small offices usually don’t pay attention to your driving experience.
Most rental offices are located in Prague and major tourist cities. The prices are not high: the budget Skoda or Fiat will cost 750 CZK per day. The longer the rent, the lower the price per day. The price already includes insurance, taxes and vignettes (toll roads). If necessary, you will additionally have to pay for a child seat, a second driver’s contract and a navigator.
Another convenient way to get around the city is to rent a bicycle. In Czech cities there are bike lanes and rental points. Prices start at 4 CZK per hour. Such low prices are due to the fact that most rental companies earn not on cyclists but on firms that advertise on bicycles. Of course, if you decide to take a bike in Prague on Old Town Square, it will be much more expensive. Also keep in mind that drunk driving here is fined almost as severely as motorists.
Taxi fares are set individually in each municipality of Czech Republic. It is better to order taxi by phone. If you stopped the car on the street, you should set the price in advance or make sure that the driver switched on the meter. Many taxis accept credit cards.
Pilsen (81.85km)
Liberec (90.52km)
Ústí nad Labem (71.19km)
Pardubice (97.97km)
Czech koruna, Kč
AUT, DEU, POL, SVK
44.45 Kč
130 Kč
+420
