From the airport
There's no metro to the airport yet — take trolleybus 59 to Nádraží Veleslavín and change to Metro A (a standard 50 CZK ticket covers both), or the Airport Express straight to the main station:
Czechia
Prague
Gothic spires, golden light and the world's best beer.
- Best forHistory · Beer halls
- Flight time2h direct from London
- Best monthsMay – June · September
- VibeGothic spires, golden light
Prague, Czechia
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Prague straddles the Vltava; the airport is about 17km west of the centre.
A hundred spires, one castle the size of a small town, and a river crossed by the most beautiful bridge in Europe — Prague barely needs an introduction. Walk Charles Bridge before the city wakes, lose an afternoon in Malá Strana's lanes, and finish under the chestnuts of a beer garden with a Pilsner poured the slow, proper way.
When to go
Daytime highs run from about 5°C in January to 25°C in July. Wettest in June, with rain on about 14 days.
The year at a glance — pick a month for detail
August25° · rain 14 daysWarm and often wet.
Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Live conditions from MET Norway, CC BY 4.0.
Getting around
Metro, trams & tickets
Three metro lines and one of Europe's densest tram networks — the 22 tram past the castle is a sightseeing trip in itself. Tickets are timed (39/50 CZK) with 24 and 72-hour passes:
Taxis & ride-hailing
Skip street hails — the apps give honest upfront prices. Liftago is the homegrown favourite that puts licensed local taxis in an Uber-style app:
Car hire — for Bohemia
The city is walkable and trammed to the hilt, but Karlovy Vary, Český Krumlov and the Bohemian countryside are glorious road trips. Compare every operator:
Compare car hire pricesRiver cruises & heritage trams
See the bridges from water level on a Vltava cruise, or ride the polished-wood 1930s trams of heritage line 42 past the castle and the National Theatre:
Where to stay
Pick a budget to open live availability in Prague. Prices are per night for two people.
Our picks in this destination
The area · Výstaviště, Holešovice
Budget
Sir Toby's Hostel
Holešovice · hostel
Holešovice's vintage-furnished stalwart, beloved for its brick-cellar pub, beer tastings and staff who dispense better tips than most guidebooks.
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The area · Náměstí Míru, Vinohrady
Mid-range
Hotel Anna
Vinohrady · 3★
A cheerfully old-fashioned Vinohrady townhouse near Náměstí Míru, delivering leafy-avenue calm and metro convenience at prices that feel a decade out of date.
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The area · The Vrtba Garden
Boutique
Golden Well Hotel
Malá Strana · boutique
A Renaissance palace pressed against the castle ramparts, its lauded Terasa U Zlaté studně restaurant gazing across a sea of terracotta rooftops.
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The area · The Old Town
Boutique
Hotel Josef
Old Town · design boutique
Eva Jiřičná's glass-and-steel manifesto of 2002 — Prague's first Design Hotel — where a crystalline spiral staircase and a daily in-house bakery sharpen the Old Town's edges.
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The area · New Town riverfront
Boutique
Mosaic House Design Hotel
New Town · 4★
A 1935 functionalist building reborn as a sustainability-minded design hotel, its penthouses opening onto roof terraces with a grand sweep of Prague Castle.
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The area · Charles Bridge from the tower
Boutique
Hotel Pod Věží
By Charles Bridge · 4★
Two historic houses at the very foot of the Lesser Town bridge tower, so close to Charles Bridge that the morning swifts arrive before the crowds do.
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The area · Malá Strana
Luxury
Mandarin Oriental, Prague
Malá Strana · 5★
A former Dominican monastery on Malá Strana's quietest cobbles, where vaulted ceilings and a spa set in a Renaissance chapel lend contemplative glamour beneath the castle.
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Luxury
Hotel Paris Prague
Old Town · 5★
A family-owned Art Nouveau jewel of 1904 beside the Municipal House, its 86 rooms and 1930s-style café polished by three generations of the same proprietors.
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The area · Malá Strana rooftops
Luxury
Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa
Malá Strana · 5★
Forty-six theatrically baroque rooms in a landmark palace below the castle, with a prosecco breakfast and a spa tucked into sixteenth-century Gothic vaults.
View hotelEvery stay is real and bookable — links open the hotel's official site. Where a property's own photos aren't licensed yet, the image shows its neighbourhood instead (labelled on the photo).
Flights
Los Angeles Prague, Czechia
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Roughly 12h in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices — Václav Havel Airport (PRG) is about 17km west of the centre, with nonstop London flights on British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair taking around two hours.
Check dates and prices
Pick your departure date, then your return.
Search flightsNot sure when? Compare fares across a whole month.
One of Europe's best-served short-haul routes, from all main London airports. Prices open on Google Flights.
Things to do
Charles Bridge at dawn
Beat the crowds onto the 14th-century stone bridge as mist lifts off the Vltava and its thirty baroque saints emerge in silhouette against the castle.
Prague Castle & Golden Lane
Wander the world's largest ancient castle complex, from the soaring Gothic nave of St Vitus Cathedral to the doll-sized painted cottages of Golden Lane.
The Astronomical Clock
Join the hourly gathering in Old Town Square as the 15th-century Orloj sends its apostles parading and a gilded skeleton tolls the passing of time.
Climb Petřín hill
Ascend through orchards and rose gardens to the miniature Eiffel Tower for the definitive panorama of Prague's hundred spires.
The Jewish Quarter
Trace a thousand years of history through Josefov's synagogues and the haunting, layered tumble of headstones in the Old Jewish Cemetery.
Beer gardens & pivnice
Sink a perfectly poured Pilsner under the trees of Letná as the sun drops over the river's bridges, or squeeze onto a bench in a centuries-old beer hall.
