Prague & the Czech Republic

Best ways to improve this book:

Your little humorous tips always appeal and are helpful.

Miriam MacDonald in Sarasota, FL USA 08/27/2009

I'd like to see a larger area of Prague shown on a map.

Nova Fraser in San Diego, CA USA 08/14/2009

Prague 6/28 - 7/1 Vienna 7/2-7/8 Rick you're the best!! So many fellow tourists wandering, buying unneccesary auido guides, brochures, etc. - asking us 'where's a good place to eat?' 'where did you find out about that sight?', etc. - with your help, we were able to save $$, save time, and make the most of our trip!! you are the man, Mr.Steve's!!

rick waldron in shoreline, wa USA 07/14/2009

add that apartment - Lida knows its correct name! Residences Thurkova? lovely! especially off season. Talk about Prague in the winter. The snow-covered old cemetary, castle. breathtaking!

Jennie in Washington DC, DC USA 07/10/2009

--Terezin was fascinating, but arrival by bus is a little disorienting for first-timers. You pass the small fortress on your right (but you're not sure it's the small fortress yet), you see a sign that says "Terezin," and the non-English-speaking person next to you nods when you say "Terezin"? I got off at this stop, which, it turns out, is between the town and the small fortress. You do mention that the bus stops at the main square in the town, but no one wants to risk getting stuck on the bus for another 20 miles in case they've misunderstood. You could let readers know about this stop as well. --I found the directions could have been better to Konopiste castle. If you check Idos.cz, you'll see there are two Benesovs--you want Benesov BN. Upon arrival in Benesov, I never found a yellow-marked trail to the castle, as you state in your book. Nor did I see the grocery store in the train station. You actually have to walk left from the station and over the bridge to get to the castle--see how Lonely Planet describes it. I went on a Sunday and was expecting hordes of day trippers to follow to the castle, but Benesov was a total ghost town. --I visited the Dvorak Museum, and if I understood the attendant correctly, Dvorak did not live in this house, as you state. It might be worth confirming when you update your book. --I'm a WWII buff and was interested in the Heydrich Assassination Museum listed on the map on page 76 (near the Dancing House). However, I couldn't find it, nor is it listed in other guidebooks I checked.

--I agree that the Czech National Gallery in the Sternberg Palace is skippable, but you could mention that it's free from 15:00 to closing on the first Wednesday of the month. You could also point serious art lovers to Dresden, just two hours away. I thought their Old Masters Gallery was fabulous.

Robert in Seattle, WA USA 06/13/2009

nicer paper colours, pictures in colour

Suzanne Gardent in Prague 8, Czech Republic 05/11/2009

Need better advice on how to avoid Old Town crowds - it was downright claustrophobic.

Tracy Taylor in Copenhagen, Denmark 04/13/2009

You might want to mention that most restaurants and bars seem to allow smoking everywhere. It could be a real issue for smoke sensitive people.

Deb Flannigan in Cazenovia, NY USA 03/22/2009

Let's get behind the wonderful President of this exciting nation, Vaclav Klaus! I want to go back to the Czech Republic (was there in 2007) just because of him! If you haven't heard, Klaus is a "global warming realist", NOT accepting the Al Gore theories as fact! In fact he's challenged Gore to debate him on GW. Since Klaus is obviously smarter than Gore, don't expect Al to accept the challenge. He's too used to a fawning media that accepts his every word as gospel truth. Go Klaus!

Allen IN USA 02/09/2009

Remove this restaurant.

LESLIE DUBOIS in CHARLOTTE, NC USA 12/12/2008

Include a restaurant: Colosseum Pizzeria. I think there are a few. This one is right by a mall-in Old Town-near Estates Theater. Excellent Italian food and reasonable. Main floor atmosphere is nice. Upstairs-decor nothing special.

Vicky Ramuta in Naperville, IL USA 11/30/2008

Prague is a walkers city. For elderly and handicap the tram was a life saver. You may include more info on tram system. Metro has stairs down and escalators up, a few has both ways

jean Bottoe in MELBOURNE, fl USA 11/16/2008

We arrived by train from Dresden at the Nadrazi Holesovice station. We immediately went to an ATM and got 3,000 Kc which was dispensed as a 2,000 and 1,000 bill. The book fails to mention that the metro ticket machines only take coins. None of the shops would break a bill for us and after trying all the shops we broke down and finally bought something just to get some coins. Even then I had to beg the clerk to break a 100 Kc bill so that we would have coins. This is such a basic omission from the book that I am certain Rick had nothing to do with writing or verifying the information in it.

Jim L in San Jose, CA USA 10/26/2008

Dear Rick, After some 60 trips to Europe I finally used one of your books, i.e. the Prague guide. It was terrific! It enabled my wife and I--who are avid 5-10 hr a day walkers--to view the best areas on foot. We would take the tram to a specific location--such as the Castle--and then walk back to our hotel. Three things however you should add. One, do not go to Kunta Hora on a Saturday or Sunday; it really closes down and you do not get to see the activities of the average Czech citizen. Second, advise your readers that they do not speak English at the main rail station and getting info on trains to Kunta Hora was near impossible. Last, I found that the best and cheapest place to change money was at a bank. They were fast, gave the best rate and they only charged 1%. These are minor but important points especially for an inexperienced travler. Other than that I loved your book and will use another for my next trip in 2009.

al parisi in coram, NY USA 10/14/2008

Your latest "Eastern Europe" and "Prague" books don't have the year on the cover, the way your "Germany and Austria" book does. I had to hunt around for the copyright page in the bookstore to make sure I was buying the most updated version. Please put the year on the book covers, so we know we're not using an outdated book!

George Mole' in Bronx, NY USA 07/26/2008

I read this book twice before we went and referred to it constanly while we were there. Just let people know they can probably get train tickets at Wasteels but they are unfriendly.

Kris Berger in Whitewater, KS USA 07/17/2008

The "Quarter" organization and "at a glance" worked very well for our five day visit. We were very satisfied that we toured most of the city.

Brad Oswald in Waterford, NY USA 06/28/2008

Just the one I mentioned. Although, I did a bunch of research on my own and added notes in the margins before leaving home. My research was about movies shot in specific locations around Prague, ie- Mission Impossible, The Illusionist, Amadeus, Casino Royale, etc. Seems that I had seen a lot more of Prague before I got here than I realized! Other American tourists may be interested in the same thing.

Lisa Jensen in North Palm Beach, FL USA 06/25/2008

Include information on non smoking restaurants or ones with non smoking areas.

Bob in Sequim, WA USA 05/01/2008

I'd like the guide books to mention if the breakfast provided is hot (scrambled eggs, ect) or cold? Most places serve only cold breakfast like cereal and cold meat which I'd rather avoid. I'm going to Prague again next spring. I noticed that Rick's new Prage and Czech Republic (2007) doesn't have this hotel listed any more. Is there a reason why?

Stella in Littleton, Co USA 04/27/2008

Rick Steve and his team are my heroes. You make me a celebrity in planning our vacations. Your books are gems. The only improvement I can think of would be to add several blank pages at the back of the book for personal notes. I like to document the trip.

Jill Peterson in Monroe, CT USA 04/11/2008

Don't change a thing! Maybe more maps? But even with that Praha is still really confusing... I <3 Rick Steves. He is my constant travel companion!

Meghan Lake in Los Angeles, CA USA 01/30/2008

Keep consistent with your other books, with "Key Phrases" in the Appendix

Tom Kilroy in San Diego, CA USA 10/14/2007

We drove to Kutna Hora to see the Bone Church. Very difficult for us to find, but we did! Whenever possible, please add addresses that we can load into our GPS. Thanks!

Doug Stansbury in Saint Cloud, FL USA 09/29/2007

Personally I'm a big breakfast eater and I found it hard to find a good breakfast cafe, although Cafe Louvre had an excellent breakfast.

Ian Brotman in East Brunswick, NJ USA 08/22/2007

Please, Rick, get well off the beaten path in the Czech Republic on your visit this August. You are picking the worst month to come, the month when all of Europe is on vacation, the weather is hot and muggy, and Czechs are wisely having an evening glass of wine or beer and contemplating the woods, meadow or their garden at the family cottage. At least include some tips about great little towns and villages to visit in the Highlands, in the various mountains, or along the many rivers.

P. Hedgie in Prague, Czech Republic 08/06/2007

We loved the book and also your information on Vienna, which we also visited (Hotel Kugel was fine for our two day stay. Only one of your "close in" hotels with any availability. Vienna was very crowded but lovely. Recommendations were "right on". In fact, really taken with the impact your guides can have on the local economy. For example, almost every US tourist we saw in Kutna Hora had your book. Our Czech business contacts were quite surprised when we told them we were going to visit the town. You are single-handedly building their economy.

Roderick McNealy in Hillsborough, NJ USA 06/18/2007

It is confusing to read "Eat traditional Czech food to learn the culture" and then to see recommendations of Chineese/Mexican/whatever eateries...

Boris V. in Dover, NH USA 05/28/2007

We go to Europe every year and use all your books. Used your recommendations for Vienna and Salzburg and Munich too. Last year spent 10 days in Paris in dear Rue Clare and joined a tour to Aix. This year were gone three weeks and used many of the resturants you mention. We joined a tour but were on our own for almost two weeks in Munich and Prague. Would love to take your tours and are good walkers; the only thing that holds us back is that we can roll our luggage but really can't lift it up flights of stairs and that seems to be your requirement. We have all your tapes and love them as well.

Linda Ostapinski in San Diego, CA USA 05/26/2007

Please mention in the Jewsih Quarter section something about the fabulous high-end shopping. I stumbled onto it and would have no idea that it was there except by luck!

Jennifer Wild in Scottsdale, AZ USA 05/19/2007

More emphasis on stated prices as being only "ballpark" ones, or you'll be dissappointed time after time.

Astrid Cizek in Chapel Hill, NC USA 05/03/2007