Your first day in Prague, in the order it actually happens: getting in from an airport with no railway, working out a ticket sold by time, and knowing which hour to avoid the bridge.
Getting in from the airport
Prague has no rail link to its airport. That is the first thing to know, because almost every other central European capital does. It is bus and coach only: a public bus to a metro station is the cheap route, a dedicated coach to the centre is the simple one, and a taxi arranged at the rank is the one most likely to be overpriced. What each route costs.
The ticket is sold by time
Prague’s transport is priced in minutes, not zones — 30 or 90 — and you travel as far as you like inside that window. Validate it in the yellow machine when you first board. An unvalidated ticket counts as no ticket, and inspectors are in plain clothes.
Money, before you spend any
Czechia uses the koruna, not the euro. If a card machine offers to charge you in euros or pounds, decline — always pay in koruna. Exchange booths in the old town are the fastest way to lose money in this city. The money questions with a right answer.
Your first hour in the centre
The old town is small and walkable, and the streets themselves cost nothing. The astronomical clock performs on the hour to a dense crowd for well under a minute — worth seeing, not worth planning a morning around. The bridge is genuinely quiet early and unpleasant by midday, which is the single most useful scheduling fact in Prague.
If you are staying longer
Most people reading this are here for a few days. If you are staying long enough to rent, the short version is that Czechia requires foreign nationals to register their address, and Prague rents have risen faster than Czech wages for a decade. That is the whole of what we cover on it.
Where to go next
- Prague Guide — what to see, and what it costs
- Prague, Practically — tickets, hours, money
- Beer & Pubs — ordering, degrees, tank beer
- Itineraries — one, two, three, five days and a week
- Getting Here & Onward — Vienna, Dresden, Berlin, Munich
Checked 4 September 2026. Fares and opening arrangements change; confirm before you travel.