Prague: How "compact" for walking ?

It%26#39;s hard for me to really judge actual distances just from looking at a map.

I%26#39;ve read that the Old Town Square area is very compact for walking.

What about Mala Strana and the Castle District?

Can you give me any clues as too how long it might take to walk from the Castle to the Charles Bridge? or from the Castle to the Manesuv Bridge ?

Guide Books say that the Trams run every few minutes, maybe every 2 to 5 minutes. Is that true?

About how long does it take for the tram to go from the Castle to the Charles Bridge?

Thanks for any information you can give me.

|||

the historical center is about 1.5 mile square. If you did not dawdle and you knew which way to go you could walk from the top of the castle to the top of Wenceslas square in 50 minutes

|||

Have a look here on Jasons(username Sova) site for a free walking tour scroll to the bottom of the page and clik on the link.

http://www.livingprague.com/freewalk.htm

TORII

|||

it is quite a compact city for the tourist and when I am in the city I do spend a fair bit of time walking.many areas are pedestrianised and also parts of the city are linked by the excellent tram system,I have never had to wait much more than 5 minutes for a tram unless it has been a late night one..

http://www.prague.net/the-royal-route

have a look at this link ,the Royal Route is a favourite walk of mine and can be covered in less than 2 hours at dawdle pace or it can take 2 or three days to cover if you stop at all the interesting places.

|||

All the areas you state are very compact and easily accessible by foot. I have been to Prague 5 times and have never used a tram whilst there. If you plan your visit so your not racing around, the main sites can easily be seen in a couple of days.

Make time for yourself to relax though and sample the cuisine. There are many treats there for you to discover, it may just take a little bit of investigating for you to uncover them (or cheat a bit and search this forum...ha ha!).

|||

Prague by virtue is a walking city. If time permits, I would suggest to divide Prague into quarters and conquer Prague through that way. The distance of coverage is very small, relative other metropolis cities, but with cobblestone and steep climb such as in Mala Strana and Letna park, it makes a very difficult task to conquer entire Prague city in one day. If you have 2 days then I suggest spend one day on one side of the river and the next day on the other side of the river. If you have 4 days then divy Prague into 4 quarters and take your time for each quarter.

If your legs are tire from walking, Prague has one of the most efficient metro system so that could be something you can rely on to give yourself a break. I my last trip to Prague, I spent entire day taking subway and trams to tour Prague as I try to simulate what a local would do on an average day. This decision was purely based on my tired legs after conquering Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov from previous days.

Good luck and have fun, I%26#39;m always jealous of anybody planning their trip to Prague while I day dream ;).

|||

I would not bother with trams much if I were you, except take one back from the centre to your hotel to save yourself the climb up to the castle.(no.22 to Pohorelec),this one runs about each 5 minutes during the day, maybe every 10 minutes in the evening until midnight.

There are 4 trams running from the back of the castle, some cross manesuv bridge towards the Old Town Square, some continue to Lesser Town Square which is the nearest stop to Charles Bridge. 5 - 10 minutes ride max. But by the time you walk through the castle to the stop, might just as well walk down through Nerudova Street to Charles Bridge, again not more than 15 minutes walk down the hill.

Manesuv Bridge is one bridge down the river from Charles bridge and a nice walk on the Lesser town between the 2 bridges. 10 minutes.

|||

THANKS for all the very helpful replies and for the links which I will put to good use.

|||

Jasonle...Thanks for the advice about how to divide up my time.

KVKFAN...Thanks for explaining a walk around Mala Strana.

|||

The main thing is not to worry, when you get there and have a map you will see how convenient and easy it is to get around.

|||

Thanks KVKFAN. I%26#39;m a good walker. I believe it%26#39;s good exercise. I just have to figure out if I%26#39;m going to be listening to my husband moaning and groaning !!!