Prague! (violent crime, how much, house)

[Cougar31]

We are going to be in Prague next week!
what do you recommend to see in Prague?
-any thing(s) to avoid?
-any restaurants to try?
you are welcomed to share your stories and others...
Thanks!

[meet4]

Avoid:
Use a phone to call a Taxi, beware the pickpockets.

Where to go:
Besides standard tourist locations, try 1 day trip to Cesky Krumlov and/or Karlstejn.

[ASU55RR]

Not sure if your still pre-trip, but the quick low-down. I'm a former Prague resident.

Typical tourist areas:

Old Town
Josefov
Mala Strana

All of these areas are adjacent; Mala Strana is the West bank of the river, Old Town is accross from that, and Josefov is about Old Town.

Must see:

Prazky Hrad- Prague Castle, can't miss it and has many things to see.
Karlov Most- Charles Bridge, go early in morning as it gets crowded
Strahovsky Klaster- Strahov Monestary, by the castle, beautiful interior also spend times in the nearby park.
Old Town Square- the epicenter of Prauge architecture, location of the Astronomical Clock.

Should see:

Vysehrad- High castle, the original location of Prague, site of beautiful national cemetary.
Vaclavske Namesit- The largest city square, the statue of Sv Vaclav and the National Museum. The inside of the museum is rather boring, so focus on the exterior.
Dancing House- another interesting looking building to look for.
Staropramen brewery- not sure how much that would interest you, but it's something to consider.

Excursions- Cesky Krumlov (1.5 hours bus) or Karlstejn (about 45 minutes) are your best choices

Restaurants-

You can save alot of money eating up-hill from the castle in the Hradcany area.

Maly Buddha- VERY good Vietnamese restaurant and tea house on the slope across from Strahov park.

2 good brick-oven style pizza places are further up towards Malovanka (22, 25, and 15 trams I think).

Dahab- middle eastern place near Old Town square, best kebab in the city.

for a high end sample of Czech food try Kolkovna in Josefov.

A local chain Paneria is an omni-present sandwich and pastry shop.

Smazeny Syr (Fried Cheese)- is the local food stand specialty

Misc:

Public transportation is easy and gets you most places, though the metro and many tram lines cease around midnight. If you come across Kontrol (ticket checkers) they will produce a small circuler badge chained to their coat, no badge it may be a scam. Be sure to validate your ticket in the yellow boxes.

If you use a taxi service set a price an estimated price before entering the cab (the scam is to give the uninformed tourist a grand tour).

Always greet people when entering or leaving a shop or restaurant:

Good day= dobry den (doh-bree den) Hey!= Ahoj! (Ah-hoy)
Goodbye= na shledanou (nah skled-ah-no) Bye= Cau (Ciao)

Czech is a very difficult language (took me a full year of living there to feel comfortable with it) Most younger people speak english well, but you may want to remember:

Excuse me, do you speak English?
prosim vas, mluvite anglicky? Pro-seem vahsh, mloo-vee-tay an-glitz-kee

How much does it cost?
kolik stoje? ko-leek stoy-ee

Can you write it down?
Muzete napsat? Moo-zhet-tay nahp-sat

Things to avoid:

eh nothing really, although I would avoid the area immediately around the main train station at night, and maybe the area east of Namesti Republicky (neither are big tourist areas). There is little violent crime, but some areas (the ones mentioned and even Vaclavske Namesti) get sleazier at sundown.

Oh, avoid the fast food stands by the big Tesco, they have a dubious reputation for health standards.