Accommodation/Travel for GA4 2007
Accommodation
There are no designated block-booked rooms for the General Assembly in Prague. Individuals are responsible for booking their own accommodation.
MS is located at Malostranské nám. 25, 118 00
Praha 1
VTS is located at Novotného lávka 5, 116 68 Praha 1
http://www.hotelsprague.cz/
This site offers historical hotels in Prague “with style and charm”,
many of them in the vicinity of the meeting rooms. An interactive map of the
city is available on this site.
http://www.phl.cz/
This site provides more affordable options with hotels further from the city
centre. District Praha 1 will help identify the city centre. As there is no
interactive display of the hotels on the map another interactive map is available
at http://www.mapy.cz . Zoom in on "Praha"
to get to Prague city centre
Safety
Prague is considered to be a very safe place but the following
warnings should be heeded (although we hope that none of these scenarios will
happen).
• There have been a few problems with some taxi drivers
asking for higher fare prices from foreign visitors. As advised below, be
sure to fix the price of travel beforehand and insist that the meter is
switched on.
• Be aware of your belongings, in tourist zones or on
public transport, to avoid being a victim of pickpockets.
• Use CZK when paying in cash. Don't change your money for CZK on the
street if offered, there are many exchange offices and banks downtown. The
exchange offices usually offer no commission but their rates might be lower.
Most credit cards are accepted in many shops and restaurants downtown as well
and you can find many cash machines there.
Travel
To/From the Airport
Tickets can be bought at machines or kiosks which can be found at metro stations and at both airport terminals. When buying from the kiosk there is an option to buy a three- or seven-day ticket for all transport systems (within central zones of Prague) for 220 CZK and 280 CZK respectively. See http://www.dpp.cz for journey planner and ticket information.
Buses run from stops in front of both terminals. No. 100 connects the airport to the end station of metro line B "Zlicin". No. 119 goes to metro station line A "Dejvicka". Tickets can be bought from the machines or the ticket kiosks. The Airport Express (AE) goes downtown with stops at Dejvicka and "Holesovicke nadrazi" (metro line C). See http://www.dpp.cz/files/imgs/pid/dostupnost-letiste-den.pdf for route and stops. Special tickets for the AE are issued by the driver and cost 45 CZK. Shuttles also travel downtown (c. 300-400 CZK per person). Taxis are available but be sure to agree the price beforehand and insist that the meter is switched on. For more details about Prague Airport see http://www.csl.cz/en/site/klient/klient_index.htm
http://www.pragueairport.co.uk/
Information on getting to and from Prague airport can also be found here in addition to links to public transport.
Travel by train/bus/car
By train: Most international trains stop at Main Station (Hlavni nadrazi – Metro C) or at Holesovicke nadrazi (Metro C). The other larger railway stations have metro stations as well.
By bus: Most international lines arrive at Central terminal with metro station Praha-Florenc. Other satellite terminals have metro stations as well.
By car: For Monday's meetings, follow the directions to city centre (centrum) to Stare Mesto. There is an underground car park at Palach's square. Tuesday-Thursday, park in front of the building at Malostranske namesti (square). Be aware that there are frequent traffic jams most days in the downtown area and on main connecting roads.
Transportation in Prague
Prague has a good public transport system. The underground "metro" has three main lines:
A (green)
B (yellow)
C (red)
and these are interconnected at three stations downtown. See http://www.dpp.cz
for journey planner and fare information.
Trams connect the outer areas and have more frequent stops downtown. For the tram timetable see http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/ConnForm.asp?tt=e&cl=E5
Bus lines connect remote locations to outer metro stations. In wide central zones of Prague there are two choices of single
tickets you have to buy before entering the vehicle or metro stations areas:
Transfer tickets (20 CZK): Tickets for three fare zones can be used 75 minutes from validation. On working days from 08.00 PM to 05.00 AM and
on Saturdays and Sundays round the clock such tickets can be used 90 minutes from validation.
Non-transfer tickets (14 CZK): apply to trams and buses 20 minutes allowing no change. On the Metro such tickets are valid for the distance
of 5 stations from the station of validation (not including the station of validation) allowing to change between the lines A,B,C, but no longer than 30 minutes.
These tickets do not apply to night routes and funicular railway.
General information about Prague (including what to see and do and further transport links) can be found at http://www.prague.cz/
