Prague - In the City Tips
Business contacts
Car hire Call Avis car rentals on 221 851 225-6 or email avis@avis.cz
Office rental Contact Chronos Business Centre on 296 348 111 or email chronos@terminal.cz Secretarial services Many 3- and 4-star hotels offer secretarial services upon request.
Weather and climate
Prague is well known for its rainy weather. The wettest months are May to August, when there is about 59mm to 63mm of rainfall. The coldest month is January the temperature averages of 0.9C.
Local press
The Prague Post, the English-language weekly is a good source for entertainment in its ‘Night and Day’ insert, where you will find the best listings for film, restaurants, art exhibitions and concerts.
The recently resurrected Czech Business Weekly is where you can glean the health of the area’s economy and the trends. www.Prague.tv is an expatriate Bible, listing the most current and sometimes the quirkiest goings on in the city. The site also has a bulletin board, so if you are looking for anything in particular (fl ats, Czech lessons, a date), look no further.
Tourist traps
Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square are places that you should see, but be warned that this is where prostitutes beg for sex and money, and the area is rife with pick pockets.
Restaurants in this area tend to be a rip off—expect to pay twice as much for food or beer as you would in other places only a few blocks away. If you have a view of something historical, chances are you are going to pay for it.
Tipping etiquette
Generally, 10% gratuity is given, though not necessarily expected. Tipping, however, becomes a question when you are faced with bad service, which is rather ubiquitous in this city.
Sometimes staff can be fl atly rude, so tipping becomes more of a judgment call rather than a rule.
Internet cafés
Internet cafés abound in Prague and are seemingly on every other city block.
A reliable and centrally located place is Bohemia Bagel in Old Town (Masna 2, Prague 1, 224 812 560). Prices are fair and you don’t have to go out of your way to get here.
If you need the internet for a few hours, and want to save some money, it might be worth heading to Pl@neta Internet Café, where you will find rates starting at 40 hellars a minute (Vinohradska 102, Prague 3, Tel: 267 311 182). This café also offers Microsoft Word, Excel and other programs that other cafés don’t.
Gifts to buy
At Art Decoratif (U Obecniho domu 1, Prague 1), the granddaughter of Alfons Mucha creates jewellery, lamps and other gifts with the art nouveau statements that made her grandfather famous. Although her work tends to be expensive, the quality, craftsmanship and name are all worth it.
You don’t have to be absolutely insane to like absinthe, the potent, chemistry-lab green spirit, which is 70 percent alcohol. Buy it everywhere, give it to everyone, but drink it in moderation.
In a country where you can see operas that feature traditional Czech marionettes, these puppets make a good gift. You may know someone who would fancy one of these eerie, but unarguably artistic, creations. Obchod pod Lampou (U Luzickeho Seminare 5, Prague 1) has the best around, in all shapes, sizes and splendour.
Prague, supposedly, boasts the only Cubist lamppost in the world. In addition, it has some great shops specialising in the art form from the early 1900s. At Kubista (Ovocny trh 19, Prague 1), you can find vases and tea sets that are geometrically stunning—and expensive. Pick a gift here for that boss who should give you a raise, or that secretary who has saved your career on more than one occasion.