Prague Card – a discount card for tourists, by purchasing which, guests of the Czech capital will be able to significantly save on sightseeing, excursions, cruises, as well as lunch and dinner in cafes and restaurants in Prague with significant discounts.
What is Prague Hard?
Prague Card or Prague Guest Card is an electronic card that allows guests to visit attractions, shop and dine in cafes with discounts. The first such cards were sold in Sweden, and then became popular in many European cities.
You can purchase the map in the city’s information centers and at the airport. Whether it is profitable or not to use Prague Card, we will find out later.
What is included in Prague Card
After purchasing these cards, you will receive:
- free travel guide in seven languages (including Russian);
- discounts on excursions, cruises, master classes in Prague;
- free admission to more than 50 museums, galleries, castles, palaces and art spaces in Prague;
- discounts of up to 50 % on visiting a number of museums, shops and restaurants;
- free city sightseeing tour by bus (2 hours).
How does it work?
Using Prague Card in Prague is very easy. When purchasing a museum ticket, booking a table in a restaurant, buying a cruise or excursion, you just need to present the Prague Card to the employee, after which you will receive a discount. The fact that a museum or cafe works with this card is usually indicated at the checkout.
It is important to remember that the Prague Card starts to work from the moment when you entered your data and selected the card validity period (the start date of the Prague Card is any, but the countdown always starts from 00.00 hours). If the card’s start and end date is not selected, the Prague Card is considered invalid.
In addition, Prague Card is registered, so it is forbidden to transfer it to third parties.
Prices. Where and how to buy Prague Card
You can buy a Prague Card at the airport, museums and hotels in the city, information centers, or on the official website: https://www.praguecard.com (there are Russian and English languages).
When you order Prague Card online, you will receive an electronic voucher, which, upon arrival in Prague, you will need to change to a real card. You can do this at the airport (the reception is open from 10.00 to 19.00). For an additional amount, you can order delivery of Prague Card to your hotel or apartment in Prague.
When buying a Prague Card in Prague, the infocenter employee must provide a passport, since the cards are registered. You can pay in cash or with Visa and Mastercard bank cards. As a rule, information centers, where you can also get a free city map and information booklets with descriptions of various attractions, are open from 10.00 to 18.00 daily.
The price of Prague Card depends on the number of days:
| Type | Cost (euro) |
|---|---|
| 2 days for adults | 58 |
| 2 days for students and children | 43 |
| 3 days for adults | 68 |
| 3 days for students and children | 50 |
| 4 days for adults | 78 |
| 4 days for students and children | 57 |
Interestingly, it is not possible to purchase a Prague Card in Prague for less than 2 and more than 4 days. It is this fact that usually does not suit tourists who have come to Prague for a longer period of time.
Is it profitable to buy a map of Prague
As mentioned above, with the help of Prague Card, you can visit 50 objects in Prague for free, as well as get significant discounts in shops, cafes, restaurants and museums in the city. Let’s decide which is more profitable: purchase a map or pay separately for each attraction.
| Tourist attraction / Cafe | Price per Prague Card (CZK) | Price without Prague Card (CZK) |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical Observatory | free | 150 |
| Royal Palace | free | 220 |
| Jewish Museum in Prague | free | 350 |
| Prague Zoo | free | 200 |
| Schwarzenberg Palace | free | 220 |
| Police Museum | free | 50 |
| Ghost Museum | 120 | 170 |
| Franz Kafka Museum | 140 | 200 |
| Small Synagogue | free | 350 |
| Bohemian Glass Museum | 178 | 250 |
| Vltava River Cruise | free | 340 |
| ICE PUB in Prague | 2 drinks free of charge | 200 |
Thus, if we purchase Prague Card for a period of 3 days, we will spend 438 CZK (17 euros) + 68 euros = 85 euros.
If you buy a ticket to the above museums and palaces separately, the price will be as follows: 2500 CZK (97 euros).
Of course, using the Prague card is more profitable than buying tickets separately, but this is only valid if you are going to visit many attractions in Prague in a short time.
Also, it all depends on which attractions are of interest to you. If the area of interest is the Jewish quarter, then the map of Prague is worth taking, since there are quite expensive entrance tickets to museums and synagogues. The same goes for the Old Town: there are not very many museums here, but entrance fees are decent.
If you want to travel around a New City, then Prague Guard is not necessary, since the entrance fee to most museums does not exceed 50 CZK.
You also need to correctly calculate your strength: not everyone can visit more than three museums in a day, as well as go on a sightseeing tour.
You won’t be able to save much money in Prague by using a bank card, but you can “win” a few hundred crowns. Before traveling to the Czech Republic, it is advisable to make an approximate list of what you want to visit, and calculate whether Prague Hard will be profitable in your case.
People who do not want to visit more than 4 museums and entertainment events in a day should not take Prague with them. But for those who want to get around the maximum number of interesting places in a short time, it will be profitable to use Prague Card.
