In order to get from A to B quickly in Prague, you should never travel by car. There are hardly any parking spaces and the city centre is very crowded. The distances are often too long to walk, especially if you have little time. So it is worth changing to the metro and tram.
Take the Metro in Prague
The Prague metro has existed since 1974 and consists of three lines that form an inner-city triangle. A total of 65.2 kilometres of tracks connect 61 stations. Three metro stations are located as transfer stations on two lines each.
Operating hours are daily from 05 – 0, in the night from Friday and Saturday to approx. 01 o’clock. What surprised us was the close timing of the trains. During rush hour it can happen that a train arrives every 90 seconds.
The three metro lines in Prague are distinguished by the letters A, B and C and the associated colours green, yellow and red.
Line A – Green Line
Line A runs from Nemocnice Motol in the Motol district to Depo Hostivař. The route runs through the district Hradčany under the Vltava River towards Wenceslas Square and through the districts of Vinohrady and Žižkov to the terminal station.
Here on line A is also the deepest underground station in Prague, which is also the second deepest underground station in the EU. The station Náměstí Míru is 53 metres deep. Its 87 m long escalators with 533 steps are among the longest in the European Union.
Line B – the yellow line
The trains of line B run from Zličín to Černý Most. It is the longest of the three lines and runs through almost the entire city area. Between Lužiny and Hůrka the line runs above ground.
Line C – the red line
Route C connects Letňany with Háje. This line runs even twice under the Vltava River and with four stations connects the largest residential area of the Czech Republic in the south of Prague with the city centre.
I was impressed by the often endlessly long escalators on our trips with the Metro. Some of the escalators are really fast. I read that they are still old Soviet escalators that do not meet the EU standard today and are gradually being replaced. It’s a pity, but you really had to be very careful when using the escalator. Especially going down at that speed really takes getting used to.
Some of the metro stations also have a very special charm. Many still exude the flair of the 1970s.
We have described everything worth knowing about buying tickets in the article “Public transport in Prague“.
Travelling by tram in Prague
Prague has a tram network of about 140 kilometres of track with 991 vehicles. A total of 24 tram lines operate here during the day and 9 night lines. The tram usually runs from 5-24 o’clock (weekends until 1 o’clock at night).
The first lines that ran in Prague were horse trams. In September 1875 the first line from Národní třída went to Karlín. The network of routes was quickly expanded and as early as 1882 the horse tram travelled a length of 19 kilometres through Prague.
From 1896 the first regular electric tram service began on a 2.2 km long route and only a year later Prague established its own tram company, which quickly took over all private routes.
Since 1908 the tram has been running through the city with red painted trains and the lines were given numbers. The network of lines was further expanded to connect the surrounding municipalities. Even today, there is almost no district in the city that is not served by a tram line. In the city centre there are some streets with 6-7 lines. If you stand at a stop there, a train stops almost every minute.
There are some tram lines that are perfect for a little sightseeing tour.
Tram line 22 runs from Bíla Hora to Nadrazi Hostivar. If you start the tour in Bíla, you will first pass through a suburban area of Prague. Near the Hradcany and the Prague Lesser Town, the tram runs a serpentine route in a valley. Now you have a beautiful view of the Vltava River and the city. Once you have crossed the Vltava you can always discover beautiful buildings. So you pass the National Theatre in the New Town and finally arrive in the trendy Prague district Vinohrady.
Tram line 23 is the nostalgic line. It runs daily from 8.30 to 19 o’clock, in winter every half hour and in summer every 15 minutes. The journey goes from Vinohrady in the direction of Karlovo Náměstí. From there you can easily reach the Dancing House. The route continues past the National Theatre. From here you have a great view of the Vltava River, Prague Castle and the tower Petřín. The tram then travels across the Vltava River up to Prague Castle.
Another special tram runs from Vozovna Střešovice to Výstaviště. Line 41 is a museum line and is operated only with historical vehicles. Line 41 runs from April to November only on weekends and public holidays.
We have described everything worth knowing about buying tickets in the article “Public transport in Prague“.
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