Lonely Planet Pocket Prague

by Bridget Gleeson, Lonely Planet

What Will Your Prague Encounter Be?Strolling through a maze of winding cobbled lanes and baroque housesSwigging luxuriously smooth Czech lager in a local beer hallSurrounding yourself with weird and wonderful Cubist interior design - a uniquely Czech diversionHumming arias as you linger on Charles Bridge at dawnJoining the unpretentious club scene, then feeding your hangover fried cheese and potatoe pancakesSteadying yourself atop Prague's fairy-tale castle, 96 sky-piercing meters upDiscover Twice the City In Half The TimeFull-color pull-out map and detailed neighborhood maps for easy navigationOur discerning author dishes up the best of the city's sights, restaurants, nightlife, coffee houses and moreThemed walking tours uncover neighborhood secretsLocals share their insights: meet controversial artist David Cerny, a Czech-beer expert and the manager of the Franz Kafka Museum

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Ebooks

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kathleen Van]

Great travel guide and easy to take with you on a city trip for a weekend. Nice places to eat, and all according to the description. Lonely Planet is still my travel bible.

[Rachel]

Another perfect pocket guide. I was able to plan our three days in Prague without any issues by using this book. As of right now, we are independent with the entire stay, but I may go rogue and look for an informative tour to take. That is the only downside to the pocket guides, you don't get as much of the history about the cities as I prefer to learn about.

[Joelyn Olen]

Helpful small guide for navigating a short visit.

[Marko Mravunac]

Great guide, beautiful city, weirdest and rudest people I have ever encountered.

[zack]

A very good guide with lots of good information, and good guidance... at least from what I can tell now, I guess we'll see once we've actually gone later this summer...

[Wayward Child]

One of the best guidebooks I’ve ever read. Lots of thorough descriptions that are neither terse and completely devoid of expression nor tediously long and detailed. There are lots of pictures, though they could have included a few more in my opinion. Prague sounds like an amazing city, one that I can hardly wait to explore.
I just love guides like this one. All the information you need to decide whether to pay a visit to a particular museum/square/historic site/etc. is right there. It’s all very easily read and memorised, with honest opinions and reviews that make a clear distinction between tourist traps and preferred gathering places for locals. The survival guide near the end of the book truly is a life-saver. There’s everything you could possibly need there, from average climate, currency, customs and proper etiquette to transport system and ways of managing yourself around the city. I’ve read the whole thing in a day, making side notes about the places I’d like to visit and some useful pieces of information and it looks like I will be able to fit it all in three or four days I’ve set aside for exploring Prague.
There are also notes to be found throughout the book explaining the Czech mentality and the colourful history of this country and how it’s shaped the modern city millions of travellers get to see nowadays. Those short passages about the Velvet revolution, interesting myths and curses, “accidental” falling out of windows by those that have wronged someone and the culture of beer drinking are enough to spark your imagination and tickle your curiosity. Naturally, if you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation of particular events, then these general overviews won’t satisfy you and you’ll simply have to hit Wikipedia. But, for your average traveller who’s more than content with a brief overview of Czech history, it doesn’t get better than this.
Another satisfying aspect of the story (one that, admittedly, has nothing to do with the guide book) is that almost all of the major sites I want to visit are within walking distance, which means I won’t have to trouble myself with bothersome metro tickets. Having said that, I still want to go on a tram ride. I guess it’s just the cultural aspect of it that draws me to do that. Funny how our opinions change once we find ourselves in a foreign place. I hate riding the trams in my own city and, yet, I’m looking forward to paying to do that in another one.
I’ve already found a quaint little hostel on the doorstep of Charles bridge in Mala strana quarter that’s fifteen minutes away from 80% of the attractions I want to visit. One attraction I am having second doubts about is the Jewish museum, with accompanying Jewish cemetery. On the one hand, I am very interested in learning everything there is to learn there. On the other, I know myself too well and I know that I’ll find the experience sad and spend the remainder of the day semi-depressed and in a bad mood and that’s not what I want this holiday to be about. Anyway, I still haven’t decided about that.
My brother and I are leaving for Prague in a week and I really can’t wait to see it. I wish I was already there.

[Sarah]

Great little map included in the back of the book which we made great use of while in Prague. I was disappointed that it didn't have the tram stop names on it though as that would have been really useful, plus the map didn't reach as far out as where our hotel was. The book was really good and detailed all the major attractions and parks. It had a useful section on vegetarian dining which was a must for us, however it would have been good if it published the opening times for these establishments as only one out of all the veggie restaurants opened in the evening for evening meal.

[Julie]

I love how this book is organized. Small and easy and easy slip into a pocket or purse to use while sightseeing.

[heidi]

Perfect size to slip into my pocket, packed with useful info divided into colorful sections. Easy to use. Very handy during my short visit.

[Kavita]

It was a good book. I bought the Kindle version. I found the maps hard to read on the kindle. I wished I had bought the paperback version instead.

[Katie (BooksRUs)]

I love Lonely Planet in general, so this was a decent book.

[Valerie Sherman]

As usual, I'm using their daily itinerary and adding in more "best of" stuff, like more pubs and breweries. So excited for Prague in September.

[Nathan Brant]

Well - looking forward to visiting this great city. This little book is packed with history and recommendations.

[Beth]

A very helpful little guidebook! Good layout and easy to carry around in your pocket book or pocket and consult without looking too much more like a tourist than I already do.