I had never been to Prague but I have taken a lot of bookings to the city. Clients all came back very enthusiastic about the city. In recent years, Prague has become a very popular city-break destination because it is somewhere new and exciting, somewhere different. I knew it was a city that had escaped the war-time bombings but I imagined it would still be rather drab and dark. I did not expect there to be many shops and thought it would still be very much a part of the former eastern block. I imagined the flight would be a bit grim, with a miserable crew.
The CSA Czech Airlines crew was impressive – very friendly. The food was excellent. The airport is more modern than I expected, with plenty of duty free on offer. The architecture in Prague is very picturesque and far more westernised than I had imagined. There is plenty to see and do and some excellent bargains in the shops. The infrastructure is good so it is easy to get around and trips along the river or out to the castles in the countryside are very enjoyable. I am very enthusiastic about Prague and don’t hesitate to recommend it, especially to the over-40s.
I hadn’t been to any Eastern European countries before but was interested to go because Prague has been growing in popularity over the last few years. I knew a little bit about its communist history and that it had been a place of some conflict. I knew the city had lots of very old buildings but I thought it might be a bit drab. Clients who were interested in going there usually wanted to know if there was anything particular to see and do – they didn’t seem to think it would be very well geared up for tourists or that there would be much nightlife. I thought of it mainly as a place for older clients.
Prague is a really busy and pretty dynamic place with a lot going on. The old buildings are all very attractive – apart from the vast amount of graffiti left over from times of protest against the old regime. There is a lot of new building work going on in the city – including some new museums. The influx of tourists from all around the world makes it feel quite cosmopolitan. There is plenty of varied nightlife – restaurants by the river, night clubs in the hotels and even salsa and karaoke bars. The drink is very strong and cheap and the food – both western and local – is excellent. I think it has something for clients of all ages and is definitely a trendy city to visit.
I had never been to an Eastern Europe country before but I had always wanted to go to Prague. I liked the sound of the place from what I had read – the medieval buildings and castles and the architecture of the main square all sounded very interesting. Before I went, I thought it would be a little bit behind the times in comparison to western cities. I don’t often get asked to book packages to Prague although I do occasionally suggest it. Clients seem to think the quality of the accommodation and food would be rather below what they generally want and, not having been, I found it hard to counter these apprehensions.
Prague is delightful and far more advanced than I imagined. The prices are very good and the range and quality of items in the shops is really on a par with the UK. There is quite a problem with traffic congestion, but that doesn’t need to affect visitors as all the things you want to see are easily accessible on foot or public transport. The food is exceptionally good and even in the four and five-star hotels you can afford to eat in the restaurants which is rarely the case in this country. Prague is pretty westernised and I now have no qualms recommending it. It may not quite rival Paris or Amsterdam in terms of popularity but I think it will become a strong favourite.