Prague - Street Names, Telephones, TV, Tourist Information

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Smoking

Having embraced the likes of Phillip Morris since 1989 (the company controls over 80% of the Czech cigarette market) Prague's locals show no signs of kicking the habit. Indeed, despite a rudimentary ban on all public transport, it's allowed pretty much everywhere else. And, while most 4/5 star hotels have non-smoking floors, in bars and restaurants it's a different story altogether. You won't find much in the way of segregation (aside from smokers agreeing to keep the ashtray on 'their' side of the table) just an atmospheric, albeit unhealthy cloud of tobacco smoke hanging in the air.

Street Names

street names The capital is divided into 15 separate districts each indicated by a 'Praha' suffix after the main street address (and postcode) e.g. Praha 4. The number of a building follows the street name, whilst postcodes comprise of five digits, grouped as 3 plus 2 digits e.g. 110 00. Hence, a typical Prague address would be written:

Václavské nám. 26
11 525, Praha 1
Czech Republic

Telephones

telephones Telefónica o2 (previously Český Telecom) have, for the best part of a decade, been carrying out an ambitious modernisation of the country's phone network. Consequently, it's a fairly trouble-free experience calling home or a domestic number in Prague and the Czech Republic. Just don't expect the city's coin-operated pay phones to work too well though (rather like most Western cities). In fact, its best to avoid coin only phones altogether, relying instead upon phone cards (telekart) which come in denominations of 50 and 100 units (called 'impulses') and can be purchased from tobacconists, post offices and newsstands. Prices are 175 CZK and 320 CZK respectively.

To make an international call from the Czech Republic dial 00, wait for the tone, and then dial the country and city code followed by the number. The UK's international access code is +44, while U.S. and Canada are both +1. Calls from Prague to other towns in the Czech Republic should be prefixed by 0 (followed by the national area code), while calls from abroad to Prague must be prefixed by 420. A ringing number is indicated by short tones and long pauses, whereas for an engaged one you'll hear short, equal on, equal off tones. An extremely useful dialling code tool (a big thumbs up to Telefónica for including it on their site) can be found at: www.cz.o2.com.

As is usually the case when overseas, unless you have a global calling card, avoid making international calls from your hotel (they're simply too expensive).

Mobile Phones - to use an overseas mobile phone in the Czech Republic (international roaming) the handset must be GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) 900 compatible. Invariably, calls made while overseas attract a higher than normal tariff, as charges are levied not only by your home network operator, but also by the company responsible for the local network (i.e. the company through which you connect in Prague). As billing charges vary, contact your telecomms or mobile phone provider for further details.

Television and Radio in Prague

TV & radio Nowadays many hotels, hostels and pensions offer cable and satellite television with at least one or two English/German Channels e.g. Sky News, CNN, Sat1, RTL etc. Larger, more expensive hotels usually offer a wider selection including those for sport and pay-per-view movies (HBO etc).

Czech terrestrial television consists of two national channels, ČT1 and ČT2, with private (and extremely successful) competition from TV Nova and Prima TV.

The Czech Republic also has a well developed AM-FM radio network with the most popular radio stations being: Radio KISS 98 FM, Radio Free Europe, Radio Prague, Impuls, Radio 1, Radio Evropa 2, Limonádový Joe, Radio Dee Jay and the BBC World Service.

Time Difference

time As with other Western European countries, the Czech Republic uses Central European Time (CET) which is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Tipping

Although there are no fixed rules on tipping, it's customary to add an extra 10-15% to restaurant bills and taxi fares. Unfortunately, however, there's a growing tendency in Prague for many eateries to automatically add a 15% service charge to your bill. Legally speaking, customers are not required to pay this charge and, depending upon the quality of service they've received, are well within their rights to give 10% or less. Hotel porters, hairdressers and cloakroom attendants also expect to be tipped.

Tourist Information for Prague

tourist info The city's municipal tourist office (Pražská informační služba) can provide brochures, maps and advice on restaurants, lodging and travel during your stay, while the Czech Tourist Authority (ČCCR) are able to help plan/book trips or provide a list of reputable tour operators in your home country that specialise in holidays to Prague.

For further details visit www.pis.cz or, if you've already arrived in Prague, downtown offices which are located at:

The city's main railway station (Hlavní nádraží) located at Wilsonova 8 (a little way on from the Prague State Opera House and just 5 minutes walk from the top of Wenceslas Square);

The Old Town Hall (at Staromestké námestí 1) with another office at the Lesser Town Bridge Tower (near to the Charles Bridge);

A further office in Prague Castle offers general information, as well as specific material (and tour details) about the attraction itself.

Oveseas ČCCR offices include:

Canada, 401 Bay Street, Suite 1510, Toronto, Ontario, Tel: 416 363 9928, Fax: 416 363 0239, E-mail: ctacanada@iprimus.ca, Website: www.czechtourism.com

Germany, Karl Liebknecht Str. 34, 10 178 Berlin, Tel/Fax: 30 204 4770, E-mail: tourinfo@czech-tourist.de, Website: www.czech-tourist.de

US, 1109-1111 Madison Ave. New York, Tel: 212-288-0830, or E-mail: travelczech@pop.net, Website: www.czechtourism.com

UK, 95, Great Portland Street, W1W 7NY, London, Tel: 020 7291 9925, Fax: 020 7436 8300, E-mail: ctainfo@czechcentre.org.uk, Website: www.antor.com and www.cecta.org