Vienna & Prague Travel Tips

I went to Prague in January 2005 and and avoided the crowds. Old Town then didn't look too tourist trappy to me. My parents-in-law went in early 1990 and I'm envious, though they had a hard time finding restaurants--soe were kind of semi-legal with unmarked doors.

Also it was cold and snowy so it added to the atmosphere.

Yeah it's magic when it snows. To be fair to the old town there are plenty of very nice cafes, though many are hidden away down side streets.

Do any of you have a recommendation for where we should stay? Assume we'll be taking the train in from Berlin, then spending two nights in Prague. No car, older teens, just going because none of us have been. All we really know at this point is "castles" and "bridge."

(I used to have this mildly amusing Dave Barry travel book that reused the same generic city map with a river running through it for every city in Europe.)

all I know are the best party hostels, and even that information is nearly 20 years out of date.

But bearing that in mind, Žiżkov is the place to be, and if Ü Houdku on Bořivojova is still open, that's the best place to eat.

OK, 'nother question. We'll be there New Year's Eve, the four of us. Recommendations? I imagine it will be nuts, but not sure I/we (as a family) want nuts. There are restaurants, party boats (of various bents) ...

the historic central part near the bridge and wenceslaus square will be a BLOODBATH. unfortunately i don’t have great recommendations apart from avoiding those places on nye.

Every NYE I spent in Prague was messy/chaotic, not really a kid-friendly experience.

Ha, um, well ... we'll be there ! (Kids are teens, fwiw.)

Well to be honest there have been three phases in my NYE experience

Aged 0-18 = dull nights in with family
Aged 19-30 = chaotic, messy, generally horrible nights out
Aged 30-43 = dull nights in with family

If going out with teens is an option then I will consider it for future years