Rising prices have taken the edge off Prague’s overheated tourist scene. There was a time when anyone and everyone wanted to be seen in Prague, and the city welcomed millions of visitors each year – most of them looking for cheap beer, lashings of homely Czech food and a vibrant club scene. Prague still pulls the crowds, but nowadays visitors are as likely to be tempted to the Czech capital by art, music and history. The long-awaited reopening in October 2018 of the National Museum on Wenceslas Square gives good cause for museum hounds to plan a Prague trip for 2019.

With its strong Mitteleuropa (central European) feel, Prague is a fine destination for a city break, a longer stay or an en-route stop as part of a wider exploration of Europe by train. Three other European capital cities are all just four to five hours away by train. They are Berlin, Bratislava and Vienna. In addition, Dresden is just over two hours distant. Trains leave Prague every two hours to each of these four cities. Prague also has direct daytime train services to a range of other cities, including Munich (5hrs 30 mins), Budapest (6hrs 30 mins), Kraków and Hamburg (both seven hours away).

Prague has direct night trains to Kraków, Minsk, Moscow, Warsaw and Zurich (although not all of these can be booked on our site). Prague lies at the hub of the Czech Republic’s excellent national rail network - trains are sometimes slowish, but there's hardly a town in the country which cannot be reached by direct train from the capital. The main railway station in Prague is hlavní nádrazí (often abbreviation to Praha hl.n). The booking hall area on the lower level is a soulless place, but head upstairs to see the nicely renovated old entrance hall of the station.