Temporary Accomodation

When you first arrive in Prague, if your housing situation isn’t already settled, it’s best to have temporary housing booked for at least a week or two. This will give you the time you need to comfortably decide on your permanent apartment or family house. Here are some well-established, reputable hotels that can serve your housing needs for your first week in Prague.

Four Seasons
Veleslavinova 2a/1098, Praha 1, 110 00 (221 427 000)
True luxury accommodation right on the Vltava River by Staromestska, this is where celebrities like Madonna stay when they come to Prague. The hotel’s Allegro Restaurant boasts the only Michelin star in the Czech Republic.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Nebovidska 459/1, Mala Strana, 118 00 (233 088 888)
An elegant five-star hotel on a quiet Mala Strana street that offers modern style blended with historically preserved architecture.

Hilton Prague
Pobrezni 1, 186 00 (224 841 111, www.hiltonprague.com )
The largest hotel in central Europe with almost 800 rooms, this hotel also offers the country’s premier sky bar, Cloud 9, on the 40-metre-high terrace.

Marriott
V Celnici 8, 110 00 (222 888 888, www.marriott.com)
A big advantage to staying at the Marriott is that even as it’s tucked away on a small side street, it still has a perfect location that’s walking distance from Old Town Square and many of Prague’s major landmarks and attractions.

Hotel Pyramida
Belohorska 24, 16901 Prague 6 (233 102 111, www.pyramida.cz )
This pyramid-shaped hotel is just a 15-minute walk from Prague Castle, yet is still conveniently located out of the busy and touristy centre.

Hotel apartments and listings:

Hotels can be a simple and convenient choice for shorter stays, but if you want to take more time to select an apartment or house, it will prove more economical and practical to book an apartment-hotel or a guesthouse. Staying in this type of accommodation (complete with full kitchen, TV and stereo system, and other amenities you’re used to back home) will feel just like living in your own home, and help you start to feel more settled into a home-like routine and lifestyle in Prague. Although many of the apartment hotels are centrally located, you’ll still find it easy to get to the suburbs by car or by the city’s well-connected public transport system as you go house hunting.

Apartment-hotel listings:

Apartments Tynska
Tynska 7, Prague 1 (777 713 029, www.prague-apartments-tynska7.com )

U Zlate podkovy
Nerudova 34, Prague 1 (257 531 497, 603 508 140, www.uzlatepodkovy.com )

Another option is to sublet an apartment from someone out of Prague for a month or two, which will definitely give you enough time to narrow down your housing options and get a good feel for the city. Make a point of searching the housing classifieds on www.Expats.cz or www.Prague.tv for sublets, or post an ad of your own before you move to Prague. Yet another possibility, although it is a bit more complicated and may not work for everyone, is to do a temporary home exchange, a service offered by sites such as www.SabbaticalHomes.com

Finding housing:

There are plenty of expat-oriented real estate agencies in Prague, but you do have to be careful which one you choose. If the prices seem too good to be true, then they probably are. Don’t just go with the first one you find: call up several places, and make sure they speak good English and are comfortable and reliable to work with.

The kind of housing (apartment, family house, villa) you choose will depend on a number of factors: what neighbourhood you prefer to live in, how much space you’re comfortable with, the size of your family, if you desire a garden/yard or not, how much you’re willing to spend. Working with an experienced real estate agent who knows your exact preferences and criteria can make house hunting much simpler, but be sure to find out beforehand how much commission you’ll be paying to the agent and how much assistance the agency will provide once you’ve moved in.

Here are some factors to consider when looking for a place to call home in Prague:
Space
How much space do you actually need? You might be used to a certain standard of living (number of rooms and bathrooms, privacy, garden, etc) in your home country, so you need to decide whether you want to maintain that standard, even if it means paying more for it. Some apartments in the centre have little courtyards and may even be near huge parks, but only houses and villas outside the centre, in the outlying parts of the city, will offer you an adequate amount of green space.

Commute to work and school
How long will it take you to get to work and school and back? If you’re using a car, then plan to be stuck in morning and evening rush hour. If you have a babysitter or domestic help, you can have them get your children to and from school, which can save a lot of commuting. If you live and work near public transport, especially near a Metro, your commute will be much smoother and less time-consuming.

Children
Are you near the school your children will attend? Are there other families with children of the same age in your neighbourhood? Are there safe play areas and green spaces?

Neighbourhood conveniences
Does the area have supermarkets selling the kind of food and household items you need? What about fruit and vegetable markets, butchers, bakeries (all of which will offer much fresher produce and meat than a supermarket)? How are the restaurants, cafes and bars in the area? Are there any that are kid-friendly? What about sports facilities or gyms?

Safety
Although crime isn’t much of an issue anywhere in Prague, traffic can be. If you have children, you may want to consider living away from busy tram and bus hubs and traffic intersections (also for reasons of noise). This means avoiding apartments in the central neighbourhoods, which are very safe but are filled with tourist crowds in the warmer months. If you’re considering an apartment, make sure it’s on the second floor or higher.

Pets / smoking rules
This will apply mostly if you live in an apartment. Some landlords may not allow pets or smoking inside the apartment, so be sure to find out about any restrictions before you sign a contract.

Lease agreements
Lease agreements are typically made for 6 months or a year, but longer leases can lower the rent. A security deposit of one month’s rent is generally expected upon signing. Rent is generally paid in CZK, in cash, and usually includes utilities (water, gas, electricity, trash services, building maintenance fees, etc) paid for in advance. At the end of the year, your landlord will calculate the actual consumption of utilities, and either refund you any overpay or require you to pay for any extra consumption. You’ll likely encounter much greater consumption in winter months, due to heating costs.

If you use an agent, expect to pay a commission (possibly equal to or above one month’s rent) upon signing the lease. It’s best if you can get along with your landlord, and of course it’s very helpful if he or she speaks English, so they can help you to understand the contract. But if the contract is in Czech, be sure to have a Czech friend or lawyer help you go through it. Before you sign the contract, find out what modifications to the apartment are possible (like painting, new lights or curtains, etc), and also find out what kinds of maintenance the landlord will be responsible for.

Types of housing:

When searching for a new home in Prague, expats tend to choose from the huge diversity of apartments, family houses and villas, although Communist-era housing (called panelaks ) is available for the curious or nostalgic.

Apartments
Prague, like many major cities around the world, has ever-expanding city limits, and new apartment complexes are constantly sprouting up in outlying areas. Here, you’re guaranteed new buildings with all the latest amenities, some even offering sustainability. These newer apartment buildings, located in what can be called the suburbs of Prague, often have more a family and community feel, with large common areas with cafes, little grocery stores and playgrounds for the kids. Another advantage of living in a suburban apartment complex is the increased likelihood of being surrounded by greenery and natural, open spaces. Take a tram (try 20 or 14) or a Metro to the end of the line and you’ll find exactly this.

In the city centre, you’ll find only apartments, although some mansions do exist here and there. Buildings are often old, but many have been renovated (either in parts or as a whole) or are in the process of being renovated – something to watch out for if you don’t want to be disturbed all day by the sound of drilling. An un-renovated building means dealing with no lift. So if the flat you’re interested in is on the fifth floor, you may want to reconsider, unless you plan to take advantage of the stair climbing as your daily exercise routine. Parking spaces are harder to come by if you live in a more central apartment building, although new buildings usually provide underground parking for tenants. Also, although Prague has a noise curfew of 10pm, make sure you don’t happen to live on a street with popular pubs or bars, or, the worst case scenario, a herna (nonstop) bar.

Family houses and villas
You’ll find most of Prague’s older, pre-war family houses and villas in Prague 6 (Orechovka, Hanspaulka, Stresovice and the embassy village of Bubenec), Prague 5 (Strahov, Hrebenky, Santoska) and Prague 4 (Podoli, Branik, Hodkovicky). Most of these historical spaces have been refurbished or reconstructed to varying degrees. The advantage of renting a house or villa, aside from the larger living space, is that you’re likely to have some green space where the children can play and you can plant a little herb or vegetable garden.

If you feel more comfortable living with other expat families nearby, Nebusice in Prague 6 is full of new houses occupied by expats, who outnumber the locals there.

Furnishing your home:

Many expat-oriented apartment and family house rentals will already be completely furnished. But if you find a good deal on a place that has little to no furniture, or if you want to invest in a new look for your home, you have plenty of options in Prague, ranging from IKEA to unique boutique shops to antique markets.

Strangely enough, IKEA has two Metro-friendly locations in Prague: Centrum Cerny Most, Chlumecka 10 and the AVION Shopping Park, Skandinavska, Zlicin. If you don’t have a car, there’s even an IKEA shuttle bus to take you from the Metro to the store and back. Another popular but slightly more expensive furniture shop is Sconto.

There are also many smaller furniture boutiques, like Ma Maison (Dlouha 24), Vasta Nabytek (Sazavska 32) and Modernista (Betlemske namesti 5a).

And don’t forget to take a peek into a few antikvariats as you shop around. These fascinating little shops sell charming antique furniture and other old and rare items, sometimes for unbelievably good bargains. Some shop owners are even open to bargaining, so don’t be afraid to try. There’s an enormous furniture bazaar right off the Libensky most tram stop, and you’ll find almost anything you‘re looking for there – and lots of things you probably weren’t particularly seeking out.

Last but not least, search through the classified ads on www.Expats.cz and www.Prague.tv for furniture being sold or even given away by other expats. Sometimes you can even find appliances or large pieces of furniture for free – the only catch is that you have to go and pick it up yourself. If your car isn’t big enough, you can rent a moving truck for about CZK600 an hour.

Laundry:

Most apartments and houses don’t have dryers, instead making use of metal or wooden drying racks, which can be purchased in any department store. During good weather, Czechs also hang their clothes out to dry on the balcony or in the courtyard. Dryers are sold in appliance stores if you really think you can’t live without one, but expect them to be smaller and more expensive than you’re accustomed to.

Dry cleaning services are expensive, but available throughout the city, with most located in Prague 2 and Prague 6, where a higher concentration of expats can be found. You can even have your clothes picked up and delivered to you if you so desire.

Domestic help:

Probably the best way to find someone is to place an ad on www.Expats.cz or www.Prague.tv . If your ad’s in English and specifies the hours you require, as well as the payment and a description of what the work involves, you’ll hopefully elicit only relevant responses from qualified and committed individuals. Another great way to find help is to simply ask around. Get contacts and information from parents at your child’s school or from expat neighbours. Some apartment buildings or landlords might already include a monthly cleaning fee, if you’re only looking for someone to come in once a month.

Domestic help listings:

Net Clean (www.netclean.cz/english.htm )
House Maid (www.housemaid.cz/en )
CityPilot.cz’s Home Help listings (www.citypilot.cz/en/serviceguide/service-handicraft/home-help-services )

Babysitting / child care:

With a large number of students and young people constantly coming into Prague from around the world to study and work, you’re bound to find someone who can help take care of your child or children full- or part-time. Of course, the most important thing is to find a babysitter or au pair you can trust, so make sure to interview several different individuals, and be sure to ask for references. There are agencies if you prefer to have a confirmed background check, but the hourly rate will be higher, since a portion of the fee will go to the agency. If you’re interested in having your children learn some Czech, you can hire a Czech native speaker with good English skills. Try posting a want ad on expat websites, or simply ask other parents at your child’s school.

Also, some schools offer before- and after-school programmes or babysitting, so you can drop your child off as early as 6am or 7am and pick them up as late as 7pm or 8pm if your work necessitates such a schedule.

Babysitting / nanny agency listings: