Sample FAQ C: Guided or Unguided:

Which is the best way to see Prague? Prague is one of the few cities where you'll see battalions of visitors marching, or straggling, behind their stalwart leader as she forges resolutely ahead with flag or furled umbrella raised. (Not quite Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People"!)

This has always struck Hedgie as simply the worst way to see Prague. In a group of 50, your group stumbles along the narrow cobbled sidewalks, scattering other pedestrians into the streets or doorways. Your can barely hear the guide. Worse, you can hardly focus your eyes on a single ornate facade, medieval house sign, gilded wrought iron well cover, delicate Gothic spire, or compelling modern statue.

You are missing the most outstanding aspect of Prague's Old Town. It's is like being inside an inlaid jewel box; there are sights to behold everywhere your eye falls. A mass tour can't stop for sights that catch your particular eye. While other visitors linger, you are paying to be rushed. At the end of 2, 3, or 6 hours you can perhaps point to a list of "sights" you have seen and no doubt you will have some idea of how the historical center is laid out.

Hedgie's advice:
Do the basic tour yourself. Despite the fact that a few people panic at the sight of a Czech word, it is not difficult to find your way around and to know what you are looking at. The historical center is compact. At a brisk pace you could walk across it in the east-west direction in 90 minutes.

Hedgie's 10 minute guide to understanding Czech will calm your qualms.

Navigating the twisting streets to your goals is the challenge. This is solved with an excellent map, with all the street names clearly given. Hedgie recommends the 3-D panoramic map by ATP Publishing House which depicts each building so clearly you can recognize exactly where you are. These are available in local bookstores and at the information center in the Old Town Hall. Then, with a good guidebook, such as Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Guide to Prague, you can read up on the sights you are seeing, both indoors and out.

A few minutes advance preparation will make you more savvy and organized. Hedgie's FAQ #2 on 'must sees' will guide you on the layout of the key areas, the key sights not to miss, and some suggested itineraries and times.

Guides You Trust and Enjoy
To guide yourself or to be guided is not an either/or decision. If you want more in-depth history or more detailed information, hire a guide for just yourself or your group.

CAUTION:
Be wary of those who are not certified. Stories abound about how uncertified guides not only garble history but simply concoct stories. Witness the way poor deluded tourists have rubbed parts of several Charles Bridge statues to a high bronze polish, as guides continue to fabricate stories about how it will bring good luck or ensure a return to Prague.

Also be wary of online tours you book in advance without details. A certain Night Fountain Tour touts an "unforgettable performance of Krizik's Music Fountain" for 23 euros. This local attraction of fountaining water, colored lights, and canned music at a run-down venue might be a nice summer amusement, at the venue price of 180 Czk or 6 euros. But don't go expecting either Las Vegas or Rome.

CERTIFICATION: A certified guide will have had to pass rigorous exams about each quarter of the city for which they are licensed to guide. The Jewish Quarter is the most rigorous, requiring knowledge of Judaic law, religion, and customs as well as the history of the quarter and of the buildings. Such guides will cost perhaps 20 to 30 euros an hour, but will give you value for your money.

Some guides can also take you to interesting places where large groups don't go. The right guide can follow up on your particular interests. Best of all, the pace and choices are always yours.

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