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1. When is the best time to come to Prague and the Czech Republic?
The best time to come and how long to stay, both in Prague and the rest of the
Czech Republic, depend very much on what you want to see and enjoy doing. For most of
us, the kind of weather we like and how we feel about
crowds are also crucial. Here we give you a quick snapshot of what to expect
through the year.The main tourist season in Prague begins in March and lasts until the end of October, with crowds reaching their peak in the July and August. There are also crowds around Christmas, New Year's, Easter, and spring break. The rest of the country, with the exception of towns like Cesky Krumlov and Telc, which are UNESCO protected historical sites, is still largely undiscovered by most English-speaking foreign visitors, while European visitors have been coming to the mountains and the Highlands for holidays for more than a decade.
Here is Hedgie's view of the seasons:
The increasingly important "Prague Autumn" International Music Festival is held in September, finishing in early October. The new opera and concert seasons begin.
On Christmas eve, it is the "Baby Jesus" or JeziĊĦek who brings the gifts, not Santa or St. Nick. Even families who are not religious keep this tradition. In most families, the tree appears magically lighted, with gifts under it, after the special Christmas Eve dinner. On Christmas and on December 26, many families visit relatives and also go together to see the Christmas creches or "betlem" displayed in many churches. These can be quite old and elaborate hand-made scenes with a hundred or more figures. Look for lists of the most famous in local publications.
After the holidays, locals and visitors alike go skiing. Families and groups rent cottages for the week or weekend. In the mountains that edge the Czech Republic, the snow is excellent December through February. February and early March are also enlivened by a season of dress balls in Prague.
If Easter falls in March or early April , the historical center is enlivened in March by Easter open-air markets. Occasionally there is a "warm" Sunday in early March when it is a real treat to walk the almost-deserted streets of the Old Town and feel you have the city to yourself. In late March you are more likely to be run over by a huge group of boisterous tourists taking advantage of an early low cost package tour.
On the official first day of spring, the Equinox,the sun rises at about 6am and sets at 6pm. Near the middle of March, visitors and birds begin to return,
and sometimes the forsythia begins to bloom, its intense yellow so welcome among
the black still-bare trees. Unless we have an extremely severe winter, heady lilacs and glorious tulips appear in mid-April.
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Temperatures usually reach their peak of
32 C (90F) in July and early August.
In June and July, days are long, 16 hours of
daylight at their peak on the summer solstice. Evenings are usually warm. Central Prague fills
with visitors. June in Prague can be packed with special events: The annual dance festival,a puppet festival,
one or two outdoor sculpture festivals, and concerts by world renown musicians.
Many Prague locals escape to their "chalupas" (cottages) in the countryside.
Visitors from around Europe also use countryside cottages as their "base" for
exploring castles and scansens, swimming, cycling, and hiking. Musical festivals of all types abound
in the summer countryside: folk, rock,
opera, classical music, and gypsy. 
Winter in Central Europe strikes visitors from warmer climates and latitudes as a long, dark, and very cold season.
The influence on the climate of the continent makes it definitely unlike Great Britain, France, or Seattle, so be prepared
if you come for the winter festivities.
On December 6, or on the closest Sunday to it, "Mikulas" is celebrated. This is St. Nicholas
Day. The bishop appears with his helpers, an angel and one or more devils, to question
children about their behavior during the year. If they have been naughty, they can expect
a lump of coal. If they have been good, the angel rewards them with sweets or a treat.
Teenagers and adults alike love to design their own costumes and play these roles.
Some will visit homes by pre-arrangement with parents, but most take to the streets.
The Old Town Square is a favorite place for everyone to congregate. While families talk to St. Nicholas,
choirs on-stage sing
carols, hot wine or grog wards off the chill, and the big tree is lighted.
On New Year's eve, there are parties and midnight fireworks, of course. Unusual is the "second edition"
of fireworks often held on New Year's Day eve on Letna plain at 6 or 7pm so that families can bring their children.
Both displays are spectacular.
In the typical November, Prague is cold, damp, and overcast. The length of the
day shortens visibly, as we head for the winter solstice when the sun does
not rise until 8 a.m. and already begins to set slowly at 3:00pm, and there
are only 8 hours of light, much of it dim. Everyone gets through by reading, going to concerts,
galleries, poetry readings or ice hockey games, by drinking hot mulled wine, and by looking forward to the Christmas season. 