Prague in February - any tips?

[janeiteofthelivingdead]

We're thinking of going to Prague in February half-term as dd2 wishes to go "somewhere cold"!!!

Is this a sensible idea? What's it like? has anybody been with children? The girls are 12 and 10. We like walking, museums, sitting around drinking hot chocolate, eating etc!

Any tips on where to stay? I'm veggie - is that likely to be a problem? Where is good to visit? Will we need to pack wellies?!!!

Many thanks for all ideas.

Oh, you should love it then. Wellies shouldn't be needed but walking shoes/boots are a must.

Not sure about veggie food. The food is very meat and dumpling based. Lots of hot chocolate though!

I would suggest a day or so in the castle at least. Hang around for the changing of the guards, it is quite a sight. Visit the opera and/or the ballet, the Old Square and the market. Charles Bridge is magnificent and you can take a boat trip up the river.

Be prepared to see disturbing sights of beggars kneeling head down on the bridge, even in the snow.

You'll have a great time, enjoy.

Go on the trams. The seats are heated in winter. But be prepared to leap up and give your seat to elderly passengers.
Get a box at the opera, ballet, whatever.

Brilliant advice thanks. Would we need to book the ballet in advance or is it easy enough to get tickets when we're there?

Any more ideas/personal experiences/recs much appreicated.

We had a very central hotel right next to the castle so didn't need trams. But I should imagine they are worth a trip just for fun.

We went in early January and it was really cold. Hats, gloves, scarves and a proper coat and lots layers are essential.

We booked our opera trip through pragueexperience.com and they also picked us up from the airport. I'm sure your hotel could sort tickets for you.

Thanks again Duchess; your comments are really, really helpful. Bumping this for the Tuesday nighters!

We did Prague in early March a few years ago. It was cold but not dire. So lots of layers, gloves/hats etc. We stayed at Hotel Denisa, which is near castle, but a few metro stops from centre. Hotel was cheap but adequate.

Veggie food - is doable. Check out rough guide/lonely planet for veggie recommendations; from memory I would say Bohemia Bagel will do veggie food (2 in centre), there is a lovely cheap indian food cafe on Tynska just off Old Town Square, and there are a few branches of a wholefood/veggie cafe called IIRC Natural life. Also there is a nice pizzeria called Collosseum near Wenceslas square.

Central Cafe was gorgeous. There is a central Mucha Museum that was nice. Lots of Jewish sites - old synagogues etc, that may be of interest.

I went to prague in january a few years ago and it was really not as cold as we had expected. quite pleasant. The food is very meat based but if you don't mind pizza and things like that you will get by. no wellies needed but
I would definitely recommend staying in one of the city centre modern hotels rather than the cheaper ones on the outskirts as they are rather basic. Other than that its really cheap and there are lots of museums to look at and a beautiful city.