Travelling by Car
Just like any metropolis, Prague is struggling with an increase in the number of cars on the road, to reduce the environmental burden on the city and a lack of parking spaces. That is why going by car is only recommended if you travel long distances or outside the city. If you go by car within the city of Prague, we suggest that you first check traffic density at individual locations via the city camera system.
Parking in Prague
If you drive into Prague during the morning rush hour, which is between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., you should expect a significant delay. Therefore it is advisable to make use of P+R car parks where you can leave your car for the whole day fo a good price. Some P+R car parks are located directly at terminal metro stations, others can be found in key places convenient for drivers. You can find an up-to-date list of P+R car parks as well as information about availability of free spaces and a price list here or by looking up traffic information in Google maps.
Traveling by car can be time consuming and parking options are limited. That is why we recommend that you use public transport for travelling around Prague.
Parking zones in Prague
Parking on selected Prague streets has been divided into zones, which are marked in blue, purple and orange for ease of use. Each zone has its own regime and conditions for parking, specified on road signs or parking machines. Blue (residential) zone allows for unlimited parking for residents, business owners, employees and property owners in the given municipal district who have a long-term parking permit. It also allows for short-term, limited-time parking for visitors to Prague. Purple (mixed) zone idicates paid sections where every visitor to Prague can park for a limited time indicated on the sign. You can easily pay online or at streetside parking machines. Orange (visitor) zone indicates areas where every visitor to Prague can park for a limited time indicated on the sign. You can easily pay online or at streetside parking machines. Long-term parking permits do not apply to orange zones.
Information on parking zones in Prague can be found here. Parking cards for residents can be bought at municipal offices of individual Prague districts.
In places where parking is charged you can usually find parking meters. The price for parking is usually 40 CZK per hour but parking meters also allow payment for a short period of time – 15 or 30 minutes. As an alternative you may use paid car parks or garages.
Fines and Towed Vehicles
Your car is at risk of being towed away for unauthorized parking or parking without permit or paying a parking fee. Your car can also be clamped and you will be fined afterwards. You can find out whether your car has been towed away in an online register or by calling the city police number 156.
Drivers who leave their cars parked in a street where street cleaning is under way also risk getting a fine. There is an application on which you can learn about dates of cleaning for individual streets for the current year available here.
City and Prague Ring Roads
The R1 express road, also called the city ring road, plays an important role in Prague traffic.
The Prague Ring Road is an unfinished ring around the west-southeast border of the capital city, connecting the D1 motorway with junctions to D5 and R6. The 40-kilometre stretch now makes it easy to go from Brno to Pilsen or to the Václav Havel Prague Airport without having to drive across the city centre.
The City Ring Road is an inner road in Prague linking Břevnov in the north with Smíchov, Zbraslav and Spořilov, and is also connected to other road sections including the D1 motorway. The City Ring Road can be used for travelling outside the inner city districts.
Transport Connections with Prague
As the main road junction of the Czech Republic, Prague is interconnected with other Czech and European cities by a motorway network.
The most important motorways are: D1 leading through Brno to Ostrava (linked up with roads to České Budějovice, Vienna or Bratislava), D5 connecting Prague and Pilsen, D8 leading to Ústí nad Labem and D11 leading to Hradec Králové.
Travelling in the direction of Příbram on the express road R4 is also easy. The R6 leading to Karlovy Vary (and then further to Germany) has been put in partial operation just like R7 leading to Chomutov and R10 going through Mladá Boleslav to Turnov.