Where to stay in Prague
In Prague the blue zones belong to residents, so a rental car pays by the hour in purple and orange zones, sits in a city car park or waits at a park and ride by the metro. Each area puts you at a different distance from Old Town Square and from those car parks.
Last checked
How the areas differ
The Old Town grew around Old Town Square, founded in the 12th century, where the Old Town Hall, the Church of Our Lady before Týn and the Baroque Church of St Nicholas stand. Across the Vltava, Malá Strana sits below Prague Castle on the Royal Route, around Malostranské náměstí and its own church of St Nicholas, about 1 km from Old Town Square in a straight line.
The New Town, which Charles IV founded in 1348, holds Wenceslas Square, 750 m long, with hotels, theatres and shops, and Charles Square with the New Town Hall. It lies under 1 km from Old Town Square. Vinohrady, about 2 km out, is built around the park squares of Náměstí Míru and Jiřího z Poděbrad.
Karlín lies east of the centre around Karlínské náměstí and the church of St Cyril and Methodius, and Corso Karlín, a former ČKD factory hall turned into offices. Holešovice, in Prague 7 on the river, has the city's docks and two park and ride sites. Both sit about 2 km from Old Town Square.
Staying with a rental car
Prague marks its paid streets in three colours. Blue zones are for residents with a permit; a visitor may park there for one hour in the centre, or up to three hours outside it, and pays online, because blue zones have no meters. Purple zones take visitors for up to three hours at the meters or online, and where the signs show no hours, the charge runs round the clock. Orange zones take any visitor for the time on the sign. A guest cannot get a long-term permit, which needs residence or property in the zone.
The visitor tariff is CZK 80 an hour in the 1st price sector, CZK 60 in the 2nd and CZK 40 in the 3rd, which the city gives as EUR 3.20, 2.40 and 1.60, and GetCar reads the 1st sector as the centre (via GetCar). The meters take koruna or euro coins, Visa and Mastercard. Free parking for low-emission cars ended on 1 January 2026. A towed car costs CZK 3,800 plus CZK 500 a day in storage (via GetCar).
For a stay of several nights the park and ride sites are the cheaper answer. P+R Holešovice charges CZK 100 for 24 hours, Letňany, Chodov, Zličín and Černý Most CZK 50, and Troja, Braník and Radotín are free for 12 hours; you pay on site and cannot reserve. The city also runs public car parks, among them Muzeum in Vinohrady and Letná in Prague 7. Rental cars for the trip are on GetCar's car rental page for Prague.
The fee and registration for a guest
Prague charges a local accommodation fee of CZK 50 per person for every started day of a paid stay except the day of arrival, so the count matches the nights. It applies to stays of up to 60 consecutive days with one host, whatever the reason for the trip or the type of lodging. Guests under 18 and a few listed groups pay nothing. The host collects it and pays it to the district by the 15th of the next month.
Hosts also report every foreign guest to the Czech police within three working days, through the police Ubyport application or on the paper form, and keep a guest register with each guest's dates, address, date of birth and identity document. A guest registered this way has met the duty to report a place of residence.
For short-term rentals the Ministry for Regional Development states that Czechia applies no registration procedure under Regulation (EU) 2024/1028. Its eTurista system, which would register hosts and let cities set rules for platform rentals, depends on an amendment to Act 159/1999 that is before the Chamber of Deputies, so no registration number is required in listings as of September 2026.
When to book what
Park and ride sites cannot be reserved, and some hold fewer than 100 cars: Holešovice has 76 spaces. A driver who needs a space every night can book a place with its own parking or plan around the larger sites, Letňany with 679 spaces and Chodov with 692. The Terasa car park at the main station is out of service from 29 June 2026 and Wilsonova is closed until 2027.
Non-EU travellers arriving from outside the Schengen area register in the EU Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, at their first Schengen border. Compare prices on this page and check what the host says about parking before you pay.
Which area for which trip
A first visit on foot: the Old Town.
The castle and the Lesser Town: Malá Strana.
Central hotels by Wenceslas Square: the New Town.
An apartment by the park squares: Vinohrady.
A base east of the centre: Karlín.
A car left at a park and ride: Holešovice.
Questions
How much is the Prague accommodation fee in 2026?
CZK 50 per person per night, counted as each started day except arrival, on stays of up to 60 consecutive days with one host. Guests under 18 are exempt.
Where can a rental car be parked in Prague?
In purple zones for up to three hours and orange zones for the time on the sign, at CZK 80, 60 or 40 an hour by price sector, or at a park and ride site for CZK 50 or CZK 100 for 24 hours, some free for 12 hours.
Can a guest get a resident parking permit?
No. Long-term permits in the blue and purple zones need permanent residence, or temporary residence for foreigners, or property in the sub-area.
Do Prague rentals need a registration number?
Not as of September 2026. The Ministry for Regional Development states that Czechia applies no registration procedure for short-term rentals; the eTurista law is before parliament.
How far is Prague airport from the centre?
About 16 km by road to Old Town Square. Trolleybus 59 runs to metro line A at Nádraží Veleslavín in about 15 minutes.