Dear Students, This guide is intended particularly for you ...

sports and how to stay fit
For the majority of you who will be staying at the Hostivař dormitory, it is good news
to find out that just one bus stop from the dorms there is the Charles University
sport facility, where you can do many kinds of sport activities from aerobics to swimming.We
have also asked several students to recommend some venues for the most
common sports:
Running
Stromovka, in Bubeneč, Prague 6, is the
absolutely favourite place to go jogging.
It is the largest park in the city, most of it
is not hilly, and it has a series of soft dirt
trails that give the legs some relief from
the cobblestones. The quickest route to
the flat area of the park is through the
Gothardská street entrance. You can either
park on the street near this entrance
or get off at the Hradčanská metro
(green line) and walk or run the six blocks to the park.
Letná is not as large as Stromovka, but it is also a flat, pretty place to run once you
climb the hill beside the Vltava, and it is easy to get to from the city centre.
Vinohrady is not an ideal place to run, but if you live in the area and want to go for
a run close to home, try running on Vinohradská. This street’s inclines and declines are
gradual, and if you start at Italská and head east, you can run for nearly two miles over
only a few cobblestone sections. If you want to extend your run, turn into Olšanské
cemetery to run on its tree-lined paths.
Žižkov is another nice park to run in, but it’s difficult to reach. You can try half-running,
half-walking from Náměstí Míru, but by the time you reach the flat area at the
top of the hill you will probably be exhausted from the climb. Another easier option
to reach the park is to take the tram 9, 10 or 16 to Biskupcova stop.
Kunratice Forest, south of the city centre in Prague 4, is ideal for running: lots of
paths (some dirt and some paved), slightly hilly, well shaded, and not too crowded
even on a sunny weekend mid-afternoon. To get here you can take the red metro line
to the Roztyly metro stop.
Swimming
As the sweet smell of chlorine hits your nostrils and you get ready to hit the waves,
there are a few general things to remember about how the system works. Prague
pools mostly charge by how long you plan to stay, usually in 60 or 90-minute blocks.
Most pools assign you a locker, often with a key on a wristband you can wear in the
water, and many have private changing rooms for those inclined to modesty. There’s
also usually a ‘no shoes in the changing room’ policy, and many pools have a sort of
‘no - man’s land’ near the entrance of the changing rooms where you remove the offending
items and put them in plastic bags to take in with you. Also, make sure you
check the opening times before you visit – a lot of pools close for the middle part of
the day. Apart from that, most pools are pretty easy to negotiate.
Here are some of the most popular swimming pools in Prague with their opening
hours and entry fees. These might change according to winter or summer time, so
please always double check before really waking up at 06:00 in the morning to have
your morning swim.
Aquapark Lagoon Letňany
Tupolevova 665, Prague 18
Bus 156 from metro C Holešovická, or bus number 159 from metro B Vysočanská,
Open:
Mon, We, Fri: 06:00 – 09:00 12:00 – 22:00
Tue, Thu: 07:00 – 09:00 16:00 – 22:00
Sat – Sun: 09:00 – 22:00
Entry: Adults – 140 CZK/90min, Students 100 CZK/90 min
This pool is a kid’s dream. Definitely geared towards recreation rather than sport, it
makes up for being fairly small and a bit out of the way with an extremely large and
fun water slide, which twists and loops an impressive number of times, much to the
great enjoyment of children and adults alike. As well as the water slide, it’s got a spa
pool, kids’ pool, and a 25-meter main pool.
84 85