Capital savings in the Czech Republic

OF the fall and winter trips that deserve the tribute “Best Bargain of 2005,” I nominate weeklong visits to Prague, Czech Republic, that sell for as little as $763 from any major city in California. Considering how far it is, the quality of the accommodations and the allure of the destination, these six-night visits in the Czech capital are worth considering if you’re looking for a break between now and March 31.

Several U.S. tour operators offer the trips, which capitalize on the off-season costs of Prague. The destination is a fairy-tale city, a giant Old Town lying under the gaze of a storybook castle where alchemists once worked to transmute lead into gold. It has inexpensive opera performances ($3.20 for the cheapest locations, up to about $38 for best seats); a thriving museum scene; multiple under-$20 theaters (the National and the Estates theaters and several others, in lovely Belle Epoque playhouses); and classic old-fashioned Czech pubs in neighborhoods where you can have a meal with beer for less than $10.

It also has “gastro pubs” that offer an eclectic mix of food (with plenty of classic Czech dishes) and some of Europe’s most spectacular cityscapes, from Romanesque to Art Nouveau (not to mention cutting-edge new architecture from the likes of Frank Gehry). And it has a hauntingly evocative old Jewish quarter that is fascinating.

This extraordinary city of 1.1 million on the Czech Republic’s Vltava River has been Central Europe’s tourism hit since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The country is now part of the European Union, and with its increasing prosperity have come high prices for travelers during the busy warm-weather months.

But the Czechs are not using the euro until 2008, and as costly as Prague has become, it is far less expensive (especially in fall and winter) than similar capitals in Western Europe and far less pricey than such ex-Soviet-sphere cities as Warsaw; Budapest, Hungary; Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Plus, November and early December are not too chilly for comfortably touring the city.

A Czech specialist, Summit International, (800) 527-8664, www.summittours.com, has six-night air-and-hotel packages for $763 through March 31 (add about $175 airport taxes; single supplement is $68). One of the owners of Summit was born and raised in Prague.

For stays in December through March, you might consider a shorter, cheaper package offered by Gate 1, (800) 682-3333, www.gate1travel.com for as little as $670, (add airport taxes of $90; single supplement $31) but for only four nights in Prague.

Another Czech specialist, Tatra Travel, (800) 321-2999, www.tatratravel.com, offers air and six-night stays for as little as $877 through Dec. 15 and $857 in January (add $165 for taxes).

January marks the start of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, and the city has prepared dozens of events for the occasion; they are listed at www.mozartprague2006.com, and advance tickets are available at www.czechphilharmonic.cz, www.pragueexperience.comand www.bohemiaticket.cz. And February will see the opening of an exhibit at the Prague Castle called “Charles IV, Emperor by the Grace of God.”

For general information, contact the Czech Center in New York, (212) 288-0830, or log on to www.czechtourism.com or www.prague-info.cz.