Florenc is the main bus station in Prague. Almost all international buses arrive and depart here. It is also a junction of two metro lines (see Florenc Metro Station), trams and local buses. This page contains all the useful info you need when travelling through Florenc bus station.
Location and Directions
The station is situated in the city centre, about 10 minutes’ walk to the east from Prague Old Town. It is just next to the main north-south highway that passes through the centre, locally called Magistrála and officially (in this section) named Wilsonova street, after WWI US President Woodrow Wilson.
The main street which connects Florenc with Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square) and Old Town is Na Poříčí. Trams from the centre also go through this street. On the other side, two other important streets start at Florenc and head further east, away from the centre – Sokolovská (the street with trams and continuation of Na Poříčí street) and Křižíkova (parallel to Sokolovská one block to the south; the entrance for passengers to the bus station is from this street).
Arriving at Florenc Bus Station
The buses enter the station from behind, which may confuse you if you have looked at a map and planned your exit from the station. When getting off the bus, you will be standing on the arrivals platform. The bus station’s main (new) terminal building will be some 50-100 metres ahead in the direction that your bus is heading. The best way to exit the station is to walk past the terminal building (it will be on your left hand side and you don’t need to go inside).
A metro entrance is immediately at the corner behind the terminal building (turn to the right). You can buy metro tickets down in the metro station’s entrance hall – the same tickets are valid for metro as well as trams and buses.
Florenc Metro Station & Local Transport
Florenc is the intersection of two out of Prague’s three metro lines – line B (yellow) and C (red). There are also a few tram lines and tram can actually be faster than the metro when travelling to some nearby locations in the city centre, because the metro (especially line B) is very deep here and it takes a while to get to the platforms and then to get out in your destination station. The tram stops are situated in Sokolovská street and there are signs from the metro entrance hall.
Getting from Florenc to Popular Places
The following are directions from Florenc to some of the popular places.
Prague Old Town – Take metro line B direction to Zličín. Number of stops depends on your particular location within the Old Town:
- If it’s near Old Town Square, get off at Můstek (2 stops from Florenc).
- If it’s closer to National Theatre or Bethlehem Chapel, get off at Národní třída (3 stops).
- If it’s in the eastern part of Old Town, get of at Náměstí Republiky (the first stop after Florenc). This is the case when you might want to take the tram instead, which also takes you to Náměstí Republiky.
- If it’s near the river (Jewish Quarter, Staroměstská metro station), there are direct buses from Florenc – number 194 or 207. They can be more convenient than metro (especially with luggage), but compared to metro these services are relatively infrequent. Good option if you have time. Otherwise you can take metro B to Můstek and transfer to metro A to Staroměstská (2 stops on line B + 1 stop on line A).
Central train station (Hlavní nádraží) – Take metro line C direction to Háje. Just one stop, the next station’s name is Hlavní nádraží and it is directly under the train station’s main hall. On a map it would seem that the train station is very close to Florenc (it is), but there are railway tracks and the highway in between them and it’s almost impossible to get there on foot (you would need to walk around Masarykovo nádraží – another, regional train station). Take the metro. Detailes directions for both metro and walking (if you have to) are here.
Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) – If it’s in the lower part of the square closer to Old Town, take metro line B to Můstek (2 stops). If it’s the upper part closer to National Museum, take metro C to Muzeum (2 stops, direction to Háje).
Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana) and Prague Castle – take metro B to Můstek and then transfer to line A, direction Nemocnice Motol, and get off at Malostranská. It is 2 stops on line B + 2 stops on line A.
Prague International Airport (Ruzyně / Václav Havel, PRG) – take metro B to Můstek and transfer to metro A as above, but this time go 6 stops on line A to Nádraží Veleslavín, where you can transfer to bus number 119, the fastest and cheapest way to get to the airport.
Departing from Florenc Station
How to get to Florenc bus station – just reverse the directions above. If your place is not listed, just get to metro lines B or C and then it’s easy.
Note that Florenc bus station has two terminal buildings. The old one is in the block of higher, old houses which separate the bus platforms from Křižíkova street. But most passengers will use the new terminal building, which looks quite small and more modern. You can find the entrance to the new building when you exit the metro station following the signs for Florenc bus station (Autobusové nádraží in Czech).
When you have booked your bus ticket online (which is always recommended and often required), then you usually don’t need to check in in the terminal building, unlike some other large bus stations in Europe (e.g. London or Paris). It is usually enough to just find the right bus stand (it will be displayed on the electronic panel in the terminal building) and go there in time – usually at least 15 minutes before departure. You will check in with the driver. Note that exceptions to this may happen – always check your ticket and the detailed conditions.
You can also buy tickets for most bus companies directly in the terminal building – the biggest ones are Eurolines and Regiojet (yellow buses – formerly Student Agency).
There is also a coffee shop, although another and much bigger one is in the old building, entrance directly from the arrivals platform. I prefer that one, as the other is directly in the terminal building hall and it’s crowded.
Bus Services from Florenc
The following are the most popular bus routes from Prague (from a tourist’s perspective) and the typical travel times:
- Dresden (2 hours) and Berlin (4.5 hours)
- Vienna (4 hours)
- Bratislava (4 hours) and Budapest (7.5 hours)
- Wroclaw (5 hours) and Warsaw (10 hours)
- Munich (5.5 hours)
- Frankfurt (7.5 hours) and Cologne (10 hours)
- Brussels (13.5 hours)
- Amsterdam (14 hours)
- Paris (14.5 hours)
- London (19.5 hours – if you really like long bus rides)
Virtually all these destinations are served by both Eurolines and Regiojet, plus some also by other carriers. The ones closer to Prague have at least several buses every day; the more distant ones at least several per week (generally more in the summer season and less in winter).
For current schedules, prices and online ticket booking, see the official websites:
Other Bus Stations in Prague
Some domestic destinations are also served by buses from Florenc – particularly Brno, with very frequent connections and travel time of 2.5 hours, or Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), with travel time 2 hours 15 minutes (both mainly by Regiojet). However, buses to other popular destinations in the Czech Republic depart from other bus stations in Prague. These are particularly:
Na Knížecí – for buses to České Budějovice and Český Krumlov. From Florenc by metro line B to Anděl station (5 stops).
Černý Most – for buses to Liberec, Hradec Králové and Krkonoše mountains. It is the eastern terminus of metro line B, 9 stops from Florenc.
Zličín – for buses to Plzeň. It is the western terminus of line B, 14 stops from Florenc.
Roztyly – for some buses to České Budějovice and Tábor. From Florenc by metro line C to Roztyly, 9 stops.
There are some destinations in the Czech Republic which have a much better and faster (often close to 2x faster) connection by train (from the central train station) than by bus. These include Ostrava, Olomouc, Pardubice, Kolín or Kutná Hora.
A smaller number of international buses, particularly some services to Wroclaw, Warsaw and Minsk depart from the bus station Želivského – from Florenc by metro line C 2 stops to Muzeum, then by metro line A 4 stops to Želivského.
Hotels near Florenc Station
Florenc, which is also the name of the area surrounding the bus station, is a very popular hotel district, thanks to its excellent transport access and proximity to Old Town. It has a mix of hotels from all categories, from hostels to some of the best 5 star hotels in Prague.