How to get there (car, bus, train, plane)
By car
Hradec Kralove is connected by highway D11 to the capital city Prague from the west. The journey from there takes about an hour on average and is about 120 kms long. The maximum speed on Czech highways is limited to 130 kmph (80 mph). The drivers are obliged to pay a fee (200 CZK= 7€ for two weeks) for driving at highways in the Czech Republic. The coupons can be bought at gas stations and other places and have to be put on the front window of the car before entering a highway. From Vienna, you can take the E 461 road through Brno and then switch for the E 442, which goes through the city. The distance from Austrian capital to Prague is about 275 km (170 miles). The shortest way from Bratislava is by taking the D2 highway to Brno, then E 461 and later E 442. It is 280 km far (175 miles) from Hradec Kralove. There are many parking houses within hotels, but you can find a lot of supervised park lots in the city center, usually with prices around 1€ (30 CZK) per hour and less. There is always free parking in the shopping centers on the city’s outskirts, but very often there is no guarantee of safety. In many places, the parking on the edge of the roads is free, but be careful not to leave your car in the restricted areas.
By bus
If you want to search any line of transportation, search it at: idos.cz (the web-page has a Czech, English and German version). There is not a big difference between prices of bus and train transportation, but the bus is usually cheaper. Nevertheless, the train is still commonly used and the train lines density is one of the biggest in the world. On lines of city public transportation, it is possible to enter buses by any of its doors. On inter-city or interstate lines, passengers enter via the front door and then buy a ticket from the driver (or show their ticket to him if they have bought in advance). The bus and the train main station are located in the same place. It is called Hlavni nadrazi. But some of the buses stop at a new station Koruna, which is situated very short distance away.
By train
Although the frequency of train lines is quite good, the travelling by train could be quite cofusing beacuse you have to change a lot when using local lines. If you are travelling from far abroad, it is recommended to use the EuroCity line to Prague or to Brno, and the take some local bus or train line. For example, from Vienna the train goes about 4 hours 30 minutes, with change from Eurocity to local train in Brno. Direct train from Prague goes at least every hour during the day. Frome Munich, the journey takes about 6 hours with direct train, from Berlin less than 5 hours. From Warsaw, the best option is to take EC 106 to Pardubice, and than take local bus or train (Pardubice are 20 km far from Hradec Kralove).
By plane
Unfortunately, there is no international airport in Hradec Kralove, but you could use the airport in Prague (airport code: PRG), which is 120 km far. Prague has aerial connection with most metropolises all around the world, but mostly with European capital cities.
