Frequently Asked Questions

We are volunteers - students and alumni of Charles University - helping international students who came to Prague for their exchange. We help them get used to being in a new city and make new friends by organising plenty of events for them as well as being there for their questions about life in Prague.

You can always check out our social media for up-to-date information about office hours.

The app is not available in the App store nor Google Play. It is a website - https://cu-prague.esn.world/home - that you can download to your desktop or phone by clicking on "Install the app".

The office is located at Křížkovského 1499/2 (side entrance of Kolej Švehlova). Our office might be a bit tricky to get to since the door to the office is very heavy - if you would have any problems, let us know! Please note that the office is only opened during the office hours, which are regularly shared with you!

The entrance to the office is located on the Křižkosvkého street. After reaching Kolej Švehlova (Slavíkova 1499 street), go around the building and down the street until you come across big dark heavy door - that's where the entrance to our office is! Follow the stairs up until you see the light, turn right and someone from our staff will be waiting for you there and ready to assist you with whatever you need.

You can live in a dormitory or find a shared apartment. If you decide to find an apartment, you can search through some Facebook groups or look at websites like Flatio or ForStudents.cz.

More information about accommodation (including information about CU's dormitories) can be found at CU's website here.

The CU Student card is free of charge. The ISIC is not free of charge, but entitles you to plenty of additional discounts (for instance in some book shops, cinemas, big on-line electronics stores, or fast food/restaurant chains) and, most importantly, a 50% discount on both the Prague public transport system’s coupons and other public transport tickets throughout the country.

If you ask us, it is worth it to have an ISIC, as it’s a lot of discounts for just a little extra money. You can read more about the types of student cards here.

Actually, there are five university canteens you can go to:

• Menza Právnická
• Menza Arnošta z Pardubic
• Menza Budeč
• Menza Kajetánka
• Menza Troja

Don’t be confused if you find more in a list or map - there are some more, but they are unfortunately currently under reconstruction. The university also offers meals in university-run buffets and dispensaries (only pre-ordered meals). For the full list, check out this page.

In case you will get sick, there is an emergency in every hospital. So the best way is to find a hospital near you. Also if you live near Hostivař, you can contact MUDr. Květoslava Vernerová (+420 274 869 934). She also accepts foreign students.

The list of public hospitals in Prague:

• Nemocnice na Homolce (Praha 5) +420 257 271 111
• Nemocnice na Františku (Praha 1) +420 222 801 111
• Poliklinika Palackého (Praha 1) +420 251 116 600
• Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze (Praha 1) +420 224 961 111
• Fakultní Thomayerova nemocnice s poliklinikou (Praha 1) +420 261 081 111
• Nemocnice Podolí gynekologie a porodnice (Praha 1) +420 296 511 111
• Fakultní nemocnice v Motole s poliklinikou (Praha 5) +420 224 431 111
• Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady (Praha 10) +420 267 161 111

For the Ryanair discount, you have to register your ESNcard on esncard.org. Then you have to log in to Ryanair and go to ERASMUS column and fill in your personal details. You have to make sure that your personal details are the same as you have in your ESNcard registration.

Na základě dohody ESN International ESNcard vydává vždy výhradně hostující ESN sekce, to znamená, že ji student dostane až při příjezdu do destinace od místního ESN.

(Based on an agreement with ESN International, the ESNcard is always issued by the ESN section of the hosting country, meaning that the student can get it upon their arrival at their Erasmus stay destination.)