GETTING THERE: We flew from Washington Dulles to Prague, connecting through Vienna. Our Austrian Airlines package, booked through IMTC of Atlanta (1-800-790-4682; www.imtc-travel.com), included round-trip air and five nights at the Bishop's House in a newly refurbished room, with private bath and daily breakfast, for $881. Austrian Airlines offers midweek round trip fares from New York JFK for $557 for mid-December travel (1-800-843-0002; www.aua.com).

WHERE TO STAY: The Bishop's House, or Biskupsky Dum (Drazickeho nam. 6/62, 118 00 Prague) sits on a quiet square steps from the Charles Bridge and offered an able staff who seemed to speak at least four languages each. Double room with breakfast, off-season, from $122 per night. Stars Hotels manages this small hotel and a half-dozen other historic inns in the district near Prague Castle (www.starshotelsprague.com).

For a contemporary choice near Old Town, the four-star Hotel Josef offers its own garden; rates from about $212 per night (Rybn 20, 110 00 Prague 1; www.hoteljosef.com).

WHERE TO EAT: While food was not a highlight of our trip, Prague's cheap prices make dining pleasant. Dinners with wine or Urquell beer were usually less than $14. Choices range from McDonald's to Mexican (or look up: signs that begin with "U" in Czech mark a tavern, restaurant or hotel). A popular Mala Strana choice, appropriate for St. Nicholas Eve, is U Certa (The Devil). The restaurant, at Nerudova 4/206, offers meals for less than $10. Look for the beer-bellied wooden fiend outside the door.

HOLIDAY EVENTS: The city's largest Christmas markets, at Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, stay open through January 6. Nightly outdoor performances take place at Old Town Square (near the famous Astrological Clock) through New Year's Day.

Check out the all-gingerbread Nativity scene in the Dejvice neighborhood, at the Church of St. Matthew, or the life-sized display at Loretanske Square, at the Church of the Virgin Mary Queen of Angels. Christmas concerts take place in almost every church and concert hall; English-language fliers blanket the city center, and tourist information offices sell tickets to most events, including marionette theater. Most Czech churches celebrate Christmas Eve with a traditional midnight Mass by composer Jakub Ryba (called "Hey, Master!"). The magnificent Cathedral of St. Vitus, within the walls of Prague Castle, holds a Service of the Word at midnight.

The city that loves Mozart makes room for plenty of other composers, especially during December. A wide variety of musical programs are held at Obecni Dum, the Art Nouveau performing arts center (www.obecnidum.cz ; tickets at www.ticketpro.cz). Concerts are performed on the staircase of the National Museum at Wenceslas Square nearly every day in December.

The English-language weekly Prague Post includes entertainment listings at www.praguepost.com.

INFORMATION: Prague Information Service (www.pis.cz) or Czech Tourism (wwww.czech-tourism.com); both in New York at 1-212-288-0830.