"prefer go to" or "prefer going to"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. I prefer go to the cinema instead of watching television.

Shouldn’t this be

  1. I prefer going to the cinema instead of watching television.

because of the parallel structures recommended?

Thanks

2

These are both OK:

“I prefer to go to the cinema instead of watching television.”
“I prefer going to the cinema instead of watching television.”

It is not mandatory to follow the “going … watching” parallelism.

“I prefer go to” is wrong in any context.