Prague is easy. These are the ways people make it hard.
Prague is one of the easiest European capitals to visit: compact, walkable, well served by trams and metro, and friendly enough once you get away from the main tourist squares. Almost nothing that goes wrong for a visitor is serious. But a handful of avoidable errors, repeated by thousands of travellers every season, turn a good trip into a more expensive and more tiring one.
None of these is exotic. They are ordinary mistakes: the exchange counter that looked convenient, the taxi that was just there, the restaurant with the lovely view. We have made some of them ourselves. Below are the ones we see most, with what goes wrong and what to do instead.
1. Changing money at a street exchange counter
What goes wrong. The counters in the centre advertise a rate in big print and bury the commission in small print, or quote one rate for buying and another for selling that is nowhere near the real market. You hand over cash, and a noticeable slice of it disappears.
What to do instead. Skip cash exchange entirely. Pay by card where you can, and take out crowns from a bank-operated ATM when you need cash. Our currency and money guide explains the options and what to avoid.
2. Paying in euros, or letting the terminal convert for you
What goes wrong. The Czech Republic uses the Czech crown (CZK), not the euro. Shops that accept euros set the rate themselves, and it is rarely in your favour. Card terminals and ATMs also offer to charge you in your home currency. It sounds helpful. It is dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and it costs you.
What to do instead. Always choose CZK. If the terminal or ATM asks whether you want to pay in your own currency, decline and pick crowns. It is the single easiest saving of the trip.
3. Hailing a taxi off the street
What goes wrong. Taxis waiting near stations, the airport arrivals hall and the main sights are where inflated fares happen: a meter that runs fast, a “fixed price” that is anything but, a long route to a short destination. This is the most common complaint we hear.
What to do instead. Book through an app, where the price and the route are shown before you get in. For the airport, compare all the options first in our airport to city guide. For how the apps work and what drivers try, see taxis, Uber and Bolt.
4. Not validating your public transport ticket
What goes wrong. In Prague you validate your ticket before or as you board, and inspectors in plain clothes check regularly. Visitors who bought a ticket but never stamped it get fined like everyone else, and “I’m a tourist” does not help.
What to do instead. Pick the ticket that fits your day: 39 CZK for 30 minutes, 50 CZK for 90 minutes, 150 CZK for 24 hours or 350 CZK for 72 hours. Validate it straight away and keep it until you finish your trip. For current rules and how to buy, use the official sites, dpp.cz and pid.cz.
5. Eating on or beside Old Town Square
What goes wrong. You are tired, the terrace has a view of the Astronomical Clock, and the menu has pictures. The result is an average meal at a premium price, often with a service charge you did not notice. We wrote about why we gave up on this area in why we stopped recommending Old Town restaurants.
What to do instead. Walk ten minutes in almost any direction away from the square, or take a tram to a residential neighbourhood. Look for a short menu in Czech with an English translation below it, a lunch special on a chalkboard, and locals at the tables. If you would rather have someone pick the places for you, a Prague food and beer guided walking tour with tastings is one way to do it. The tourist menu traps guide lists the red flags.
6. Arriving at Charles Bridge at peak hour
What goes wrong. The bridge is one of the great walks in Europe, and in the middle of the day it is a slow-moving crowd of selfie sticks, street sellers and tour groups. You will not see the statues, and you will not enjoy the view.
What to do instead. Go at sunrise or late in the evening. The same bridge, the same view, a fraction of the people. Our Charles Bridge guide has more on timing.
7. Planning the Castle as a quick stop
What goes wrong. Prague Castle is not a building, it is a hilltop complex with a cathedral, a palace, a basilica and a lane of tiny houses, spread across several courtyards. Visitors arrive late, discover there are several ticket circuits, queue, and either overpay or miss what they came for.
What to do instead. Decide before you go which circuit you want, buy the ticket in advance, and arrive early. If you want the history explained as you go, the Prague Castle 2.5-hour guided tour with entry ticket covers it. Opening times and prices change, so check the official site, hrad.cz, on the day you plan to go. Our Prague Castle guide explains the circuits.
8. Building the day around the Astronomical Clock show
What goes wrong. Hundreds of people gather on the hour, phones raised, to watch a short animated show that nearly everyone describes as underwhelming. They then spend the next hour in a crowd.
What to do instead. Look at the clock itself, which is a remarkable piece of medieval engineering, any time you walk by. Do not schedule your morning around the show.
9. Climbing Petřín Hill with no plan
What goes wrong. People hear “lookout tower”, walk up the hill in the wrong shoes and then discover that the tower and the funicular are paid extras. The tower costs 250 CZK, and the funicular costs 100 CZK, though it is free with a 24-hour or 72-hour PID ticket.
What to do instead. Use your transport ticket for the funicular if you already have one, and decide whether the tower is worth the money to you. The view from the hillside and the gardens is already very good, and free.
10. Rushing the Jewish Quarter
What goes wrong. Visitors treat Josefov as a photo stop between lunch and the river, see the outside of a synagogue, and move on. The Jewish Museum ticket (600 CZK, including the Old-New Synagogue) covers several sites and rewards a slower visit.
What to do instead. Give it a proper block of the day, and check opening days, which are not the same as most Prague attractions, on jewishmuseum.cz before you go. A guided option such as the Prague Jewish Quarter walking tour with admission tickets helps too. Our Jewish Quarter guide explains the combined ticket.
11. Buying a city pass without doing the sums
What goes wrong. A pass looks like a bargain on day one, so travellers buy it, then visit fewer paid sights than they planned, and end up out of pocket compared with paying as they go.
What to do instead. List the paid attractions you actually want, add up the entry prices, and compare. Our pass comparison and the longer test in Prague city passes revisited show who wins in which situation.
12. Cramming too much into too few days
What goes wrong. Prague looks small on the map, so people plan five sights a day and spend the trip in a state of mild panic. The cobblestones are hard on the feet and the best moments tend to be the unplanned ones.
What to do instead. Pick two or three things per day and leave gaps. Our 3-day itinerary shows a realistic pace for a first visit.
The common thread
Almost all of these come down to the same thing: Prague’s centre is set up to extract a little extra from people who are in a hurry and do not know the local price. The fix is rarely money. It is a few minutes of planning before you leave the hotel, and a willingness to walk a bit further from the obvious spot.
If you want the fuller picture of what to watch for, our scams to avoid guide goes through the specific tricks one by one. Honestly, though, if you do the twelve things above, you will avoid most of them without trying.
FAQs
What is the most expensive mistake tourists make in Prague?
Changing cash at a street exchange counter, or accepting the “pay in your home currency” option on a card terminal. Both quietly cost you a chunk of the amount, and neither is obvious at the time. Withdraw crowns from a bank ATM, decline conversion, and pay in CZK every time.
Should I pay in euros or crowns in Prague?
Crowns. The Czech Republic uses the koruna (CZK), not the euro. Some places accept euros but at a poor rate they choose themselves. When a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in your own currency, say no and choose CZK.
Is Prague public transport easy to use as a visitor?
Yes, but you must validate your ticket before or as you board, and inspectors work in plain clothes. Fares are 39 CZK for 30 minutes, 50 CZK for 90 minutes, 150 CZK for 24 hours and 350 CZK for 72 hours. Check the official sites dpp.cz and pid.cz for the current rules.
Are taxis in Prague safe?
Taxis hailed on the street or waiting at tourist spots are where overcharging happens. Book through an app, check the route on the screen, and you remove most of the risk. Our taxi guide explains the options in detail.
Is it a mistake to eat on Old Town Square?
Usually, yes. The terraces charge a premium for the view and the food rarely matches it. Walk a few streets away, or take a tram out to a neighbourhood like Vinohrady or Žižkov, and you will eat better for less.
When is the best time to avoid the crowds in Prague?
Early morning and evening. Charles Bridge and the Castle grounds are completely different places before the tour groups arrive. Visiting outside summer helps too; our best time to visit guide covers it month by month.
Do I need a city pass in Prague?
Not automatically. A pass only pays off if you will visit enough paid sights to cover it. Do the sums for your own list before buying, using our pass comparison, rather than buying on day one out of habit.
