Prague was my first trip to Central Europe, and I made every rookie mistake possible. I exchanged money at a street booth and lost 15%. I ate trdelnik thinking it was Czech (it's Hungarian). I visited Charles Bridge at noon and couldn't move. Three trips later, here's what I've learned.
The Czech Republic uses the Czech Koruna (CZK), not the Euro. While tourist businesses accept Euros, the exchange rate is terrible — you'll lose 10-20%. Always pay in CZK.
The exchange booths on Wenceslas Square and around Old Town offer attractive rates but hide commissions in the fine print. I exchanged 100 EUR and received 15% less than the real rate. Use ATMs from Czech banks (Ceska Sporitelna, CSOB, Komercni Banka). When the ATM asks about "conversion," always choose "without conversion" — let your home bank set the rate.
The yellow Euronet ATMs (everywhere in tourist areas) charge hidden fees and offer terrible exchange rates. Walk past them to a bank ATM. This single tip saves 5-10 EUR per withdrawal.
The chimney cake sold on every corner as "traditional Czech pastry" is actually Hungarian (kurtoskalacs) and only appeared in Prague around 2010. It's fine — sweet, warm, photogenic — but don't convince yourself you're having an authentic Czech experience. Actual Czech pastries: kolace (fruit-filled pastry), vdolky (fried dough), or buchty (sweet filled rolls).
Czechs drink more beer per capita than any nation on Earth. A 0.5L of excellent draft beer at a local pub: 40-60 CZK ($1.60-2.40). At a tourist pub near Old Town Square: 90-150 CZK. Walk five minutes from any tourist attraction and the price drops by half.
Best local pubs: Lokal Dlouhááá (tank Pilsner Urquell, 59 CZK), U Sudu (underground cave bar, cheap beer), Pivovarsky Klub (240+ craft options). U Fleku (dark lager since 1499, 120 CZK) is tourist-priced but atmospheric.
If a restaurant near Old Town Square doesn't display prices on a visible menu outside, don't go in. Some charge outrageous prices and add hidden fees. Always check the menu with prices before sitting down.
Many Prague restaurants add a couvert charge — bread, butter, or appetizers placed on your table without ordering. You can refuse them. If you eat them, you'll see the charge on the bill. Ask before touching anything that arrives uninvited.
Don't fill up on trdelnik and hot dogs. Czech food is hearty and excellent: svickova (beef sirloin in cream sauce with dumplings, 180-250 CZK), vepro knedlo zelo (pork, dumplings, sauerkraut, 160-220 CZK), and kulajda (creamy potato soup with dill and poached egg, 80-120 CZK). Eat at a hospoda (pub/restaurant) away from the tourist center.
Charles Bridge at midday in summer is a wall of tourists, vendors, and selfie sticks. The bridge is at its most magical before 7AM, when the mist rises from the Vltava and you might share it with a dozen early risers. Also good: after 9PM, when the castle and bridge towers are lit up.
The full Circuit A ticket (350 CZK) covers everything including the picture gallery and the Rosenberg Palace. Circuit B (250 CZK, ~$10) covers St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Golden Lane, and St. George's Basilica — the four things actually worth seeing. Save the 100 CZK.
St. Vitus Cathedral's main nave is free to enter (the ticket covers the inner areas). The stained glass windows — including one by Alphonse Mucha — are spectacular.
Prague Castle is spectacular but exhausting (3-4 hours, massive crowds). Vysehrad — a 10th-century hilltop fortress on the Vltava — has a fraction of the tourists, free entry to the grounds, rampart walks with stunning river views, and the cemetery where Dvorak and Smetana are buried. Metro Line C to Vysehrad station. Allow 2 hours.
I'll say it: the Astronomical Clock's hourly show (the 12 apostles appearing through tiny windows) is anticlimactic. The crowd gathers, the figures move for about 45 seconds, and everyone walks away thinking "that's it?" The clock itself is fascinating — a 600-year-old mechanical marvel — but the performance is overhyped.
The Old Town Hall tower (250 CZK, elevator available) is worth it for the aerial view of Old Town Square.
Buy tickets at yellow machines in Metro stations (30-min ticket: 30 CZK, 90-min: 40 CZK, 24-hour pass: 120 CZK). You must validate/stamp the ticket on the tram or at the metro entrance before riding. Plain-clothes inspectors patrol frequently, and the fine for an unvalidated ticket is 1,500 CZK ($60) paid on the spot.
Prague taxis have a well-earned bad reputation. Drivers "forget" to start the meter, take long routes, or simply invent a price. Use the Bolt or Uber app instead — typical ride within the city center: 150-250 CZK. Airport to center via app: 400-500 CZK (vs. 800-1,000 CZK from a taxi rank).
Alternatively, Bus 119 from the airport to Nadrazi Veleslavin Metro station (40 CZK, then Metro to center) takes 40 minutes total.
Tip 10-15% at sit-down restaurants. The correct method: when the waiter brings the bill, tell them the total you want to pay (including tip). Don't leave cash on the table — they might think you forgot it. At pubs, round up to the nearest 10-20 CZK.
Rare but documented: someone approaches claiming to be a police officer and asks to see your wallet or check for counterfeit bills. Real Czech police never ask to see your wallet. Say "no" and walk away. If genuinely concerned, offer to go to the nearest police station together.
Old Town, Mala Strana, and the Castle area are spectacular but represent maybe 5% of Prague. Neighborhoods worth exploring: Vinohrady (the best restaurants and wine bars), Zizkov (the TV tower with crawling baby sculptures, alternative bars), Holesovice (modern art at DOX Centre, farmers markets), and Karlin (gentrifying, excellent food).
Prague is often sold as a "weekend break." But it pairs perfectly with Vienna (4 hours by train) or Budapest (6.5 hours). destination. Two days gives you Charles Bridge, the castle, Old Town Square, and a beer or two. Three to four days lets you explore beyond the tourist core — and that's where Prague becomes genuinely special. The pub in Zizkov where a beer costs 35 CZK. The jazz club in a cellar. The view from Riegrovy Sady park at sunset with a takeaway pivo (beer) in hand.
