What NOT to Do in Prague

Now that we’ve been living in Prague for nine months, I’m definitely the authority on what NOT to do in Prague.

Totally kidding. I’m not an authority on anything. But nine months of living in a place does give you a pretty cool window into daily life. I can’t say that Colin and I are totally integrated into Czech living, but we do have a sense of home and a sense of what drives the people here crazy.

So, if you’re coming to Prague, check out this list of things NOT to do to ensure you don’t commit any of these Prague faux pas!

Shout out to Honest Guide for teaching me so much about Prague. And, please do remember that this post is based on my completely amateur opinion and a lot of it is tongue in cheek. Bottom line: Do whatever you want! 

DON’T call it Czechoslovakia

The number one thing not to do in Prague, Czech Republic? Call it Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state comprised of the Czech Republic and Slovakia that formed in 1918. It was dissolved in 1993 – meaning “Czechoslovakia” has not existed for 27 years! That’s almost my entire life! So it blows my mind that people are still using this word.

Of course, I know most people who use this word aren’t doing it offensively. But try telling a Czech person that. If you’re coming to Prague, the very least you can do is learn the name of the country (and not refer to it by a name that’s 27 years old!).

While we’re on the topic, you also shouldn’t call it Czechia or Eastern Europe. Czechia, while the technical name of the country, was a rebrand that politicians made official in 2016. They wanted a shorter, English-sounding name. But most Czech people don’t like this name and I’ve never heard a Czech person use it.

UPDATE: After chatting with a few Czechs on Twitter, I’ve learned that Czechia actually derives from a historic name for the country and some locals do like it!

But “Eastern Europe” is just incorrect. If you look at the map, the Czech Republic is in central Europe. And Czech people would prefer you remember that.

DON’T eat trdelnik

Trdelnik, or chimney cake, is one of the quintessential foods of Prague. If you head to Instagram, you’re sure to see countless photos of this traditional Czech dessert all over the place.

Only, it’s not that traditional. Trdlenik is not a traditional Czech food. It was created for tourists and has only become “traditional” in the last ten years. No Czech person grew up eating trdelnik that their grandmother made for them at home. It’s not a historic local dessert.

Plus, they’re not that tasty. They’re incredibly overpriced, exclusively eaten by tourists, and most of them end up half-eaten messes in the garbage can. I can say that as a fact as someone who bought one, just to try, and ended up throwing most of it away.

Skip the trdelnik and go for other dessert instead!

DON’T ride a lime scooter

Lime scooters aren’t just a Prague problem; they’re a problem in a lot of cities around Europe. These rental scooters are, like trdlenik, exclusively used by tourists. And locals loathe them. In fact, they’ve even been banned in some areas of the city.

Why do locals hate these scooters? Because tourists misuse them. No one is mad about tourists getting around town on a budget. But people do get mad when tourists ignore the rules of traffic – there was a video recently of a scooter rider running over an old woman crossing the street. And people get really mad when tourists park these scooters all over the place: the middle of the sidewalk, a ditch in the park, knocked over in front of someone’s door.

I remember walking Ellie in the park one day and coming across a graveyard of lime scooters blocking a path. I walked up on them at the same time as a local Czech woman did. We then proceeded to have a full “conversation” consisting only of her complaining about the scooters in Czech and me nodding along emphatically.

It’s also really hard to ride scooters on uneven cobblestone going uphill. And there’s a lot of that in Prague.

DON’T stay in the Old Town the whole time

There is so much more to Prague than the Old Town, Astronomical Clock and Charles Bridge. These areas of Prague are so over-touristed and incredibly overrated. But they’re iconic, so you have to see them.

In my Prague itinerary, I definitely include some time in the Old Town. But I also strongly suggest you get the hell out of there. There is so much more of Prague to discover – like the Letna Beer Garden, Vysehrad Castle and our cool neighbourhood of Vinohrady. These areas offer a lot more to see and do, and a lot fewer people, than the Old Town.

And if you’re travelling on a budget, you’ll definitely want to get out of the Old Town in order to save money on food and accommodation.

DON’T expect much from the Astronomical Clock

The darling of the Old Town is the Astronomical Clock. And the clock itself is pretty cool. If you’re visiting Prague, you should definitely check it out. But prepare to be very disappointed by the hourly show.

Ever hour, Prague’s Astronomical Clock puts on a “show.” I hesitate to even call it a show, because it’s that underwhelming. But without fail, every hour the masses congregate in front of the clock tower, raise their iPhones, and slowly come to the realization that the show is really not much. It’s actually more entertaining to turn around and face the crowd, watching as the looks of anticipation turn to disappointment.

Should you see the Astronomical Clock and watch the hourly show? Sure. But keep your expectations very low.

DON’T visit Charles Bridge during peak hours

The Charles Bridge is Prague’s Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or Sagrada Familia. Any Google Images search of “Prague” will result in countless photos of this bridge. You can’t come to Prague and not walk across the Charles Bridge.

But you should avoid a visit during peak hours. The very first time we visited the Charles Bridge on our first week in Prague, it was about 9pm on a weekday in June. I assumed the bridge would be pretty empty. But it was packed! I’m talking a literal wall of people crossing the street. We had to pick Ellie up and push our way through.

Since then, we’ve been back to Charles Bridge a few times. It’s never empty (unless you’re a committed Instagrammer going out at 3am in the winter) but it does get better. The entrance from the Old Town to the bridge is the busiest part. Once you push past that, the bridge becomes a bit more manageable.

So when you do visit the bridge, go at off-peak hours (keeping in mind that “off-peak” doesn’t mean empty), keep walking past the crowds, and don’t miss out on Kampa Park just under the far side of the bridge.

DON’T take pictures with pandas

Or polar bears. Or any other mascot you might find at a B-list Disneyland or in Times Square.

When we first moved here, the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square were always filled with a ton of mascots, performers and people in costumes. And tourists would stand around, snapping photos and posing for photos with these mascots. Which I still don’t understand! What does a giant panda have to do with the historic centre of Prague? It was so odd to see these characters walking around and, of course, charging people money to take photos with them.

Luckily, the Prague government thought so too and most of these mascots have been banned from Prague 1. Legitimate artisans and performers are still allowed, but people who put on bear suits or paint themselves in gold and sit really still have been asked to leave.

DON’T go on a beer bike or to the beer spa

Yes, Prague and the Czech Republic are known for beer. The beer is amazing here and it’s very cheap. But if you want to celebrate this local drink, then do as the locals do and drink it in a pub. Don’t get on a beer bike or go to a beer spa.

The beer bikes and beer spas are exclusively patronized by tourists – no local is hitting up the beer spa on the weekend. They’re overpriced, and I have to assume the beer isn’t as good as it would be if you just ordered it at a bar. In fact, the beer bikes have become such a nuisance that they have also been banned from entering certain parts of Prague.

DON’T forget the history

Moving from Vancouver to Prague, everything felt so old. It’s wild to look around and see buildings that are older than the country I come from. So it’s easy to forget that a lot of the Czech Republic’s history is actually quite recent.

In 2019, the Czech Republic celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution – the day they broke out of the communist regime that took power after WWII. It was incredibly powerful to witness the celebration in Wenceslas Square on Nov 17. Despite not understanding the Czech speakers, we could feel the sense of meaning in the crowd. A lot of the people at the celebration had stood in that very spot 30 years ago during the Velvet Revolution.

So when you visit Prague, absolutely admire the 700 year old Charles Bridge and 400 year old local church. But don’t forget about the recent history. Many of the people you interact with grew up under the communist regime or with parents who suffered under it. It’s a very recent history and is important to remember.

DON’T get scammed

Of course, you don’t want to do this anywhere. But one thing you definitely don’t want to do in Prague is get scammed.

Unfortunately, as a popular tourist city, Prague is also home to a number of scam artists. Check out the Honest Guide videos where they explain some of the major scams and even bust some scammers. One scam place you really want to be careful of is money exchange offices. Some throughout the city won’t give you a fair exchange rate – so look up the going exchange rate on your phone before any money changes hands.

Avoid getting scammed at money exchange offices and simply take Czech crowns out at any ATM. Or, an even better plan, is to pay by credit card. Prague is very credit card friendly. And with a credit card, you’ll get a good exchange rate (if you use a card that doesn’t charge you foreign transaction fees!) and you won’t have to worry about being stuck with crowns when you leave.

DON’T pay in euro

While the Czech Republic is part of the EU and Schengen Zone, it does not use the euro as currency. In Prague, we use the Czech koruna or Czech crown. If you’re coming from the US or Canada, the easiest way to calculate the rough exchange is to move the decimal place to the left and divide by two. For example, if something is 100 CZK, that’s about $5 (actually $5.72 CAD or $4.33 USD, but you get the idea).

However, because the Czech Republic is in Europe and surrounded by euro-currency countries, many shops, hotels and restaurants will accept euros. Convenient, right? Wrong! If you aren’t paying in the local currency, you are more than likely getting a bad deal. One euro should be worth 25 crowns; I guarantee that won’t be the exchange rate you’ll get in Prague if you pay in euros. You’ll get a worse exchange, and end up paying more.

So what should you do? Take out crowns or pay by card.

DON’T take a taxi

The only times we have ever taken taxis in Prague have been to catch early morning flights. Besides cases like that, you should never need to take a taxi.

Public transportation in Prague is excellent. We have a great system of trams, subways and buses. In fact, the great public transit is one of the reasons why we moved to Prague! Prague also has rideshare options, like Uber and Bolt, that are cheaper than taxis.

I’ve heard horror stories of taxis scamming tourists by charging way too much, pretending the meter is broken or taking the “scenic route” to a destination. Avoid all of that by getting on a tram!

DON’T ride the tram for free

Yes, you should take public transit in Prague. No, you shouldn’t do it for free.

In Prague, you don’t have to show anyone your ticket when you get on the bus or tram. You don’t have to insert your ticket into a turnstile to get on the metro. But you are supposed to buy a ticket and validate it. And if you don’t, you could get fined.

We learned this lesson the hard way when my mom came to visit us in Prague. We had just sat down on the bus from the airport and my mom had her ticket in hand. We made the mistake of sitting first before validating our ticket and out of nowhere, a transit officer approached us. He said he had watched us buy the ticket and sit down without validating it, therefore riding illegally. And that would cost us $50.

Despite our protests: this was my mom’s first time in Prague, we were coming from the airport and wanted to put our bags down first, and that if he had watched us buy the ticket then we obviously hadn’t gone beyond the ticket’s allocated time (we had bought a 30 minute ticket; you have to validate your ticket in a machine that prints the time on it so you know when your 30 minutes are up), he wouldn’t budge. My mom hadn’t taken out any crowns yet and the fines have to be paid in cash and on the spot. So the officer followed us to an ATM at the metro station and waited while we took out money to pay him.

In nine months of living in Prague, I’ve had my ticket checked twice on public transit. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does and if you get caught, it’s really not a fun experience. I highly recommend buying a ticket (and validating it!) every time you ride public transit.

And if you’re here for a long period of time, buy a transit pass. We have annual transit passes (that you don’t have to validate) that only cost about $300 for the year!

DON’T visit just one castle

When you think of a castle in Prague, it’s natural to think of Prague Castle (clever name, eh?). It’s the most popular and it’s the biggest castle complex in Europe. It’s also visible from just about anywhere in the city, as it’s up on a hill.

And don’t get me wrong; Prague Castle is cool. The windows in St. Vitus Cathedral are stunning, the views are incredible and there are lots of cool buildings to explore. But it’s also packed all the time and pricy to visit.

So yes, go to Prague Castle, but don’t just go to Prague Castle. Because Prague has another castle you should visit: Vysehrad.

Vysehrad is Prague Castle’s low-key cool cousin. Yes, it has an impressive cathedral and beautiful views, but it’s not bragging about it. Vysehrad is less of a castle and more just very cool grounds to wander. And wandering the grounds is completely free! We’ve been a few times and loved checking out the ornate cemetery and walking through the underground casemates, where the original Charles Bridge statues live. We even took our family photos at Vysehrad!

DON’T eat just Czech food

I’ll be honest: Czech food is not my favourite. It’s a lot of meat, potatoes, bread and gravy. It’s heavy and green vegetables are hard to find. There are some dishes I enjoy, like pork shoulder and beef tartare. But I can count the number of times I’ve suggested we go out for Czech food on one hand (or no hands, because I never suggest it).

Luckily, if you’re also not a fan of the local fare, there are other options. Prague and the Czech Republic are home to a large Vietnamese population and we have some amazing Vietnamese food here. Colin and I order Vietnamese noodles often and it’s always delicious and cheap. There are also amazing Italian restaurants all around the city, and we’ve found a great ramen place and Korean restaurant nearby!

DON’T complain about head on your beer

You can’t come to Prague and not drink a beer. But when you do order your beer, don’t be surprised to see that it comes with a lot more head, or foam, than you’re used to. Don’t worry; it’s not a bad pour. The pour is correct and your beer is supposed to have that much head on it. And it tastes good!

I’m not a huge beer drinker but even I enjoy the extra foam on the beers here in Prague. And if you’re really a fan, you can order a special pour that’s about 90% foam with just a bit of liquid at the bottom!

DON’T buy a cannabis cookie

This isn’t a judgment on your drug usage (you do you). It’s simply advice to help you avoid getting scammed.

As you walk through the tourist-laden streets of Prague’s Old Town, you may notice many souvenir shops offering cannabis cookies, candies and the like. Fun, right? Well, not so much. As a tour guide explained to us, these products don’t actually contain any drugs. They’re just a scam to try and draw in tourists – probably the same tourists who couldn’t decide if they should choose Prague or Amsterdam for their bachelor party.

These “cannabis” items are only marketed to tourists. Weed and other drugs are still illegal in the Czech Republic, so you certainly won’t be buying them from souvenir shops on the busiest streets in town.

DON’T expect much customer service

This isn’t to say that Czech people are rude; they’re just usually not overly friendly. Personally, I haven’t found this to be too big of a deal, but I’ve heard some expats complain about being treated poorly.

Don’t expect a smile, don’t expect to be greeted when you walk through the door, and don’t expect the barista to take your order until she’s done chatting with her co-worker. Unlike in North America, where everyone is working for tips, that isn’t the case in Prague’s service industry. They won’t be unhelpful, but they also won’t be trying to become your best friend.

Another aspect of the customer service industry is speaking English. If you stick to the Old Town, you’ll likely be able to use English everywhere you go. But as you venture out, you may find some people struggle with English. Most people working in customer service jobs will speak some English, but they may not be fluent. So be patient, and start things off on the right foot by dropping in a few words of Czech. A “dobry den” (hello) or “dekuji” (thank you) always helps!

DON’T pay more than 50 CZK for a beer

A pint of Prague beer (500 ML) in a pub should never cost you more than 50 crowns ($2.50) – in fact, you should be able to find it for closer to 30 crowns. And it will always be the cheapest thing on the menu –  cheaper than water!

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There you have it – my list of what NOT to do in Prague. And in case you’re wondering what you should be doing instead, you can check out my itinerary for 3 days in Prague. 

 

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