Know before you go : Prague Edition

In this article, I’ll make an overview of everything that’s useful to know before going to Prague, including some travel tips.

You’ll find : 

The Czech Republic is located in the centre of Europe, surrounded by Austria, Slovakia, Poland and Germany, with almost the same distance from the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the North Sea.

Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic. It is situated northwest of the country and on both sides of the Vltava River. Rich in its historical heritage, Prague is the commercial and cultural centre of the Czech Republic.

The city of Prague covers 496km².

Prague’s population is around 1,3 million, that mostly consists of Czechs.

The best time to visit Prague really depends on what you want to experience :

• If you want to have the Christmas atmosphere with the markets, the confort food, the Christmas decorations, December would be the best time. However, prices are higher, as well as the number of tourists.
• If you want to have maximum daylight and a warmer weather but without too much tourists, September would be the right pick.

April to August is the high season, so even though you’ll have a really nice weather, Prague will be crowded.

September and October being the soulder season, it’s a great time to visit as you still get a decent weather to visit (bring an umbrella in case of light rain) but not as many tourists.

December is the peak season in reason of the Christmas markets. Except high prices for accomodations and many people.

We went in December and had a different weather every day : one cloudy day, one sunny day but very cold and one snowy day !

It was crowded downtown, but because the city is quite small, I guess it is like that almost every time of the year.

The currency is the Czech Koruna (CZK) and the current exchange rate (April 2023) is 1 CZK equals 0,043 € or 0,047$ (so 1€ is 23CZK).

Every restaurants and shops or museums accept the card for paiements, so we didn’t withdraw any money at an ATM.

The prices for restaurants really vary depending if you go to touristy areas or more local places.

As we prefered to try local foods, the restaurants we went to were quite inexpensive (around 10€ per person each time).

Regarding the places to visit such as museums, the entrance was around 6-7€ each time (for students and under 26), otherwise it would be around 8-9€.

Regarding accomodations, especially in December with the Christmas markets, it is really expensive. We managed to find a small airbnb a bit further away (10 minutes of tramway from the Old Town square) and it was around 280€ for 3 nights.

If you are coming during winter and for Christmas season, I suggest packing VERY warm clothes. I think I’ve never been that cold somewhere else ! And I had a down jacket ! So don’t forget a scarf, a beanie, warm gloves and many sweaters. If you have to remember only one of my Prague travel tips that would be this one !

I would also recommend bringing shoes that won’t slip in case of snow and that are waterproof (it can snow a lot, and it stays on the streets).

Otherwise the power outlet are the same as in France or the majority of Europe, so no adapters needed.

When coming to Prague, if you want to bring back some souvenirs, there’s a lot of products beer or absynth related. For example, beer cosmetics such as ber shampoo, beer creams and much more.

There’s also a lot of food selled on the Christmas markets, such as chocolate, cheese…

We didn’t bought many things except the traditional fridge magnet and chocolate.

However, I’d recommend checking out this article if you need inspiration on Czech souvenirs to bring back.

The official language is the Czech. However, you will manage in restaurants and shops by speaking English.

But here are a few words you can use :

Hello : Dobrý den

Thank you : Děkuji [Dyekooyih]

You’re welcome : Rádo se stalo

I understand / I don’t understand : Rozumím / Nerozumím 

Sorry :  Je mi to líto [yeh mee toh lee-toh]

My name is… : Jmenuji se

Yes / No : Ano / Ne

As we came from France, our mobile plan included internet and calls in Czech Republic.

However, if you need a SIM card, T mobile has great day-to-day data plan for tourists.

If you are planning on visiting only Prague, you absolutely don’t need a car. But if you plan to visit more of Czechia, I saw that Wheego offers great deals on Economy booking.

There’s a lot of things to see in Prague ! You can spend an afternoon in the Old Town, visit Prague by night, walk in Petrin park and go up to the Petrin tower, visit the Narodni museum or see the Lennon Wall…You won’t be bored a second !

Here’s a list of the best things to do in Prague:

That’s it for my Prague travel tips !

To have a lot more information and pictures about these places, you can read my ultimate Prague itinerary.

I have also made a detailed post about the best things to do in Prague by night, one about the Czech food specialties to try out and another one listing the best museums to see in Prague.