Prague Travel Guide 2026: Know Before You Go
Prague Travel Guide 2026: Know Before You Go
Prague rewards a traveler who does five minutes of homework before landing, and punishes the one who does not. Here is the fast version: the currency is the Czech koruna (CZK), not the euro, even though Czechia sits inside the EU. There is no direct train or metro to the airport, only a trolleybus-plus-metro combo or a coach to the main station. Prague Castle’s grounds are free to walk into any day of the week, and only the interior circuits cost money, from about CZK 250. Get those three facts right and you are already ahead of half the tourists on Charles Bridge.
Currency and Costs: Koruna, Not Euro
Czechia has been in the EU since 2004 and still has not adopted the euro, so bring koruna or a card that skips foreign transaction fees. Pull cash from a bank-branded ATM and always choose to be charged in CZK when a machine offers “dynamic currency conversion” in your home currency instead. Saying yes to that prompt, or changing cash at a “0% commission” booth on Old Town Square or Wenceslas Square, quietly costs you 10 to 15 percent on the exchange rate. Beer, famously, runs cheaper than bottled water in most neighborhood pubs here.
| Essentials | Details |
|---|---|
| Days needed | 3 to 5 days for the core city |
| Best months | May, June, September, October |
| Daily budget | CZK 1,200 to 4,000+ (roughly $57 to $190 / EUR 50 to 165) |
| Booking warning | Stamp every transit ticket in the yellow machine. Unstamped tickets get fined CZK 1,500 to 2,500 on the spot |
How Many Days Do You Need in Prague?
Three days covers Old Town, the Castle, and Charles Bridge at a walkable pace without rushing any of the three. Four to five days adds Petrin Hill, the Jewish Quarter, and a proper beer hall crawl through Zizkov. A full week leaves room for a day trip to Kutna Hora or Cesky Krumlov on top of the city itself.
Our 3 day through 7 day itineraries nest inside each other, so pick a length and go.
Getting In From the Airport (No Rail Yet)
Vaclav Havel Airport (PRG) has no metro line and no direct train, despite what some outdated guides still claim. Trolleybus 59 runs airport to Nadrazi Veleslavin, the end of metro Line A, every 5 to 10 minutes, on a standard DPP fare around CZK 40. Bus 100 does the same job to Zlicin on Line B. If you would rather skip the transfer, the Airport Express coach (details on prg.aero ) runs straight to Hlavni nadrazi, the main train station, for about CZK 200. A metered taxi from an official rank runs CZK 700 to 800; never take a ride from someone soliciting you at arrivals.
Getting Around: Trams, Metro and the Stamping Rule
Three metro lines (A green, B yellow, C red) plus trams cover the whole city, running roughly 5am to midnight with night trams after that. A single 30-minute ticket runs about CZK 40, a 24-hour pass about CZK 150. The rule that trips up visitors: a ticket only counts once stamped in the yellow or black validator machine on board or at the metro gate. Plainclothes inspectors check constantly, and an unstamped ticket in your pocket, even a paid one, earns a fine around CZK 1,500 to 2,500. Tram 22, the so-called castle tram, is also prime pickpocket territory, so keep bags zipped.
Is the Petrin Funicular Running in 2026?
No, not yet. The funicular up Petrin Hill has been out of service through mid-2026, with a reopening targeted for roughly the third quarter of the year, so verify before you plan around it. Until it returns, walking up from Ujezd is the only way, and it is a genuinely pleasant 20 to 30 minute climb through orchards, not a punishing hike.
Prague Castle: Free Grounds, Paid Circuits
The courtyards, gardens, and viewpoints inside Prague Castle cost nothing and are open daily. What costs money is the timed interior circuit covering St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica, and Golden Lane, priced roughly CZK 250 to 450 depending on which one you pick. Book official tickets on hrad.cz , or grab a skip-the-line package if you are visiting between May and September, when the free courtyards alone get crowded by mid-morning.
Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock
The Old Town Square and its Astronomical Clock show are completely free, on the hour, all year. The only ticketed part of the square is the Old Town Hall tower climb, running about CZK 350 for adults. Go before 9am or after 7pm if crowds are not your thing, because between May and September this square is the single busiest patch of pavement in the city.
Where to Stay: Old Town or Mala Strana
Stare Mesto (Old Town) puts you inside walking distance of everything, at the highest prices and loudest streets. Mala Strana, across the river below the Castle, runs quieter, still walkable, and arguably prettier after dark. Check rates for both neighborhoods on Booking.com before locking in dates, especially around the Christmas markets (late November through early January) or Easter week, when the historic core fills up fast.
Beer, Food and the Trdelnik Myth
Order svickova (marinated beef in a root-vegetable cream sauce with bread dumplings) on night one, not a generic goulash. Lokal, a modern small chain, pours unpasteurized tank Pilsner Urquell at genuinely local prices, a sharp contrast to Old Town Square restaurants that quietly pad bills with unlisted charges. One heads-up: trdelnik, the cinnamon-dusted pastry sold on every corner, is not a traditional Czech food. It traces to Slovak-Hungarian origins and only became a Prague tourist staple in the 1990s. Eat it if you want, just do not call it heritage.
Do You Need Cash or Card in Prague?
Cards work almost everywhere now, including trams and the metro through the Litacka app, but small pubs and market stalls still lean cash-only. Carry some koruna pulled from an ATM for those moments, decline any dynamic currency conversion prompt, and treat street currency-exchange booths near the main squares as a scam to walk past, not a convenience to use.
Want the day trips without losing the thread of the city itself? Our Prague, Czech Republic guide covers Kutna Hora, Cesky Krumlov, and Karlstejn as their own trips. For a beer-hall detour worth booking ahead in peak season, a guided brewery tour saves you the queue at U Fleku. Pack for cobblestones, stamp every ticket, and you will spend your first day here doing exactly what the city rewards: walking it.