Cost per day · Czech Republic
Prague on $35, $120 or $350 a day
How much does Prague cost per day? Budget travellers get by on about $35 a day, mid-range trips run around $120, and luxury starts near $350 — accommodation, food, transport and activities included.
That makes Prague the 40th cheapest of 82 cities for a mid-range trip — see all 82 ranked.
Prague is one of Europe's great preserved medieval cities — Gothic spires, Baroque palaces, and Art Nouveau masterpieces crowded into a compact historic centre. Extraordinarily cheap by Western European standards, with a world-class craft beer culture, a growing fine dining scene, and the best architecture of any city east of Vienna.
Prague is one of Europe's greatest budget cities — a half-litre of excellent Czech pilsner costs under €2, goulash with bread dumplings under €6, and the historic centre is almost entirely walkable and free. Don't let tourist restaurants near the Astronomical Clock fool you.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
The 1410 clock that still performs on the hour — apostles, a ringing skeleton, and the tower above it with the definitive Old Town Square view.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →Six centuries of stone across the Vltava — thirty baroque saints, two climbable towers, and the dawn hour that makes photographers weep.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →A thousand years of Jewish Prague — the layered Old Cemetery, Europe's oldest working synagogue, the Golem's attic, and the Spanish Synagogue's golden interior.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
A large, well-run hostel in Vinohrady, in a converted nineteenth-century building with original detailing and an unusually good bar in the vaulted cellar. Vinohrady is the residential district Praguers actually live in — leafy, full of good cafés, two tram stops from the centre. The distance is the trade-off, and the building is big enough that it lacks the intimacy of a small hostel, though it makes up for it in facilities.
Check prices on Klook →A boutique hostel in a restored New Town apartment building, with high ceilings, wooden floors and dorms that are quieter and more grown-up than the party hostels nearer the square. Private rooms are a genuine step up. It is closer to the centre than Czech Inn but has correspondingly less common space, so it works better for people who want somewhere calm to return to than for those looking to meet other travellers.
Check prices on Klook →Hostel accommodation with dorm beds and, usually, a few private rooms.
Check prices on Klook →Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Old Town & Charles Bridge ~$28
Day 2: Prague Castle ~$30
Day 3: Holešovice & Hidden Prague ~$25
Never eat on Old Town Square — walk 2 streets and prices halve. Lokál pub chain serves the best draught Pilsner Urquell in Prague. The tram network (3-day pass: CZK 330 / €14) is much better than Uber.
Mid-range Prague is extraordinary value — boutique hotels in Baroque buildings for €100-150/night, Michelin-starred restaurants at lunch for €30, and the entire city's cultural programme (opera, classical, jazz) is a fraction of Western European prices.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
A thousand years of Jewish Prague — the layered Old Cemetery, Europe's oldest working synagogue, the Golem's attic, and the Spanish Synagogue's golden interior.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →The largest ancient castle complex on Earth — St Vitus Cathedral, the Golden Lane, defenestrations plural, and a whole hilltop of Czech history.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →Prague from water level — under Charles Bridge, along the Devil's Channel's "little Venice," with the castle stacked above the rooflines.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
Built into a thirteenth-century Augustinian monastery in Malá Strana, still adjoining the working friary, with the monks' original brewery recipe served in the bar. Rooms spread across seven buildings, so they vary from vaulted cells to large modern suites. Malá Strana below the castle is the most beautiful part of Prague to stay in. It is a five-star at a mid-range price point here, and the room variation is wide enough to be worth specifying carefully.
Check prices on Klook →A glass-and-white minimalist hotel in the Jewish Quarter designed by Eva Jiřičná, and a deliberate counterpoint to Prague's baroque heaviness. Rooms are bright and precisely finished, the breakfast is well above average, and the location is a few minutes from the Old Town Square. The design is uncompromising — some travellers find it calm and others find it cold — and the standard rooms in the rear building are notably plainer than the front ones.
Check prices on Klook →A modern four-star on the edge of the Old Town near the river, with large rooms by Prague standards and a well-regarded restaurant. It is the most straightforwardly comfortable of the three — good beds, good bathrooms, no surprises. It is also the least characterful: this is a contemporary international hotel that happens to be in Prague, and the building contributes nothing to the stay.
Check prices on Klook →Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Medieval Prague ~$100
Day 2: Jewish Quarter & Art ~$120
Day 3: Kutná Hora Day Trip ~$90
La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise is Prague's finest restaurant — book 2 weeks ahead, the lunch menu is exceptional value. The Prague State Opera runs world-class productions for under €40. Stay in Malá Strana (Lesser Town) for the best boutique options.
Luxury Prague is genuinely special — the Four Seasons overlooks the Charles Bridge, the Mandarin Oriental occupies a former monastery, and private experiences (Charles Bridge at dawn, concert in a Baroque palace) are uniquely atmospheric. Prague rewards those who explore beyond the tourist circuit.
✈️ How to Get There
🗺️ What to Do
A thousand years of Jewish Prague — the layered Old Cemetery, Europe's oldest working synagogue, the Golem's attic, and the Spanish Synagogue's golden interior.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →The 1410 clock that still performs on the hour — apostles, a ringing skeleton, and the tower above it with the definitive Old Town Square view.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →The largest ancient castle complex on Earth — St Vitus Cathedral, the Golden Lane, defenestrations plural, and a whole hilltop of Czech history.
Read guide → Get tickets on Tiqets →🏨 Where to Stay
Czech neoclassical building overlooking the Charles Bridge and Vltava river
Check prices on Klook →A former Dominican monastery in Malá Strana, converted with the cloister and much of the original structure intact, and a spa built inside a Renaissance chapel with the excavated floor under glass. It is the most complete luxury hotel in the city and the quietest, tucked into a lane below the castle. Being below the castle means hills in every direction, and the monastery layout gives rooms that vary considerably in size and outlook.
Check prices on Klook →A 1927 building just off the Old Town Square, best known for the Boccaccio ballroom, restored to its neo-baroque original. Rooms are traditional, generously sized and quiet given how central the hotel is — a genuine achievement a minute from the busiest square in the country. It is a classic European city hotel rather than a modern luxury one: no spa, no pool, and a restaurant that is good rather than a destination.
Check prices on Klook →Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Private Castle & Historic Evening ~$400
Day 2: Opera, Art & the River ~$480
Day 3: Spa, Wine & Farewell ~$450
Private access to Prague Castle at dawn before tourists arrive is extraordinary — book through your hotel. The National Theatre has private box hire for excellent opera and ballet productions. Czech crystal and Bohemian garnet jewellery make the finest souvenirs.
About Prague
Continental climate with warm summers (25°C) and cold, snowy winters (-2°C). December brings Christmas markets that are among Europe's finest — magical despite the cold. July and August are peak tourist season; May–June and September offer warm weather with far fewer crowds. Avoid New Year's Eve — the city is overwhelmed and overpriced.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1° | 3° | 8° | 13° | 18° | 21° | 23° | 23° | 18° | 12° | 6° | 2° |
| 9d | 8d | 8d | 8d | 9d | 10d | 9d | 8d | 8d | 8d | 9d | 9d |
| low | low | low | mid | mid | high | high | high | mid | low | low | low |
Prague has an excellent public transport system: 3 metro lines (A, B, C), trams, and buses. A 24-hour pass costs 120 CZK (~€5). The historic centre is compact and very walkable — most major sights are within 30 minutes on foot from Old Town Square. Taxis are cheap by Western European standards (~30 CZK/km) but always use metered cabs or Bolt/Uber to avoid scams.
Wenceslas Square through the Old Town and Josefov, finishing on the bridge as the light goes.
The Dancing House, the riverside embankment, the Cubist houses and the other castle, with its basilica and the cemetery of the nation's artists.
The Municipal House, the National Museum, lunch on the Peace Square, Plečnik's church, the television tower and sunset in the Rieger Gardens beer garden.
Over the bridge and up to the castle, west to Strahov, then down through Petřín to the river.
Charles Bridge before breakfast, the castle while it is fresh, the Jewish Quarter and the Old Town square in the afternoon, communism in a museum, Letná at sunset and a boat under the bridge.
A travel eSIM gets you online the moment you land in Czech Republic — data plans start at $4 — no roaming bill, no queue for a local SIM, and nothing to swap in and out of your phone. Install it before you fly.
The preserved medieval city centre — the Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, and a thousand Gothic and Baroque towers. Beautiful in a way that feels almost unreal. Also the most tourist-concentrated area in the country: navigating the crowds is part of the experience. Worth staying here once; explore the quieter neighborhoods for a more honest view of Prague.
Best for midrangeThe hillside neighborhood below Prague Castle — Baroque palaces, hidden gardens, and the kind of empty cobblestone streets at 7am that make you feel like you've stepped into a 17th-century painting. Quieter than Old Town, better restaurants, and the best approach to the castle is on foot through here.
Best for luxurySouth of Wenceslas Square, Vinohrady is the neighborhood where Praguers who can afford a choice actually live. Art Nouveau apartment buildings, independent coffee shops, wine bars, and weekend farmers' markets. Náměstí Míru square has a beautiful neo-Gothic church and a relaxed café terrace culture that feels more Vienna than tourist-Prague.
Best for midrangeThe neighborhood with more pubs per capita than anywhere in the Czech Republic — and possibly the world. Historic working-class district, now with a young creative community. The Žižkov Television Tower (the one with crawling babies on it) dominates the skyline. The National Memorial on Vítkov hill has sweeping views. Far from the tourists, close to the best cheap beer.
Best for budgetThe hilltop neighborhood that contains Prague Castle and not much else — which means it's nearly deserted in the evenings after the day-trippers leave. The Golden Lane (alchemists' houses within the castle walls), St. Vitus Cathedral, and the view from the castle ramparts over the red-tiled city are the rewards for the climb.
Best for midrangePrague's Shoreditch: a former industrial district north of the centre that's been colonized by galleries, studios, independent restaurants, and a thriving craft beer scene. The DOX Centre for Contemporary Art and the Manifesto Market container food park are here. Not yet on most tourist itineraries — that's changing fast.
Best for budget- ✓Round up the bill as a tip rather than leaving coins — it's the local custom
- ✓Greet with "Dobrý den" when entering shops and restaurants
- ✓Exchange currency at a bank or official bureau — street kiosks charge brutal rates
- ✓Validate your tram or metro ticket immediately after purchase
- ✓Visit Old Town before 9 am — it's the only way to experience it without crowds
- ✓Keep a mix of Czech crowns (CZK) — some tourist spots accept euros but at poor rates
- ✗Take a taxi hailed on the street — overcharging tourists is a known local problem
- ✗Change money at kiosks on Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square)
- ✗Tap your beer glass on the table before a toast — it's considered bad luck
- ✗Ask to top up your beer — a fresh glass is always brought instead
- ✗Assume central Prague taxis are a reasonable option — they are disproportionately expensive
- ✗Walk around obviously drunk — a bar scene exists but public intoxication is socially frowned upon
Travel Insurance for Prague
Travel insurance is strongly recommended for any trip to Prague. Safety is rated Very safe — one of Europe's lowest crime capitals — even in safe destinations, unexpected medical emergencies or trip cancellations can be costly. Make sure your policy covers emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, trip cancellation, and emergency evacuation.
Visa note: Schengen zone — 90 days visa-free for most nationalities. Some countries require proof of travel insurance as part of the visa application.
Get travel insurance for Prague →FAQ: Prague Travel Questions
Is Prague safe to visit? ▾
Very safe — one of Europe's lowest crime capitals
When is the best time to visit Prague? ▾
May – June, September Continental climate with warm summers (25°C) and cold, snowy winters (-2°C). December brings Christmas markets that are among Europe's finest — magical despite the cold. July and August are peak tourist season; May–June and September offer warm weather with far fewer crowds. Avoid New Year's Eve — the city is overwhelmed and overpriced.
How much does a trip to Prague cost per day? ▾
- budget: $35–$55/day
- midrange: $120–$200/day
- luxury: $350–$700/day
- business: $180–$380/day
Do I need a visa to visit Czech Republic? ▾
Schengen zone — 90 days visa-free for most nationalities
How do I get around Prague? ▾
Prague has an excellent public transport system: 3 metro lines (A, B, C), trams, and buses. A 24-hour pass costs 120 CZK (~€5). The historic centre is compact and very walkable — most major sights are within 30 minutes on foot from Old Town Square. Taxis are cheap by Western European standards (~30 CZK/km) but always use metered cabs or Bolt/Uber to avoid scams. Prague has a metro system. Taxi base fare ~$2. Day pass ~$5.
Is tipping expected in Prague? ▾
Round up or leave 10% at restaurants. Say the total when paying in cash to indicate the tip.
What currency is used in Czech Republic? ▾
The local currency is CZK (Kč) — Czech koruna. ATMs widely available; euros often accepted but at a poor rate., and the official language is Czech (English well-spoken in tourist areas).