Prague Travel Guide

Prague is one of the most affordable European capitals for travellers, beer, food and accommodation all cost meaningfully less than Vienna or Barcelona.

The biggest money trap is the chain of currency-exchange shops near Old Town Square. They advertise tourist-friendly rates that are often 15–20% worse than the bank-ATM rate. Withdraw CZK from a Czech bank ATM and skip the exchange windows entirely.

The Czech Koruna and the Rupee

The Czech koruna (CZK), informally called the crown, trades at roughly 4.5 INR per koruna in 2026. For quick mental maths, multiply CZK amounts by about 4.5 to get a rough INR equivalent.

The koruna has strengthened against the rupee over the past couple of years, so older "multiply by four" rules of thumb now understate the cost. Prague is not as cheap as it was a decade ago, but it remains one of the better-value Western and Central European cities for hotels, dining, and beer. A meal at a proper Czech pub costs noticeably less than the equivalent in Vienna or Munich.

Rates move every day. The number on Google is the live interbank rate, what authorised dealers use to trade with each other. It is not the rate most banks and forex providers actually sell at. They build a markup into their selling price, usually 2 to 4 percent, and it never appears as a separate line item on the bill. On a forex order of a few lakh rupees, that markup quietly adds up to thousands.

How Much Koruna to Carry

Prague is broadly card-friendly. Visa and Mastercard work at most hotels, restaurants, cafes, supermarket chains, museums, and tourist sites. Contactless tap-to-pay is widely supported. Cash matters at smaller traditional Czech pubs (hospody), some food stalls, certain market vendors, the occasional museum, and a few transport ticket machines.

One important Prague-specific issue: the city accepts Euros at many tourist-area shops and restaurants but at distinctly poor rates. The change comes back in CZK at a rate the merchant chooses, which is usually 10 to 20 percent off the mid-market rate. This is the single most common quiet rip-off in Prague tourism. Always pay in koruna if you can.

A Sensible Cash Plan

Carry a small amount of CZK in cash from India for arrival incidentals, bus ticket from the airport (Prague Airport has no rail link, only buses and trolleybuses), a coffee, a quick beer at a non-touristy pub. Withdraw additional cash on the ground if needed. For most travellers, a forex card loaded with EUR plus a moderate cash cushion in CZK handles 95 percent of spending.

Indian residents can carry up to USD 3,000 equivalent in foreign currency notes per trip to Czechia. Anything beyond that goes on a forex card or as a wire transfer. Most leisure trips will not approach the ₹10 lakh per person per financial year TCS threshold, so no tax collection at source applies.

Where to Buy Koruna Before You Fly

This is the part of Prague trip planning where most travellers go wrong. Czech koruna is not stocked in cash by most Indian forex providers. The standard advice is to carry Euros from India, withdraw a small amount of CZK from a Prague ATM on arrival, and use a forex card with EUR loaded for most spending. A separate option is to carry a moderate amount of USD and exchange a small amount on arrival.

Inside Prague, the licensed exchange offices in the Old Town and Wenceslas Square run a very wide spread. Some advertise no commission but apply terrible rates; others advertise great rates with hidden commissions. The well-rated, reputable money changers, eXchange in particular, display "WE BUY at" and "WE SELL at" rates clearly with no commission, and they honour what is on the board. Stick to those. Avoid every other exchange office unless it is a major bank.

Skip the airport exchange counters at Vaclav Havel Airport for anything beyond the immediate cash you need on arrival.

Cards in Prague

Visa and Mastercard are accepted at most hotels, restaurants, cafes, supermarket chains, museums, and tourist sites in Prague. American Express works at international hotel chains and large stores, less reliably at smaller pubs and shops. JCB has limited acceptance. RuPay has effectively no acceptance, so do not rely on it as your main card.

Apple Pay and Google Pay work at most modern card terminals. A standard Visa-based forex card works wherever Visa is accepted.

Two Things Indian Cardholders Should Know

Online payments in Czechia trigger 3D Secure verification, which means an OTP to your registered Indian mobile number. Keep your Indian SIM active on roaming, or use an eSIM that keeps the number reachable. Otherwise online bookings, particularly Czech Railways tickets and individual museum bookings, sometimes fail at the OTP step.

At hotels, large department stores, and tourist-area restaurants, the card machine asks whether to charge in CZK or in your home currency. Always pick CZK. The home-currency option is dynamic currency conversion and adds a markup of several percent on top of whatever your card already takes.

ATMs in Prague

ATMs in Prague come in two clear groups, and the difference between them is large enough to matter. Major bank ATMs, Ceska Sporitelna, KB, CSOB, and UniCredit, are the safe choice. They charge moderate fees and offer rates close to the interbank. The independent Euronet machines that dominate tourist areas, with bright yellow branding and Euronet logos, charge dramatically worse rates and aggressive conversion fees. Avoid them, even if they are the closest ATM at the moment.

Skip the airport ATMs for anything beyond emergency cash. The fees are higher than in-city bank ATMs.

What You Will Spend Each Day

On the ground, daily spending in Prague splits into three rough tiers.

Backpacker: hostel dorm bed, two meals at non-tourist Czech pubs (where a hearty meal with a beer can cost less than ₹500), public transport on the integrated metro-tram-bus pass, free walking tours and the outdoor parts of Prague Castle. Prague at this tier is one of the better-value European city breaks.

Mid-range, where most travellers land: a three-or-four-star hotel near the Old Town or Lesser Town, two restaurant meals a day with one at a proper Czech restaurant and one at an international or modern Prague restaurant, public transport, paid attractions like the Castle complex, the Astronomical Clock, the Klementinum, and a Vltava river cruise.

Premium: five-star hotels like the Four Seasons or the Augustine, fine-dining restaurants like Field, La Degustation, or Eska, private guides for the Castle and Jewish Quarter, a high-end Bohemian crystal shopping budget. Prague at this tier is genuinely good value compared to Western European capitals.

A 7-day mid-range trip for two in Prague costs noticeably less than the same trip in Paris, London, or Vienna. Flights and hotels are usually paid in India before departure and sit on top.

Two-input live converter: enter an amount in INR or CZK, see the equivalent in the other currency.

Rate displayed: the live interbank rate (mid-market), with a small label "Live interbank rate. Updated [timestamp]."

Optional secondary line: "Most banks add a 2–4% markup to this rate."

Default amount on page load: ₹50,000 → CZK equivalent.

Data source: any reliable FX API. Cache rate for 5–15 minutes.

Getting Around

Prague has an excellent integrated public transport system, three metro lines, an extensive tram network, and buses. A 24-hour, 72-hour, or longer day-pass gives unlimited travel across the network. Buy at metro stations, tram-stop machines, or through the PID Lítačka mobile app. Validate paper tickets in the yellow validators when boarding, uninspected tickets attract fines.

Prague Airport is connected to the city by trolleybus 59 to Nadrazi Veleslavin metro station (line A), a private airport-shuttle service, or taxi. Use the official AAA Radiotaxi or Tick Tack Taxi from the airport's taxi counter, or book Bolt or Uber, which are reliable. Ignore the unofficial drivers who approach in arrivals.

Inside the Old Town, walking is faster than any other transport. Cars are pointless. Trams are scenic and useful for the longer journeys to areas like Holesovice, Karlin, and Vinohrady.

Prague and the rest of the Czech Republic

This is the Prague city guide. Most first trips to the Czech Republic are built around Prague, and the city also pairs well with day trips to Kutná Hora, Karlštejn and Karlovy Vary.

For Czech koruna basics, Schengen entry, cash-declaration rules and daily costs across the whole country, see the Czech Republic travel guide.