Money, and the two traps
The currency is the Czech koruna (CZK), not the euro, despite Czechia being in the EU. Prices quoted in euros carry a poor implied rate.
Exchange booths. The “0% commission” booths in the centre make their money on the rate and have historically used bait pricing. Czech law now allows customers to cancel an exchange within three hours, which indicates how bad it was. Do not change money at a street booth or at the airport.
Use an ATM attached to a bank — Česká spořitelna, ČSOB, Komerční banka, Raiffeisen — and avoid the free-standing Euronet machines in tourist areas.
Dynamic currency conversion. When a machine offers to charge you in your home currency instead of crowns, always choose crowns. Accepting hands the conversion to the operator at a rate several per cent worse.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere. Cash is still useful at markets and small pubs.
Transport
Stamp your paper ticket in the yellow machine before travelling. Inspectors target visitor routes and the fine is immediate and substantial. See getting around.
Tipping
Round up, or about 10 per cent in a restaurant for good service.
Hand the money to the waiter and state the total you want to pay. Leaving cash on the table and walking out is not the local practice and can cause confusion.
Nothing extra in a pub beyond rounding.
Safety
Prague is a safe city. Violent crime against visitors is rare and the realistic risks are two:
Pickpocketing, which is organised and concentrated — tram 22, the metro escalators at Můstek and Muzeum, and Charles Bridge in the crowded hours. Bag in front, phone out of back pockets.
Overcharging, which is much reduced from the 1990s and not gone. Check the bill, refuse unrequested items, and use taxi apps rather than street taxis.
Emergency number is 112.
Etiquette
Say dobrý den on entering a shop or a small restaurant and na shledanou on leaving. This is expected and its absence is noticed.
Take your shoes off if invited into a Czech home. Slippers will be offered.
Make eye contact when clinking glasses, and touch the glass to the table before drinking.
Czechs are reserved with strangers and this is not unfriendliness. Service can seem brusque; it is not personal.
Do not compare Czechia to Russia, or refer to the country as Eastern Europe if you can avoid it. Central Europe is the preferred term and the distinction carries a lot of history.
Czechia is the official short name; the Czech Republic is also correct. Czechoslovakia has not existed since 1993.
Practicalities
Electricity is 230V with Type E sockets — the same round two-pin as France and Germany.
Tap water is safe and good.
Pharmacies (lékárna) are widespread; some open 24 hours.
Smoking is banned in restaurants, bars and cafés since 2017.
Public toilets are scarce and usually charged, including in some restaurants. Carry small coins.
Sundays: supermarkets over a certain size are closed on several public holidays, and smaller shops keep short Sunday hours.
Schengen
Czechia is in the EU and the Schengen Area, so time spent here counts against the 90-in-180 allowance for non-EU visitors. There are no border checks with Germany, Austria, Poland or Slovakia.