Prague

Is Prague safe?

Yes. Prague is one of the calmer capitals in Europe for anything serious, and the risks for visitors are mostly about money. Police registered 34,853 crimes in the city in 2025, down from 38,435 a year earlier, and 2024 was already the lowest count outside the pandemic years. Prague police counted 19 murder cases in 2024, almost 30% fewer than in 2023. Czech statistics include attempted killings in that number. Eurostat, which counts completed intentional homicides, puts Prague at 10 in 2024, about 0.7 per 100,000 people, and 27 in 2023.

The catch is that Prague still has the highest crime rate of any Czech region, 25 offences per 1,000 residents, and police solve only about one case in four. Most of that is theft, and a large share happens where tourists are.

The city's worst violent event in recent memory was the December 2023 shooting at Charles University's Faculty of Arts, when a student killed 14 people. Attacks like that remain extremely rare; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorist attacks in Czechia cannot be ruled out.

We score Prague 82, level with Berlin, with stronger traffic safety and a weaker record on scams. For the rest of the country, see our Czechia page.

Pickpockets: the Old Town, trams and the airport bus

Simple theft, which includes pickpocketing, made up 22% of recorded crime in Prague in 2025. Police say organised pickpocket gangs, some from abroad, work the centre and target foreign tourists. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary names three places to watch:

• The buses and metro from the airport to the centre, where people carry all their luggage.
• Trams to Prague Castle, especially tram 22, which is packed with visitors in summer.
• Busy tourist areas: the crowd watching the Astronomical Clock strike the hour on Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and the main station, Hlavní nádraží.

Cafés and fast-food places are also a target: thieves lift phones from tables and bags hung on chairs. Car break-ins are the most common single crime in the city, with 3,460 cases in 2024, so leave nothing in a hire car.

If something is stolen, report it within 24 hours. The police station at Jungmannovo náměstí 9, near Můstek metro, is open around the clock and has interpreters.

Exchange offices, taxis and fake police

Prague's exchange offices were notorious for years: big "0% commission" signs, a good rate shown for selling currency, and a much worse one for buying yours. Since April 2019 Czech law lets you cancel an exchange within three hours at the same office, and the Czech National Bank treats a refusal as a serious breach. Keep the receipt. Better still, ask for the amount in koruna before you hand over cash, or withdraw money from a bank's cash machine (choose to be charged in koruna, not your home currency).

Never change money in the street. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary and city police warn that the notes are often counterfeit.

Taxis hailed on the street in the centre and at the station can overcharge badly. Check the fares on the door, or use Uber, Bolt or the local Liftago app. At the airport, book at the official kiosks or counters.

One more trick: men posing as plainclothes police who ask to see your passport and foreign currency. Real Czech police have no right to do this. Do not show your money; offer to go with them to the nearest station, or call 112.

Nightlife and stag parties

Prague's centre is busy until the small hours and generally safe. The tension comes from heavy drinking. Some bars ban stag groups, and police fine or detain people for drunken behaviour and may send them to a paid "sobering-up" station.

City police warn that nightclub consumption charges are often high, and that losing a consumption card before you pay can bring a big penalty. Touts on Wenceslas Square and around Old Town Square push clubs and strip bars where the bill can be far higher than you expect; agree prices first or skip them. Drink spiking happens, so watch your glass.

Residents are less relaxed about the city at night than about their own streets. In the European Commission's 2023 survey of city residents, 62% in Prague said they feel safe walking alone at night in the city and 78% in their own neighbourhood. That is a little above Berlin and Budapest (both 60%) and well below Vienna (78%).

Drugs are illegal, including cannabis, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that what is sold on the street is often a dangerous fake. Shops advertising "cannabis products" sell items with only trace amounts of THC.

Trams, air and floods

Traffic is not a real danger. Prague police recorded 15 road deaths in 2025, down from 21, or about 1.1 per 100,000 people. The main hazard for visitors is the tram: trams have priority on zebra crossings and cannot stop quickly, so look both ways at the tracks. Crossing on a red light or away from a crossing can get you fined.

Fine particle pollution meets the EU limit but stays above the WHO guideline, with the worst days during winter temperature inversions. Tap water is safe and hospital care is good.

The Vltava flooded the city centre in 2002, and Prague has since built flood barriers along the river that are raised when water levels rise. Summer heatwaves and thunderstorms are the other hazards.

How we scored it

Traffic safety (91) and violent crime (89) are Prague's strongest factors. Theft and scams (68) is the weakest, because pickpocketing and money tricks are aimed squarely at visitors. Night safety (73) follows the EU's 2023 survey of residents, which we use for every European city; Wenceslas Square and the area around the main station are where the unease shows after dark. If you go on to Vienna or Budapest, expect a similar pattern of low violence and tourist-zone theft.