7 Prague tourist activities locals hate—and what to do instead

Prague is much-loved by foreign visitors, a fact borne out by the Czech capital’s huge tourist numbers (over 7 million alone last year). But with swathes of tourists descending onto the capital every year, is it a victim of its own popularity? 

Excess drunkenness, noise, overcrowding, dangerous behavior, litter, and annoying tourist faux pas are just some of the issues that visitors bring to Prague. The city has clearly defined the problem of overtourism and “alco-tourism,” and has taken several steps in its attempts to counter it.

The Enjoy, Respect Prague campaign, for example, reminds visitors to make no excess noise after 10 p.m. and to keep the city clean, and earlier this year Prague 1 banned nighttime vehicle entry into the area around Dlouhá Street, a popular nightlife hub in the city center.

Here are seven classic tourist activities that visitors are often guilty of, and tips for things you can do in the Czech capital that don't contribute to overtourism.

At the forefront of news in Czechia has been Prague’s recent decision to ban organized pub crawls. This, understandably, has been borne out of locals’ frustration: "[An] unreasonable consumption of alcohol and disruptive behavior can create the impression of a lack of sophistication in the community, reduce the feeling of safety, and causes people to avoid certain locations," the City of Prague commented.

Locals and city officials also complained of increased trash in public spaces, and the need for greater security enforcement—costing money and resources. Politicians and residents of Prague 1—the hub of the pub crawls—in particular were fed up with rowdy groups, spurring forward the plan to ban them.

You can easily enjoy Czech beer without getting rambunctious and rowdy. The capital has several historic pubs—U Hrocha, U Černého vola, and U Zlatého tygra, to name a few—where you can sample classic Czech beer at reasonable prices.

Lukáš Svoboda’s Beer Tapping School also teaches you the different types of Czech beer: hladinka, šnyt, and mlíko, and the Prague Beer ZOO activity lets you walk through famous Prague pubs and sights, learning and drinking along the way.

Czech beer giant Pilsner’s interactive beer center on Wenceslas Square also offers a more cultured way to explore the history of, and sample, Czech beer.

You may have seen hoards of padlocks hugging and crowding bridges in Venice and Paris, but it may come as news to you that Prague has its own love-hate relationship with love locks. Recently, these have been leading more towards hate.

Social media influencer and Prague guru Janek Rubeš—one half of the Honest Guide duo—recently published a video on the issue. “Love locks are trash, and tourists should not leave trash behind,” Rubeš sternly said while recording himself snipping off the locks. What’s even worse, he points out, is that tourists throw the lock keys into the river—only polluting the environment.

Love is great, but better, less visually intrusive ways to show it exists. For example, the Smalterie creative workshop in Prague 1 lets you personal and paint your own enamel products, and the Akce Cihla initiative in the center of the capital gives you the chance to write your own love-themed message on a brick for charity.

Ah, trdelník—a sweet treat that sometimes turns conversations sour. If you’re a Prague resident, you may have been witness to several (often intense) debates on the true origin of this dessert. This is often unbeknownst to unaware Prague visitors, who see the sweet dessert dotted around the capital’s vendors and assume it is a Czech dessert and don’t hesitate to share it on social media. They are eating no Czech food, though.

Several celebrities and high-profile figures have wrongly typified trdelník as a Czech dessert: one example is U.S. Ambassador to Czechia Bijan Sabet, who made the “serious” error in his opening few weeks on the job. Recently, the BBC even got involved in the debate, telling its readers that the dessert traces back to early modern Romania, Hungary, or Slovakia—but definitely not Czechia.

Prague has plenty of places where you can experience proper Czech pastries and baked goods, including Czech classics like koláč and a host of other mouthwatering desserts, such as větrník (a Czech-style profiterole).

Rowdy tourists—often hailing from the UK—seem to enjoy this activity, to the ire of locals. The premise is based on a group of tourists—usually between five and 10 people—pedaling on a huge-sized cycle while drinking beer.

Despite laws passed in 2020 and 2021 from the City of Prague that definitively banned the bars on wheels, some companies still operate beer bikes. This is due to a loophole in the law: the cycles can be less than 1.2 meters in length. “Beer bikes are humiliating for the city as such and especially for the people who live here. [The ban] gives additional strength to the fight for the quality of life of the locals,” said then-Prague Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr in the past.

Instead of biking around the city with a beer in hand, consider giving the alcohol a break and take a casual—and cheap—cycle round the city. 

Transport firm Rekola offers limited-time free cycling journeys for holders of a monthly or annual transport pass in the Czech capital—otherwise, they are very affordable for visitors. The Braník to Vrané nad Vltavou in the south of the city is a marked cycle route that offers scenic views. The Na kole Prahou and Bikemap applications also display Prague's current cycle routes and help you plan your two-wheeled journey. 

Not too long ago, the Municipal Library was semi-known by tourists, with some curious visitors popping in to see the 19th century building. Social media—namely, TikTok—changed all this, with hundreds of tourists flocking daily to view the so-called Infinity Book Tower within the last two years to grab a selfie with the optically impressive sculpture. 

This is not the only example: social media ignited and spread (in a wildfire-esque way) the popularity of Prague City Hall’s paternoster elevator—this eventually led to its closure due to overcrowding. When the city eventually decided to reopen the elevator to the public, it decided to charge a hefty fee.

Speaking to Expats.cz, Rubeš told us that there are several many more examples: one of which is the architecturally (and socially) impressive Skautský institut on Old Town Square, which he told us was now “invaded” by tourists. 

Rather than focus specifically on the book tower, the Municipal Library is “a work of art in itself,” Municipal Library spokesperson Lenka Hanzlíková told Czech media last year.

“It is enough to look around the entrance hall and see [the] stained glass windows, in the central hall there is a beautifully painted ceiling designed by [famed artist] František Kysela." The library also houses a cafe and art gallery. Check out Prague’s Clementinum for another spectacular building, too.

If you live in Prague and have seen heavily inebriated men (or women), often wearing flamboyant, degrading, or outright offensive costumes, chances are you’re witnessing a stag or hen party in Prague. 

These pre-wedding rituals are similar to pub crawls, but are often done among a group of less than 10 people; organized among themselves rather than with an official agency. The ridiculous costumes are one problem—in fact, the City of Prague suggested banning the outfits, although the proposal didn’t move forward—but the excess noise, mess, and unruly behavior are another issue altogether.

Indeed, the death of a British tourist last month while on a stag party shows that they are not only inconvenient—but grossly dangerous for partakers and locals alike.

There are other, more sensible ways to celebrate a groom-to-be’s last moments being single. Prague’s new Máj department store offers a dedicated, ample room for various arcade games and other activities (mini-golf anyone?), and the capital also offers a broad mix of other high-octane activities: ax-throwing, paintball, tank driving, go-karting, and shooting ranges all included.

In similar vein to pub crawls and stag parties, a high density of drunken tourists on a boat late at night can often spell frustration—and sometimes disaster. The country’s 10 p.m. noise curfew goes some way in preventing excess noise, but those living near the Vltava (or simply walking by it) are met with high-decibel annoyance—and that’s not to mention some tourists’ behavior after disembarking. 

Fun can turn into death, too, one Brit was found dead in the Vltava earlier this year after jumping off a boat.

Visit both banks of the Vltava via a seasonal public ferry that will help you explore drinking holes in other districts. Two ferries, the P1 and P2—both let you see the northern side of Prague, by Podhoří in Prague 7—operate year-round, whereas four others are active only between April and October. An English-language website with timetables and a map is here.

For a more historical insight into the river itself, as well as Charles Bridge and Prague’s Čertovka canal, the Prague Venice company offers guided tours—of course, complete with Czech beer.

Another fun way to explore the Vltava is via two-person or group pedallos, which allow you to float around parts of Czechia’s famous river for up to an hour at a time.