Cost of Living in Prague: A Detailed Breakdown from Our One-Month Stay

My family (wife, son and yours truly) spent a full month in Prague, Czechia during the month of June and today I am here to share our living costs, impressions and everything else you should know.

Last time, we moved our home base for one month in Valencia, but we wanted to try running away from the heat a little bit and climbed up to Prague. We chose it for various reasons, but the main one was that it was always topping lists of “best cities to visit”. In the end, so many people can’t be wrong, we thought.

If you read this blog, you know that it wasn’t really the case. While it is definitely a nice city visit or live in, I personally consider Prague overrated. But this is not the point of today’s article!

Instead, let’s jump straight into the cost of living in Prague and everything else you should know before traveling here – for one month, longer, or a shorter amount of time.

So let’s see how it all went and what to expect if you decide to visit Prague with your family (or alone) for a longer period of time!

Our living expenses in Prague for the month

If you don’t want to go through all the details in the article, here is the breakdown of our costs for spending the month of June in Prague:

All in all, we ended the month spending just shy of 4,000 Euros, which might seem like a lot, but it’s to be expected in this expensive city AND during the peak season. Since we used cash on many occasions, I probably forgot to write down ALL the expenses, so in reality it’s probably even more.

We also could’ve spent a lot more on food, but we cooked at home often. Groceries in Prague are reasonably priced, with local markets offering fresh produce at lower costs – and we had both local markets, as well as cheap supermarkets nearby.

If we were to eat out more often than we did, which was lunch/dinner around 3 times per week (so around 12 times total, maybe a bit more, including eating out at pizzerias, which are cheaper), we would’ve spent A LOT more on food.

Eating out at a regular restaurant in Czechia would cost around €40 per meal for three people. And these add up, so if you plan to eat out often, budget accordingly! You can easily spend €800 in a week if you eat constantly at restaurants.

Accommodation costs were really high – and the most we ever paid during our travels. But this is what you should expect if you travel during the peak of the season in Prague.

We also got a 2-bedroom apartment as we can no longer share the bed with our son – and I couldn’t find any 1-bedroom place that was both in a good area, and offered enough beds for a comfortable month spent there.

All in all, our Prague living expenses of €4,000 for the month translate to almost €130 per day for the three of us, which is “not great, not terrible.”

Now, let’s get a bit more in-depth with our expenses, see where we stayed and check out some of my tips for living in Prague (especially during the peak season).

Getting to Prague

I don’t like to, but I have to admit it: I’m a wuss and I am really scared of flying. Therefore, even though this greatly reduces our options when it comes to traveling the world, I always prefer to take a train (as we did for our epic train Euro-trip) or a bus, or a boat, or even walk. Anything as long as I’m not up in the air, ha!

As a result, what could’ve been an easy three hour flight from home to Prague turned into a 3-day train ride: we first went to Timisoara, Romania; then we took the train to Budapest, Hungary; finally we took the train from there to Prague.

Our return trip was similar – but with a pit stop of a few days in Bratislava instead – a good excuse to check out the city a bit (read about Devin Castle in Bratislava here).

I personally love riding the train and I have nothing against embarking on longer journeys, but traveling with a 6 year old has its limitations, so we decided to split a long ride into fewer ones of around or under 6 hours and it worked well for us. If you are braver, you can definitely go for the longer rides.

Where we stayed in Prague (and costs)

We almost always rent an apartment when staying for longer periods of time – it’s easier (thanks to cooking at home) and, well… more homey.

Early on, we used AirBnb almost exclusively, but lately I started choosing Booking.com for apartment rentals, as there are, usually, better deals there. So definitely check more options before picking your place!

The place we found was in a great area – within walking distance to the old town. It was located in Prague’s second district, a few minutes of walking away from the Narodni Museum (Prague’s National Museum) and the Train Station.

Location is extremely important, so make sure you’re booking a place close to wherever you want to be. When traveling, that’s usually the city center, since that’s where all the good stuff is.

Here are some more photos of our apartment – it was really nice, without a doubt!

But this also meant that we had to pay a premium: location, large & nice place, the beginning of the tourist season (and not booking a few months in advance). In other words, for the two bedroom apartment we lived in, we paid a whooping €2559.27 (for 31 nights between June 6th to July 7th).

While this seems (and IS) a lot, we initially looked at Amsterdam, but similar short-term rentals there were around €9,000 per month. (Yes, prices are crazy these days!)

All in all, though, if you want to get the best deal possible, make sure to book your stay WELL in advance, at least several months before arrival. If you delay it too much, like I did, prices will be even higher.

Other highlights from our month-long stay in Prague:

I’m going in-depth detailing the food costs (and showing you mouth-watering photos like the one below), as well as attractions (and prices there) in the articles below:

• Best restaurants in Prague & prices
• Prague’s top attractions

If you don’t want to go through them, the bottom line is that our food costs were €815 – this included eating out around 3 times per week (plus some pastries/street food type of quick meals), and cooking at home for the rest of the time.

Food in Prague is delicious and you have plenty of options to choose from, both in the restaurants scattered throughout the city, and the supermarkets and local farmer markets.

For visiting various attractions, we only spent €328 – which feels to me like a steal, as we went to plenty of museums and galleries, but also the Zoo and one day at the Aquapark (which is AWESOME!).

We also took advantage of freebies (like organizing a picnic on the Stromovka park, walking a lot and such) and we still had heaps of fun.

Thoughts & impressions about living in Prague

Czechia’s capital is undoubtedly beautiful. The architecture, its parks, the natural beauty with the Vltava river running through the middle… everything adds up for a really nice city indeed.

But, for some reason, it didn’t click with me. I remember that when we got off the train and arrived in the city center, I really wanted to love it. I liked the buildings, I liked the atmosphere, I understood its beauty, but for some reasons it just didn’t click. No idea why.

We were treated nicely and had absolutely no problems with anything during our stay there – and even though the public transportation system is chaotic, with pedestrians and cars going around trams and buses, there are no real reasons for you to complain, except for maybe the high prices.

We also let a lot of things unseen: Prague has a ton of attractions to offer and even though we were out and about almost on a daily basis, we still haven’t covered them all. But I don’t think I would ever want to come back and pick up where we left off.

I know that many people disagree: many absolutely love Prague and consider it the most beautiful place on earth. And it is beautiful. There are a lot of great things to see and do. For visiting, the city is definitely a good choice.

But despite all that glam and the cleanliness and the eye candy, there is something that doesn’t click with me, my personality or who knows what.

After Prague, I visited the small Serbian city of Kladovo – a town with under 10,000 people and I instantly loved it, as soon as I set foot there. And there’s absolutely no way to compare the two cities, with the Serbian one being a lot less impressive in terms of architectural beauty, attractions and tourism. Yet, it clicked with me like Prague never managed to.

Even on our way back home, we stopped for a few days in Bratislava – a city everybody told me that is not spectacular and has nothing to offer. But I absolutely loved it and liked it better than Prague! So yes, some cities feel better for some people and not so much for others.

Czechia’s capital is indeed beautiful, it has a lot to offer, it is even spectacular here and there, but for me it didn’t have that bit of magic to make me love it like I love Budapest, for example… or anything truly memorable.

But it’s OK – we can’t just love all the places in the World.

Have you lived in Prague or are planning to? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!