Learn where to exchange money in Prague and where not! If you come to Prague, it is always good to have some cash with you. Not much, Prague is a very card friendly city. However, just for your personal comfort and back up you should exchange at least a small portion of your budget to Czech Crown (CZK). You can either use a bank branded ATM or stop at a money exchange office. Just make sure you pick the right one. It is not always easy here.
And who is writing this blog for you? I am Dana, Prague local. Besides designing and guiding my small-group tours, I also like writing about Prague. To prevent future visitors from the local tourist traps. And changing money is definitely one of them. Hope this blog post saves you lot of money and nerves.
Please feel free to drop me a line if you need further help or wish to see Prague with me – away from the crowds, silly souvenir shops and spots ripping tourists off: dana@praguebehindthescenes.com
More info, tips and inspiration on my social profiles.
Fast facts: how much for one Euro and USD (September 2024)
Fair exchange rate for 1 Euro should be around 24-25 CZK. 1 USD is currently around 22.50 CZK. The exchange rates vary, please take this as an indicative info. But fair exchange offices should offer you this range.
One of my clients told me that this blog post saved him a lot of money – because he nearly ended up with only 17 CZK for euros!! So, please be careful!!! There are many unfair exchange places downtown.
Please read on to learn where to go and not to be scammed.
Be careful, in some exchange offices you can find very similar exchange rates, sometimes even higher, however, this might be a trap called “commission”. Charging a commission is a good trick of some exchange offices. At the end – not a good deal. I know that many people also like to go to exchange money in the banks – but this not the best deal either. Yes, it´s safe but the exchange rates are not very impressive.
Where do locals go to exchange money in Prague?
Many Czechs, including me, go to a place called EXCHANGE CZ as we all know that many exchange offices downtown (or at railway stations) are notorious for ripping people off. I am repeating: railway station. My clients were scammed there as well. What a fantastic “welcome to Prague”!! EXCHANGE CZ has two branches, one is only few steps away from the Astronomical Clock, the other one is a bit away from the city center – but offers the top exchange rates…
So, which one to choose?
Where to go if you need to exchange higher amounts
Definitely EXCHANGE CZ on Štefánikova street: here you will always get the best (highest) rates. This is a brand new branch of EXCHANGE CZ, opened in January 2024. Unfortunately it´s a bit tucked away from the city center. So, if you only want to exchange small amounts like 50, 100 euro, it´s not worth it going there. You will spend 30 minutes just going there and 30 back. But if you are staying in the neighborhood, e.g. Lesser Town, Smíchov, Anděl, definitely stop by. Today (September 13) they offered me 24.95 CZK for euro.
It´s a very nice office, clean, organized with private boxes, no line ups…it´s a huge difference from what you see downtown where every exchange office looks like some money laundering hole in the wall.
Address: Exchange CZ Štefánikova 203/23 Prague 5 Smíchov.
My recommendation: pay a visit to this office only if you want to exchange a bigger amount of money. For the smaller transaction (20, 50, 100 euro…) you can go the EXCHANGE CZ branch on Kaprova street close to the Astronomical clock. They have slightly lower rates there but it´s super conveniently located downtown, so you will not loose time.
Want to exchange only small amounts?
Go to EXCHANGE CZ on Kaprova street (downtown): This branch is very close to the Old Town Square. Basically 5 minutes away from the Astronomical Clock, yeaaah! Address: Kaprova 14/13, 110 00 Prague 1. It´s a corner house so you may find it under three different addresses:-))) Don´t be surprised. This branch is perfect for smaller transactions. You will not get the same exchange rates as in their first location mentioned above but it still will be a a good rate. This branch is conveniently located in the city center where you will probably spend most of your time.
My recommendation: if you only want to exchange 20, 50, 200, 300 euro (dollars, franks, pounds…) go here. You really don´t need to exchange much. Prague is very card friendly. 50 euro / pp is absolutely fine for your whole stay and small purchases. WC, tipping in cafés. The rest you can pay by card!
Are you travelling to Poland, Austria, Hungary, Germany and need Zloty, Euro or Forint?
My clients also ask me if they can exchange in this office USD to EUR or any other currency (Forint, Zloty….) Yes, this is definitely possible but I think this will not be the best exchange deal. Because they first exchange the money into Czech Crowns and then to your required currency. If you are travelling from Prague to some other country where they use forint, zloty, frank, euro (Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland…), I recommend exchanging the money in these destinations. But of course if you only want some back up money for your way there, you can exchange a portion in Prague. It’s not a problem. USD to Forint, Euro to Zloty….whatever you need.
Where else can you exchange money downtown Prague?
A couple days back I tried a new exchange office which is located conveniently by the main entrance to Palladium shopping mall (10 minutes away from the Old Town Square). It´s a huge pink building that looks like a cake. And right by the main entrance, there is a small exchange office.
My personal impression from the place wasn´t ideal but that´s just my subjective experience. I generally don´t like places where they have a scam Euronet ATM right in the place. I would also expect a receipt and prefer clerks who don´t chew a toothpick while talking to me. But I got the money and everything was proceeded quickly, so I believe this might be another alternative. The location is very convenient, only 15 minutes from the Old Town Square or one minute from Municipal House and Powder Tower.
I will do more reseach in the future for you. But as I said, it´s always better to pay by card here. Then you don´t have to bother with changing the money.
Cash for cash only
Many of my clients also ask me if the exchange offices accept cards. So I rather mention it here as well: No, you need to bring the foreign cash and they will give you cash back. Many exchange offices don´t exchange coins, just bank notes.
But no Scandinavian cash!
If you are coming from Norway, Sweden or Denmark and you need Czech cash, please use our ATMs. Czech exchange offices don´t accept SEK, DKK or NOK. This is currently very common in most countries, not only in the Czech Republic. But no worries, you can perfectly pay here by cards!!!
How much money should you exchange?
If you prefer cash in Prague and don´t want to pay by card at all, one person should have around 2500 CZK / pp / day. To cover all meals, drinks, tickets, basic grocery. This is equal to ca 100 euro. But of course, it also depends on your standards. Below is an example of what you can buy here for 100 euro.
Examples of what you can buy in Prague for approx. 100 euro / 2500 CZK during one day
(Counted for one person / day / and downtown prices)
Breakfast in a bistro with coffee and to go pastry fo later (400 CZK)
Entrance ticket to Prague Castle interiors (450 CZK),
Lunch + 1 beer (300 – 400 CZK),
24-hour public transport ticket (120 CZK),
Two coffees (160 CZK),
Mineral water from a supermarket – Albert, Billa, Lidl (20 CZK),
Nice dinner with a dessert and two glasses of wine (1000 CZK)
What if you exchange money in Prague at a bad place and get scammed?
If you get ripped off at some unfair exchange office and you find it out later, according to Czech law, within the timeframe of 3 hours, you can be refunded at the place of transaction. You just need the original receipt. Don´t be afraid and ask your money back. It’s your right. Or ask for help the police!
Watch out – some bank notes can be expired!
Some older versions of Czech bank notes are no longer valid and we are withdrawing them from circulation. The new versions still look the same, just have a wider silver security strips. Only 5000 CZK bank note remains unchanged (with a thin strip).
So, what to do if you get the old one? No worries. It actually happened to me while paying in a drug store and to my clients as well – but they left the expired bank note in a bar as a tip (100 CZK). Oh well, also solution:-)
If you happen to have an expired bank note, it´s not a tragedy, simply go to the Czech National Bank downtown, address: Na Příkopě 864/28 Prague 1. They will help you and give you a new one. But as I said before, rather pay by card everywhere because the Czech National Bank is only open on working days until 2pm, and they even take one hour off for lunch break. So this wouldn´t be very exciting part of your Prague trip.
Do you prefer ATMs? Make sure you choose the right one!
In case you prefer withdrawing money from an ATM, please avoid Euronet Worldwide machines (of course, they are strategically located everywhere downtown, actually all over Europe).
Once their ATMs detect a foreign card, they will push you to withdraw a high amount of money – like 10 000 CZK – for this amount you can get 160 large tap beers. Any other machines are ok (not best, just ok, you will always lose some money on transaction fees, withdrawal fees, etc. but of course it also depends on your bank or if you are EU citizen or not).
But what is important? Always choose on the ATM screen the option “without conversion” when clicking on the screen and trying to get through all the confusing options.
Summary
1) Try to pay by card (Visa, Mastercard) everywhere you can. Amex is not always accepted, be careful!
2) Want to exchange money? Go to a fair exchange office called Exchange CZ (this is a place where locals go) or to the office by the entrance to Palladium shopping mall (description in the article).
3) If you plan to pay by card here and just want to exchange some back up money for small purchases, tipping and public toilets, exchange around 50 euro / pp for the whole stay.
4) Always ask the exchange office clerk for some smaller bank notes and coins. Coins are very useful when paying for public WC (10 – 30 CZK).
5) If you prefer cash and don´t want to use cards: exchange 100 euro / pp / day.
6) When using an ATM, avoid Euronet machines!
6) Check your bank notes if they are valid (some older versions are not valid anymore and we are withdrawing them from circulation). The new ones have a wide silver strip. But this situation doesn’t happen often, don´t be afraid!!!
7) If you are from Denmark, Norway or Sweden, exchange your money in your home country or use ATM here. SEK, NOK and DKK are not possible to exchange in most countries including the Czech Republic.
If you like my content and the free information on my website, you can support my writings by buying me a virtual coffee. Thank you for your kindness and have a lovely stay in Prague! Without being scammed!
Dana, owner and guide for Prague Behind The Scenes | small-group tours and experiences.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to tour with me, I am a tiny business and you will always communicate directly with me: dana@praguebehindthescenes.com
Where to next – my other blog posts
What to avoid in Prague? This is a list of the most flagrant Prague tourist traps.
Private 3-hour off-the-beaten-path tour with Dana, author of this blog post.
How to read (and understand) the Astronomical Clock in Prague?
How tipping works here in Prague? Do we tip? Where and how much?