Prague vs Berlin
Which would you pick?
The short answer
Prague is the cheaper trip, by roughly 15% a day — $110–180 against $130–210 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in May–Jun, Sep, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇨🇿 Prague | 🇩🇪 Berlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $110–180cheaper | $130–210 |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $7–10 | $7–10 |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $120–215 | $125–205 |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $1.70cheaper | $4.60 |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $1,950 | ≈ $3,300 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇨🇿 Prague
A thousand years of architecture that nobody got around to bombing, a castle district on one bank and a Gothic Old Town on the other, and the best cheap beer in Europe. The center is crowded by ten; the city is wonderful before and after.
- Prague Castle$$Sights
- Lokál$Food & drink
- National Theatre$$Music & theater
- Charles Bridge$Sights
- U Zlatého tygra$Food & drink
🇩🇪 Berlin
A city that kept its scars on purpose — the Wall, the bullet-pocked facades, the memorials in the middle of everything — and then built the most relaxed capital in Europe around them. Cheap by Western standards, open all night, and not at all interested in impressing you.
- Reichstag dome$History & memorials
- Museum Island$$Museums & views
- Markthalle Neun$Food & markets
- Berghain$$Nightlife & outdoors
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe$History & memorials
Practicalities
| Prague | Berlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Czech; English is standard anywhere tourists go, less so in neighborhood pubs | German — but English gets you through almost everything in Berlin, and in parts of Kreuzberg and Mitte it's the default. |
| Currency | Czech koruna (CZK, written Kč). US$1 ≈ CZK 21. Czechia is in the EU but does not use the euro | Euro (€). US$1 ≈ €0.88 |
| Power | Type E plugs (Type C fits), 230V | Type C/F plugs, 230V — the standard continental two-pin |
| Tap water | Safe to drink everywhere; restaurants will still sell you bottled unless you ask for tap | Safe and heavily tested. Restaurants usually charge for water, tap included, so ask for a 'Leitungswasser' and don't be surprised if it's refused |
| Emergency | 112 general · 155 ambulance · 158 police · 150 fire | 112 fire & ambulance · 110 police · 116117 out-of-hours doctor |
The same in both:
- Time zone
- CET (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer)