How bad is it, really?

Christa,

It sounds like you will be doing everything right. My husband and I were in Prague in September. As long as you pay attention to things around you and wear your money belt, you should be okay. Two things to note -- if you go to the Astronomical Clock, move your purse to the front of you while watching the show. Also, if you get away from the old town square, the restaurants are great with large portions and fair prices. I do recommend the restaurant in the RS episode for the view only.

Christa,
First, I applaud your ability to travel solo in Europe and hope you continue to take advantage of creating great memories.
Second, there are ample numbers of travelers who make journeys without encountering the dark side. I hope some will read your post and provide you their "tales of the positive."
Third, an interesting thing about "worries" is they are self generated. You get to choose if you want to worry and for as much as we are trained that we need to "worry", the fact is you can choose not to worry. So take precautions, but focus your thoughts on planning to create a trip which will generate wonderful memories!
Go enjoy!

The advice is there so you can be prepared, not worried. With your travel experience and usual caution, you won't find Prague much different from other touristy areas. Just note that several popular areas get very crowded. I assume your belt pouch is one that stays hidden under your clothes. The metered rate for a taxi from the airport should usually be 500-600 kc to downtown, but if you're staying near Namesti Rep. it's easy to take the Cedaz minibus shuttle for 120 kc.

Remember that posting here and travel guides general focus on some of the negative aspects just so that you are aware and can be prepared. Doesn't mean that it happens to everyone, or even a majority of everyone. But it is rare for anyone on like this site to just post - I went to London for three, had a great time, no problems. End of discussion, not all that interesting. BUT ---- post, "I got ripped off by a hot dog vendor who sold me a three inch hot dog for 20 pounds. Far more interesting and will generate a discussion. What ??? How do you know it was three inches? What did you really order? How could you be that stupid? Far more interesting to discuss problems than non-problems.

You do have to be a little more alert but not paranoid. There is a difference. You indicate you have the experience so relax a little. You will be fine and we don't it daunting. Go with the flow. It will work out.

I haven't been to Prague in a long time, but it's like anywhere - just use reasonable caution and you will be fine. The comments about skimpy portions could have to do with the fact that it is not the US. No one serves portions like here.

I've never been to Prague, but took my teenaged daughter to Europe 2 1/2 years ago. It was scary (our first time overseas), but once I let go- I had so much fun (and so did she)! Don't let worries and fears ruin a great trip. Let them make you smart and cautious only. Use the same precautions you would use in any city anywhere as a woman by yourself. Yes, we had a few close calls with pick-pockets, but they were only close calls because we were smart and had our money safe and secured (I don't like money belts- so we had a safepac backpack).

I think you sound like you know what you're doing- so no worries! I too will be tackling Europe by myself in the spring (solo on a group tour and several days on my own before and after). Whenever I start thinking of "the worst" I remind myself that I'm a smart lady and my fears are only of the unknown. So I'm informing myself as much as I can (that's half the fun of traveling- learning) and making sure I have a game plan for my trip so I can take it with confidence.

Have a wonderful time in Prague!

Christi, I was in Prague this past summer and ran into no problems, just be aware and don't let people rush you when paying. We ate at a restaurant recommended by RS called Lokal, in the Jewish section. It was delicious, inexpensive, cleaned, and packed with locals. The food is cheap enough to have apps and dessert. they even gave us a phamplet to learn some Czech. I was a little leery when we were in Budapest since we hadn't been there for over ten years, and all was well.

For the airport in Prague we used prague-airport-shuttle.cz and they were great. On time, curtious, clean car, and again inexpensive.
Enjoy,

christa,

Life if full of crap. So is travel. If you like horses, sometimes you have to step in crap to have some fun. I see travel the same way.

Travel is no different. So far in all of my travels, approximately 3+ years now and counting, i have only had one occurrence of someone trying to pickpocket me - that i know of.

I was in Prague this past September and along with several other countries. No problems what so ever. However, your mileage may vary. I feel that if im an informed traveler, i can keep my radar on and pay attention to my surroundings and not do stupid things, i should probably be okay. Not to say that if its my day to be a victim, it wont happen, but who knows.

I havent used alot of taxis in any country i visit. I use other forms of transportation and havent had any issues.

For your info, i fly solo too and walk around at night, withdraw $$$ out of ATMs and use cash to buy things along with using my credit card. No problems. Ive been asked to produce my tickets in several cities, but you know what. i wasnt the only person asked to show proof and all of the inspectors showed me ID of some forms.

To me, if you decide to skip Prague just because someone gives you a heads up on what could happen and what to be aware of, its your loss.

happy trails.

I'm certainly feeling a lot better about Prague now, thank you all for your input--and in an odd coincidence a co-worker I rarely chat with popped in this morning to talk about Budapest, he'd heard that I'd just been there, and it turns out he was recently in Prague and had absolutely no trouble at all, wasn't even aware that it's considered pickpocket heaven!

As others have said, it sounds like you're doing most everything right and shouldn't have a problem. Someone asked about your "belt-loop pouch;" sounds like it's outside your clothes. You might do better with an under-the-clothes money belt. On crowded trams you should probably keep anything external in front of you; we had a phone pilfered from a backpack on a Budapest tram a couple of years ago.

We visited Prague this past October. We expected a tourist crush, but it was beyond our expectations. If you'll be in Prague long enough, try to visit the really big sights (old town square, Charles Bridge) early, before 9:30 am and before the crowds arrive. This has the added benefit of practically eliminating your chances of encountering any pickpockets. Outside of those sights we found little to worry about, and we had absolutely no problems in restaurants.

We did try calling for a AAA taxi at the airport -- we used AAA's very nifty iPhone app -- but once the cab reached the airport we couldn't locate him. It may be that cabs coming from outside the airport have to arrive in a different location from the Terminal 1 exit. As we were running out of time to make our bus connection, we had to use the airport's taxi stand, where you must take the cab at the front of the line. Still, this turned out to be no problem at all (except for the unfortunate AAA cabbie, who made the trip for nothing). We didn't take another cab in Prague, but outside of the confusing arrival situation I would expect AAA to come through without problems.

Hope that helps -- have fun!

Christa, I traveled solo to Prague this past summer and had no problems, never noticed anyone being pickpocketed or heard about anyone. I carried my passport and daily funds in my normal cross body bag while out sightseeing (I don't even use a money belt when doing normal daily sightseeing) and always just kept it close to my body and was aware of my surroundings at all times. I arrived by bus and took a taxi from there to my hotel near Stare Mesto - I didn't have a phone so didn't call a taxi, just got one at a taxi stand on the street. I don't remember the fare but I do remember it was slightly less than what I had been told to expect so I was happy, no problems.

I agree with the others about restaurant portions and prices - outside the main tourist areas portions were plenty and reasonably priced.

Just another note. I was there in July during the height of tourist season and had been led to believe that the horrendous crowds might make the visit less than pleasant. Not true - the only places where the crowds were really bad was at the Charles Bridge and in the old town square when the clock was getting ready to go. Away from those places it was just normal summer tourist crowds, even in the castle district.

The belt-loop pouch is definitely worn inside my jeans, I find it most comfortable along my hip. I only carry in my purse a very small travel wallet that usually only holds spending money for the day and one of my two credit cards--the other one and my debit card go in the pouch. My phone is usually buried deep as well.

AAA Taxi seems to be the one that consistently gets excellent reviews so I expect I will use them to get to and from the airport. My departing flight for home leaves at 6 am so that's a definite taxi ride. The airport website mentions bus lines but I'm not always up for that when encumbered with a suitcase. It looks like their metro does not connect directly, correct?

Correct, the Metro/tram system does not connect to the airport, which is a fair distance from the city center. When you call AAA by all means ascertain where they will meet you: that was our mistake in using the app. Some of the taxis at the airport taxi stand were AAA, but the one at the front of the line was not, and that's the one we had to take. I'm not sure whether a taxi company's access to the taxi stand means it's less liable to try to rip you off. (If the taxi at the front of the line is AAA, though, you've just saved a call!)

I was in Prague 2 years ago. I always use a money belt, but I also carry a purse or daypack with a smaller amount of money and a few other things in it that wouldn't be terrible if it was taken. I didn't have any problems with people trying to get in my bag. In crowds-and there are a lot of crowds in Prague-I always carry the purse or pack in front of me. I only used a taxi to get to the airport for an early morning flight out, and I asked my hotel to arrange it. The hotel staff told me the price it would be ahead of time, and I confirmed that price with the driver before leaving. There were no problems with that ride. All of my food portions were plenty big-even the time I ate on old town square. Over all, I didn't feel unsafe in Prague, and I had the same fears as you before going.

Christa, apparently the two places where most of the reports are generated are the Charles Bridge and any crowded transit car frequented by tourists. Be aware but never afraid and have a good time.

Relax. Prague is fine and stop believing every scary story you read. I would hardly call Prague "pickpocket heaven."

Even RS perpetuates the myth that crime exists in Europe. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/theft-scams/outsmarting-pickpockets. Some pretty good advice actually.

A gypsy girl came up behind me in Paris and tried to unzip my back pack. When I felt it and turned around she just smiled and walked away. A few days later I sat on a bench under the Eiffel Tower and watched two gypsy girls fight while two others worked the back side of the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight. Shortly after that I saw another young lady walking out of the park with a wallet in her hand, she removed the money and then tossed the wallet into the bushes. That was about 3 years ago and was the first time I had seen any pickpockets, anyplace in the world. This year an acquaintance got pick pocketed on a tram in Vienna. Just as the doors to the crowded car were about to close a young lady forced herself inside. They were packed like sardines which worked well for lifting his wallet. He caught her and held her until she gave it back. Still, this is not a lot considering the time frame involved; and never while I was in Prague, despite Prague’s reputation.

I don't carry a lot and what I do carry I keep fairly secure, but no money belt, I do my best to avoid crowds (can’t stand crowds anyway) and I don't worry a lot about it.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-i260-c1-Press_Releases.html

@Leigh-thank you for saying you had the same fears, and also had a wonderful time--I expect that I will, too!

@Phil--I was in Budapest in August and was a trifle worried when I checked in to my hotel and there's a big placard on the desk warning of all the criminal elements to watch out for-fortunately none of it seemed likely to happen to me since I do not pick up strangers in bars or use money exchanges, etc. I also had the benefit of the excellent advice and wisdom of James to guide me, and I absolutely loved Hungary so much that I very nearly decided for a return trip there instead of Prague.

Someone asked about your "belt-loop pouch;" sounds like it's outside your clothes. You might do better with an under-the-clothes money belt.

Just an FYI since this came up in the thread - there are good belt-loop wallets that hang outside your pants and are very secure. I've used one for all my travels in Europe and have never had any problems. It doesn't matter that people can see it; they can't access inside it. Mine has folds, Velcro, inner zippers and numerous inner pockets that require several steps to gain access.

@Christa, glad you enjoyed Budapest. Admittedly it isn't "overly restored" :-) Good to hear you avoided the bar girls.

It never hurts to add a layer of caution when you are outside your normal environment and away from your normal support systems. Never deny it can happen, but never let it become an obsession. We travel to some pretty interesting places some safer some incredibly precarious; I simply use common sense and adjust my routines accordingly. I have always believed that an appearance of control and self-confidence is one of the most difficult but one of the most effective things you can do to add to your enjoyment and safety.

Be nice. It's not Budapest he has the problem with. It's me. Just try and be understanding and loving towards him.

JS, what do you mean by sketchy? Unreliable or unsafe? What made you think that?
The area 3 blocks behind the San Francisco Opera House looked pretty sketchy in that sense. Run down unpainted old buildings for starters. 250 pound guy, maybe 6' 4", in sweats started to follow me as I started back the right way, toward the parking garage. He followed, right past the Opera House. I decided to stay on the median strip, with cars whizzing on each side, and stare at him until he gave up and went away. Not about to go down into the parking garage with him following. It took a while, but he did.

In Prague, a surprising number of buildings are still unpainted and unrenovated 25 years after the Velvet Revolution. Some were bought by Italian investors who are known for just holding them waiting for maximum appreciation. A new law now requires them to at least restore the facade. Other buildings were sold, apartment by apartment, to their tenants for a minimal price, in a co-op arrangement. The tenants are too poor to do much renovation, or are doing it slowly. Prague was not segregated by business vs residential and rich vs poor, so everything is all mixed together. Except for new developments, this continues to be so in most places. A dim street with some unpainted buildings does not mean at all the same thing as it does in the U.S.

Some of what happens, but not all, is we leave our comfortable US suburban lives and move into a downtown of a major world city and then make unrealistic comparisons. Prague is a spectacular city as safe and probably safer than most downtowns of most equivalent US cities. Certainly not measurably worse.

Yes, Prague has a lot of catching up to do since the change but they have done a very good job. But a lack of fresh paint should reflect on an economic reality and not serve to judge the people.

The word used most often is "gritty", not just for Prague, but in particular when discussing Budapest. But you would be hard pressed to find a safer place, or nicer more helpful people than those in Budapest. I once thought I was just fooling myself but I come in contact with a lot of tourists that go through Budapest and the one constant I always hear is how nice the people were. I never tried a comparative study when in Prague, but is suspect its a regional thing as much as a Hungarian thing.

One of the significant things that makes these places interesting is the lack of McDonldization and Suburbanization. So embrace it. having said that I have to confess that Budapest has the first (and I think the only) McDonalds constructed behind the Iron Curtain. Okay, so that makes it a tourist attraction !!!!!!

I've never been to Walmart or Target so that comparison goes right past me.

Christa, I hope you have decided to come to Prague. I think it's the most beautiful city in Europe. A lot like Paris with its layout along the river, but much cosier. It's easier to walk everywhere because it's not "imperial-sized." Its days of being the capital of the Holy Roman Empire were long before architecture and streets had to be monumental to be imperial, as in Paris, Vienna, even Budapest to some extent. You can actually get right down to the river easily and even sit and have a beer there. It's not as rainy as Paris or as windy as Vienna.

The "skimpy" portions in restaurants that you heard about are just normal-sized portions. Most places, both Czech and tourist, don't serve platters of food so huge you need to take some home, though a few are now starting to do this, to our dismay. In most cases, it's not the artfully arranged green bean draped over a teaspoon of something sprinkled with parsley bits either. (They would get no Czech business with a lunch like that!) Lunch on a weekday/workday is the time to get a good deal on a good meal. There are daily specials everywhere aimed at all the workers in the vicinity. Czechs eat their most substantial meal at noon or 1pm. Dinner at home in the evening is then more of what Americans would call a snack. If you follow suit, you'll do well.

I have not heard good things about hostels. Traveling solo, I had my passport and wallet stolen by roommates in a Danish hostel some years ago and now hear similar stories about some hostels in Prague. Plus they can be noisy with giddy, talkative night owls. If you are saving money, opt for a B&B or small hotel just outside the center but near a tram line.

Pickpockets are a problem, though perhaps less than they used to be. In spring and summer, they used to converge here from all over Europe, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Russia, competing with the local gangs. The last time one attempted to get me, I was helping a visiting friend make change at the Castle ticket counter in an otherwise empty room. He reached his arm into my huge unzipped shopping bag where I had just dropped in my coin purse. I felt it and whirled on him. This was my 14th pickpocket attempt and my patience just completely snapped. I reacted with what you might call instant rage. Looking him directly in the face I yelled, "GET YOUR HAND OUT OF MY PURSE!!!" in my "or-you-die" voice. He was stunned and froze, as did both the ticket seller and my friend, who had never heard this voice from me before. He removed his hand and left with his buddy, huffing loudly (in accented English) about my unjust accusation. Later we saw them sidling up to some Japanese visitors. We took their photo and started toward them, but the guys saw us coming and fled. Interestingly, I have not been bothered in the 6 years since. I found some pants that have zippered pockets at the hip bone, which nicely hold my coin purse now!

This is the only kind of crime I have encountered here. As you see in my posting to JG about "sketchy," American ideas about what is "not safe" give visitors misleading cues. This is the safest city I have lived in. I find it very friendly, too. In short, I love living here!

If you are not going to do any crazy late night partying and drinking, you'll be fine. Besides, the most magical experiences in Prague are at dawn. Go out and wander before breakfast.

May is a GREAT time to come. It's spring, and that's lovely here. Be sure to include a park in your wanderings. The well-known Prague Spring music festival is on then, too, with all kinds of offerings.

Have a great visit!!!

@P Hedgie--I attended the SF Opera just a week ago, rode BART (our area's metro) and got off to walk perhaps 3 blocks and it is indeed a sketchy area, day or night, full of the crazies and all that goes with them and while I've walked that area many times over the years I found myself thinking, "Goodness, what does this look like to tourists?" Thank you for your further detailed answer, too--I am all booked, staying at the Iron Gate on Michalska. I like cities that are easily walkable, and planning at this point to venture outside Prague to Terezin and Kutna Hora.

My comment about the skimpy portions wasn't geared so much towards wanting more food, but surprise that tourists would be cheated that way.

@James--I knew that Budapest would be a little gritty, and at first glance arriving at the train station it was, but its many charms quickly made up for any buildings that were in disrepair. I saw many lovely old buildings near the river that were being renovated and the overall feeling I had there was of progress. The Hungarian people were friendly and as helpful as could be.

PM, I'm not really sure of your point. But I can be a little dense. My living room can be a little sketchy on a Friday night.

JG, I am glad Christa understood my points. I hate for visitors to be worried because they misread clues, that is all.

I declared my love of the city because few people actually ever come right out and say that. And I never thought I would ever say that about ANY city. I am more of a volcanoes and tropical oceans person by birth.

In Frankfurt, taking a dawn walk in the business center I encountered some apparently homeless guys shooting up in a pocket park there. I have been in Paris and in Amsterdam where I have witnessed ethnic tensions, angry explosions, and unprovoked threatening behavior toward the white French and the native Dutch that rival anything I've seen on the buses in San Francisco. We have a greater mix of ethnic groups here in Prague than 25 years ago, but I have not seen any such thing here. The drunken British groups have moved on to Krakow apparently, because residents there are now complaining as loudly as we used to. The violent neo-Nazi clashes with the Roms take place in other Czech cities. I imagine there are truly unsafe places to wander there. I see these things as very international now.

Some prejudices are slow to die, and not for factual reasons. [When did a prejudice ever die when assaulted by facts?] The British branch of Amazon has many sellers who won't mail books to the Czech Republic even though we are in the E.U.now. Amazon.co.uk itself charges outrageous postage and shipping to Prague, well above actual costs if you compare rates with towns just over the border in Germany. We are still "a far away country..." apparently. I coped with this by mailing books to British friends who would bring them to Prague when they came, but many were stolen in transit within England!! Gave that up. Germany's Amazon will mail free to any German-speaking country, and to Brussels, but not to Prague. The American branch of Amazon has no problem, and we have never missed a shipment. Facts. Amazon will soon have a center near the Prague airport, thank heavens.

The car rental business you describe used to be true. I don't know how much it still applies. I advise visitors not to bring a car to Prague anyway. Parking is impossible and public transit is excellent. Rent a car here for countryside trips, as needed.

If you don't mean "unsafe," what DO you mean by "sketchy"? You did not say.

Christa, glad my comments were helpful and glad you're coming.

I forgot to say that the prices for these light lunches are usually extremely reasonable compared with the U.S. and Western Europe. We often go out to lunch and very, very rarely spend more than the equivalent of $15 for TWO people, including a small beer or glass of wine, in our own neighborhood, or perhaps $10 to $12 per person if we are out with friends for lunch in the historical center. You generally get soup and an entree with vegetables for this price, if you order the daily special. Recently, in Vienna -- which has quite similar cuisine, and many places with Czech owners' names, left over from the Hapsburg times-- prices were 150 to 200 % more for the same kinds of dishes.

Would you send me a private note when you get back and let me know how your hotel is? Looks like a good choice. Nice narrow cobbled street, historic building, good location for walking, reasonable prices. I like to have places to recommend to friends or old classmates when they come. A group of us were going around to look at hotels a few years ago because we were all inundated with visitors. However, a lot of those now run upwards of $250 a night. Loved seeing those $1,000 a night suites with the views to die for, however!

As an experienced traveler, I doubt your time in Prague will be much different than any other large European city. We have visted this stunningly beautiful city 3 times and have had no problem. We do our homework and take reasoned precaution, just as I imagine you do. We never took a taxi but walking is easy and rewarding. As for food portions, well, I have yet to meet a plate of food in Prague that didn't intimidate me, and I am fairly adept with a fork. If nothing else, you'll get more Knedlicky than you can handle and the pork knuckle available in many restaurants is simply gargantuan...and delicious. For lodging we loved our stay at The house at the Big Boot, Dum u velke Boty, in Mala Strana. extraordinarily gracious hosts, great room and breakfast and located in the very secure, safe embassy district. I am betting you will have a wonderful visit. Safe travels!

One of my favorite hotels in the world is in Prague. Hotel Ventana. Fantastic location, great service, but $$$$

Christa, if you do go to Kutna Hora, I heartily recommend the wild boar with gingerbread dumplings at Pivnice Dačický. I don't know where else you can find this, and it's wonderful.

@PHedgie--thank you so much for all the info, I'll certainly send a note, and you may get more questions from me as I shape my plans. In fact, here's one now: any good markets for antiques, or areas with shops? When I say antiques I mean "funky vintage", not horribly expensive silver and china.

@Dave--we have an excellent German restaurant in my little town of Alameda and every now and then they do wild boar, that's definitely something I'd be thrilled to find on a menu.

@Denny--when I visited Vienna in August I was completely primed to have stelze but it turned out to be so enormous that I decided I couldn't do it justice on my own!

Hi Christa-
If you post but don't get an answer in a while, send me a private message. I do not haunt this website. :-) I just check once in a while to see what's new. [Love the new stuff about online train info and about how to handle phones and ipads you take with you.]

RE antiques: Most of us trading tips here a few years back used the term "antiques" to refer to furniture shops where you could buy nice pieces, some restored, some not, in lieu of the Ikea stuff or ultra contemporary pieces otherwise so popular here. Some would also have the odd inlaid box that could be fitted with velvet to make a nice jewelry box. Some had silver or porcelain, or kitsch statues. Some of those businesses got wiped out in the 2002 flood, some got flooded again recently. I would guess you are not buying furniture, though. :-)

Off the top of my head, I am thinking you might like to poke around the antique shop at Dlouha 37, just off Revoluční in the Old Town, a short walk from the Old Town Square. It's just called Antik v Dlouhé. It has a crazy collection of all kinds of things. If you look at their website, you can decide whether you'd call them funky or not.

http://www.antik-v-dlouhe.cz/

It's in Czech, but you will learn the words for the categories of things you're looking for by looking at the photos.

I am not much for knick-knacks myself but I keep my eye out for jewelery and glass, and I am always looking for a pretty antique lamp. Some years ago, I persuaded them to sell me an art nouveau desk that they were using to display goods on. By American standards, they are very reasonably priced.

There are also small antiques at the Hotel Antik on the same street ... small selection on one side of the main entrance. A nice cafe is on the other side. I love this street for browsing. There are lots of small and interesting shops.

For Czechs, this is somewhat of a tourist area, so they'd poke around elsewhere. We have been to flea markets held Saturdays in high schools, but that takes a huge amount of time and the pickings were not so appealing. Many, many retired folks selling things to make ends meet.

If you are like me, you might enjoy poking around online before you leave. You can Google "antik" + Prague and see what you come up with. An "antikvariát" has used and old books, magazines, maybe posters, etc. If you put the whole URL in Google translate, it will usually translate the entire page. Czech declines nouns in 7 cases and the verbs are MUCH worse, so some translations are extremely approximate!!

Some of these place would be rather an adventure just to get to. See
http://www.antik-bazar.cz/kontakt.html,

the new location of one of those huge warehouse businesses that were flooded out. This is just as funky a location as the old. You would wander among the broken-down railway buildings to find it. If it's the same as it used to be, nothing is displayed or dusted. 99% certain no one there would speak English. Maybe some Russian if they were brought up under Communism or German if they choose to study it in school. My impression always was that professional antique furniture dealers from abroad got bargains and owners of funky Prague bars were in seventh heaven. Stick with shops closer to the historical center and things will be easier.

Aha, so now I have written you a whole essay. If I have time, I will adapt it as a FAQ for my website hedgie.eu. I post tips for friends and their visitors to use. These days a lot of things are covered by the official sites, so it is not so necessary, but many essentials we need to tell guests are all in one place. There's a quick, 10 minute guide to reading Czech, too. My favorite page.

"...iffy, shady, questionable, risky, and suspicious. In other words, whatever makes your spidey-senses tingle. It's a subjective term, and certainly nothing to get upset about."

I am trying to imagine James' living room on a Friday night!

@ Hedgie....quite true and accurate about the three parallel streets behind the SF Opera House. Good reference to N. Chamberlain on a "far away country"

This might be too late to respond to but I've lived in Prague for 3 years and have never been pick-pocketed. I've seen it happen and I've had friends that have had it happen but I don't think it's as bad as everyone thinks. I've had lots of people come visit and they have been fine too. As long as you are aware that there could be a problem, you should be fine.

Regarding the taxis...if you take one use Modry Andel or AAA. They won't rip you off. But I always call one rather than wave one down.

I rarely eat in the tourist area but on the few occasions I have, I don't feel like I've been ripped off.