Prague - Worth the Crowds?

It can be pretty overwhelming but there are lots of places to get away from the crowds .My advice get out early
https://www.nakedtourguideprague.com/
this company does small group tours and has an early morning tour that lets you see parts of the city before all the crowds arrive.
https://www.livingpraguetours.com/
this company does small group tour and they tend to take you to the more secret parts of Prague or access parts by little lanes and alleys so you are not in the crowds all the time.
It is very easy to get away from the main tourists area buy jumping on a tram or metro a few stops.
I spend a lot of time in Letna Park Beer garden during the warmer weather,great views over the city and if you like to spend an evening looking over the city it is not a bad place to be ,great beer and some good fast food but there is also a decent restaurant in the beer garden and plenty of other places for a meal nearby.
I will be in Prague during the middle of August 6th-17th with a couple of friends from my walking group,I may organise a walk away from the tourist areas and invite folk that are in Prague at that time to join me,did that on new years day and a couple of Rick Steve member joined me.

If you want to visit Prague to take in its stunning architecture why does it matter if you're surrounded by tourists or people who call Prague home? Locals are going to be going about their daily business not taking in the architecture so of course you're going to be surrounded by tourists, they're there for a reason and it's the same reason you want to go. Even if you were surrounded by locals would it make any difference?

My experience is that Prague doesn't suffer the volume of tourists that Venice does however it will be busy in August as will many places in Europe.

You might want to go midweek. Weekends, the revelers from places like the UK take inexpensive flights to Prague.
Have you considered Dresden? It was perhaps Europe's most beautiful city at one time, and it is between Prague and Berlin.

I loved the architecture and absolutely hated the crowds. Unbearable. And when you get that many nagging tourists in such small areas the service providers tend to be a little burned out and not so enjoyable. Yes, there are many interesting places to see that are out of the crush, but would you go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower? Makes no sense to go someplace and miss what the world goes there to see and do. BUT, i love the place just the same.

Whether or not Prague is worth the crowds is something only you can decide. I was there in July a couple of years ago and the only place I really felt that the crowds made almost unbearable were the Charles bridge and the old town square (with the astronomical clock). If you stay in or near old town and get to these places early or late you can avoid the worst of the crowds. I loved Prague and the crowds didn't ruin it for me, but then I felt that way about Venice, Florence, Versailles too. Some people are more bothered by crowds than others. I'm more of the 'just go with it' type so crowds never stop me from seeing something I otherwise want to see.

Prague - Worth the Crowds? The crowds are evidence that it's worth it. Go to, let's say Ostrava and it will be without crowds and you will have only locales around you. If you want to avoid crowds in Prague see the popular places early. Prague is an eye candy and there are plenty of places without crowds there. Venice and Florence are more crowded, Rome is comparable.

Thanks for all the comments. I think we’ll be heading elsewhere....Appreciate the suggestion about Dresden!

We spent a week in Dresden this past Autumn , and it was worth every minute . If you are an art lover , it should be at the top of your list .

I was there July 2016. It was more than worth it. Being on the St. Charles Bridge mid day, or in the Jewish cemetery was not. Go early go late. Visit beyond the St. Charles.

Thanks for all the comments. I think we’ll be heading
elsewhere....Appreciate the suggestion about Dresden!

I usually don't recommend Prague anymore since the crowds really have become horrible. But if you want to see "Old Europe", with two teenagers, it's probably the best destination, since all equally beautiful places are much smaller and probably pretty boring for teenagers.

And Dresden? Well, the city offers a small reconstructed old town with many world-class museums, some of them unique enough for teenagers (Green Vault, armory), a lively 19th century quarter on the other side of the river, and a few very nice and posh suburbs with vineyards, castles, beer gardens and so on.
Dresden is a great base for day trips. You can visit beautiful old towns (Meissen, Bautzen, Görlitz, Freiberg... some of them look a bit like Prague in small btw.), castles and fortresses, you can hike in Central Europes most picturesque mountains, there are nostalgic paddle steamers, steam trains, funicular and suspension railways, a village with nothing but Christmas shops all year round deep in the mountains etc..

The last time I was in Prague was in the summer of 2016 as a day trip...yes, crowded but worth it for sure. I'll be back in Prague after mid-May 2018 on the night train from Vienna to add to the short time I have there.