Are you planning a trip to Prague, but you are worried about it being dirty? Have you heard people complaining about the city? What is the truth? Is Prague floating in garbage, or is it really a nice looking and clean city?
There are cities where you walk around and it almost feels as if you are walking on garbage. That might be especially true about Saturday and Sunday morning when the party people have thrown all their garbage on the streets the evening before. Other cities simply doesn’t have a well working litter removal policy, meaning that the garbage cans are packed and the garbage is floating on the street nearby the garbage cans, simply because they are full and people have nowhere else to throw the litter. But, what’s up with Prague? What should you expect in the Czech capital?
Prague and garbage
Many people think that Eastern Europe equals dirt and garbage. But, the fact is that it is often the very opposite that is the truth. How come? In rich nations and in popular nations, they do not really have to do anything, because the tourists will keep coming no matter what.
But, in cities like Prague and other cities in the Eastern Europe, there is a much bigger fight for the tourists. This isn’t only true about the cities themselves, but when you visit a restaurant you will experience the same. The quality and the look of the restaurants is often way cleaner, simply because there is a struggle to survive, and therefore, they feel the need of making it look nice and clean (including the bathrooms).
When you walk the streets of Prague, you will quickly discover that it is almost free of garbage. This has to do with people throwing less garbage on the streets, and also the fact that no garbage on the street makes people watch out so that they do not throw garbage on the street. It is strange, but that is how it works. If you have some garbage in your pocket and it falls on the street next to a cigarette and a chocolate paper, you will leave it there. But, if it falls out of your pocket to the street and it is completely clean, you will most likely pick it up and throw it in a garbage can on the next corner.
Once again – Is Prague a dirty city?
The answer is no! It is, in fact, the very opposite of dirty. Things are clean, the streets are clean, and it looks very nice no matter what time of the year you come. Even during the Christmas markets at the Old Town Square and at the Wenceslas square, they manage to keep the city clean and without much garbage falling to the street.
There is, of course, pollution in Prague. As a result, some of the buildings starts to look a bit dirty and black, even though they might have been shining and beautiful a few decades ago. That is natural and it comes with all the traffic and airport transfers bringing hundreds of thousands of people to and from the city center of Prague every single day.
But, for you as a tourist walking the streets of Prague, you shouldn’t have to suffer much because of pollution or garbage in the streets.
When it comes to the polluted buildings, there is a constant work on renewing and cleaning these buildings, giving them all back their former glory. Besides this, as more and more electric cards and hybrid cars are used in the Czech capital, there is a hope that things will look better and better for every year passing by.
For those worried about the quality of the air in Prague, there isn’t that much to worry about. Luckily, the Old Town is well sealed off from traffic, meaning that you will not bump into a lot of car traffic during your stay (hopefully). If you leave the old town, you will, but as long as you walk around in the walking area of the city, you should be safe!
