Emergencies and health

The emergency number

112 reaches police, ambulance and fire from any phone, including a locked one, and the operators speak English. The direct Czech numbers also work — 155 ambulance, 158 police, 150 fire — but 112 is the one to remember.

Healthcare as a visitor

Czechia has a public health system. EU/EEA citizens with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) are entitled to state healthcare on the same terms as residents. Understand exactly what that means:

• It covers state providers, not private clinics.
• It does not cover repatriation home.
• It does not replace travel insurance; it complements it.

Visitors from outside the EU should assume they will pay and should not travel uninsured.

Pharmacies

A pharmacy is a *lékárna*, marked with a green cross. Normal hours are shop hours, and the city has several pharmacies open around the clock. Pharmacists usually speak some English and can advise on minor problems.

Tap water

Safe and good. Bottled water is a restaurant habit here, not a precaution.

Smoking and drinking

Smoking is banned inside restaurants, pubs and bars. Several parts of central Prague also restrict drinking alcohol in public spaces, and the city has tightened rules around late-night noise in the Old Town — take the party indoors after dark.