Prague has been ranked among Europe's top 10 rudest cities

A poll put Prague in sixth place for rudeness, but Paris and London took the top spots

Raymond Johnston

Written by Raymond Johnston Published on 01.06.2020 14:13:58 (updated on 01.06.2020) Reading time: 2 minutes

Prague ranked number six on a list of the rudest cities in Europe in a survey conducted by CEOWorld magazine before the coronavirus pandemic.

The magazine surveyed 178,500 European adults at the end of 2019, asking them to pick the top five rudest cities in Europe from a list of the 50 largest European cities, including ones outside the European Union such as London, Kyiv and Moscow. Criteria for what counts as rude was not stated.

Well-known cities tended to fill the top of the list, while more obscure ones were near the bottom. But there were some exceptions. Paris, London, Budapest, Vienna and Amsterdam took the top five spots, just ahead of sixth-placed Prague.

The seventh through ninth spots went to Birmingham, Lyon and Manchester, which are not exactly global centers. Berlin finished out the top 10.

Paris was picked as rude by 36% of those who answered the survey. Prague was named by 9.2% of respondents.

At the other end of the spectrum, Saint Petersburg was in 50th place, with only 1.2% of people naming it as rude. Helsinki and Madrid tied for 49th place, with 1.4%.

Rudeness is Prague has been a hot topic for years, with discussions on platforms such as Reddit and Tripadvisor. Some people point out that Czechs do make polite gestures, saying “Dobrý den” when entering stores and constantly greeting neighbors on the stairs.

People who visited Prague as tourists point to unhelpful staff at shops and kiosks, and lackluster restaurant service paired with not-so-subtle demands for high tips. This has been in the news again, as some establishments are trying to make tipping 10% standard.

On the other hand, Czechs have been known to find the behavior of foreigners to be very rude, especially while eating. Talking too loud, not sharing the sidewalk, and blocking train or tram doors also makes the list.

The magazine’s ranking can hardly be takes as scientific, as few if any of the respondents were in a position to compare all 50 cities. But Prague’s high ranking can be seen as at least an indicator.

CEOWorld magazine is a website aimed at CEOs, CFOs, investors, executive professionals, business leaders and high net worth individuals. It is based in New York and was established in 2008.

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