Lonely Planet Pocket Prague

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Prague

Prague’s Top Experiences

Dining Out

Bar Open

Treasure Hunt

Under the Radar Prague

Art & Museums

LGBTIQ+ Travellers

For Kids

For Free

Architecture

History

Responsible Travel

Four Perfect Days

Need to Know

Prague Neighbourhoods

Explore Prague

Prague Castle & Hradčany

Malá Strana & Petřín Hill

Jewish Museum & Josefov

Old Town Square & Staré Město

Wenceslas Square & Around

Nové Město

Vinohrady & Žižkov

Holešovice

Survival Guide

Survival Guide

Before You Go

Arriving in Prague

Getting Around

Essential Information

Behind the Scenes

Our Writers

Welcome to Prague

More than three decades after the Velvet Revolution drew back the curtain on this intoxicating maze of winding cobblestone alleyways, the ‘city of a hundred spires’ thrills visitors with dramatic Gothic and baroque architecture. It offers down-to-earth pubs, fin-de-siècle cafes, eclectic art collections and the regal Prague Castle – the world’s largest – looming high over the capital city.

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Prague’s

Top Experiences

Explore Prague Castle

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Marvel at St Vitus Cathedral

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Gather in the Old town Square

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Walk Across Iconic Charles Bridge

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Gain Insight at the Jewish Museum

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Wander the Old Jewish Cemetery

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Hike Up Petřín Hill

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Admire the Baroque Beauty of Loreta

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Stroll along Buzzing Wenceslas Square

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Prague’s Top Experiences

Get Your Art Fix at Veletržní Palác

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Dining Out

The restaurant scene in Prague gets better with each passing year. There has been an explosion in vegetarian and vegan restaurants, though meat is bigger than ever, both in traditional Czech restaurants and in fashionable burger joints.

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Czech Cuisine

Czech food in Prague can be hit-and-miss. Traditional dishes such as roast pork and sliced bread dumplings (vepřová pečeně s knedlíky) or roast beef in cream sauce (svíčková na smetaně) can be bland or memorable (when prepared by someone who cares) so choose your restaurants carefully. Other Czech staples include pork knuckle (vepřové koleno), duck (kachna) and goulash (guláš; pictured), served with beef or pork and bread dumplings.

International Foods

International food trends come and go with the same regularity as in other large cities. Alongside standard international cuisines such as French and Italian, Czechs have developed a taste for good Indian and sushi as well as for Vietnamese and Mexican.

The latest trends include burgers as well as vegan and artisanal food.

Vegetarian Options

The last decade or so has witnessed a revolution in healthy dining, with a growing number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants sprouting up around town. Alas, vegetarian options at traditional Czech restaurants seem to be as limited, with the best bet being the ubiquitous (but often excellent) fried cheese (smažený sýr), served with a dollop of cranberry and/or tartar sauce.

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Best Fine Dining

Field Michelin-starred dining in the Old Town.

Augustine Relaxed sophistication combined with the restaurant’s own beer.

Best Czech Cuisine

U Modré Kachničky Beautiful, classy restaurant in Malá Strana where the speciality is duck in many guises.

The Eatery Sophisticated Holešovice restaurant serving modern takes on Czech classics.

Vinohradský Parlament A 21st-century take on a Czech pub.

Best for Vegetarians

Vegan’s Prague Completely plant-based restaurant on the main tourist route through Malá Strana.

Lehká Hlava Exotic dining room with an emphasis on fresh preparation.

Best for a Quick Lunch

Mistral Café Relaxing Old Town bistro, perfect for breakfast or lunch.

Havelská Koruna Self-service canteen serving cheap, institutional Czech food.

Hostinec U Tunelu Quality lunch menu at an atmospheric tavern.

Top Tips

A Some places charge a couvert (to cover the cost of bread); this should be marked on menus.

A Restaurants around Old Town Square are often sub-par and orientated toward tourists.

Bar Open

Drinking is a Czech national pastime, so it’s no surprise that Prague is an imbiber’s playground. On practically every corner, there’s a pub, wine bar, beer hall or cocktail lounge. Despite an increase in interest in wine and cocktails over the years, Prague remains a beer city, with the national brands now joined by quality microbrews.

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Beer Basics

When it comes to beer (pivo), Czechs prefer light-coloured lagers (světlé) to darker beers (tmavé), though most pubs serve both. Pilsner Urquell is considered the best Czech brand, though Gambrinus, Budvar and Prague’s own Staropramen are popular. Czech beers are usually labelled either dvanáctka (12-degree) or desítka (10-degree), but this doesn’t refer to alcohol content (most beers are 4.5% to 5%). The 12-degree beers tend to be heavier and stronger than the 10-degree beers.

Microbrews & ‘Tank’ Beer

The global craft-beer trend has reached Czechia and is most pronounced in Prague, which boasts around a dozen brewpubs where DIY brewers proffer their own concoctions, usually accompanied by good, traditional Czech cooking. To compete with the microbrews, the larger breweries have come up with several innovations, including offering unfiltered (nefiltrované) beer and hauling beer directly to pubs in supersized tanks (called tankové pivo). Obscure beers from around the Czechia are also well worth trying.

Best for Beer

Prague Beer Museum Not actually a museum but a hugely popular pub, with 30 varieties on tap.

Klášterní Pivovar Strahov Excellent microbrew beer at the Strahov Monastery.

U Zlatého Tygra The classic Prague drinking den, where Václav Havel took Bill Clinton in 1994 to show him a real Czech pub.

Pivovarský Dům Benedict Popular microbrewery with several beers on tap and decent Czech food.

Letná Beer Garden A big beer garden with stunning views over Prague. (pictured)

U Tří Růží Tradition-reviving brewpub cooking up several different types of lager.

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Best Cocktail Bars

Hemingway Bar Snug and sophisticated hideaway.

Tretter’s New York Bar Upmarket New York-style cocktail bar.

Best for Wine

Le Caveau Cosy Vinohrady watering hole and deli featuring excellent French wine.

Café Kaaba Retro cafe that stocks wines from around the world.

Best Cafes

Grand Cafe Orient A stunning cubist gem with a sunny balcony.

Cafe Louvre An agreeable grand cafe and billiards hall.

Kavárna Obecní Dům Legendary Viennese-style coffee house inside an art-nouveau landmark.

Café Savoy Gorgeous coffee house that does a lavish breakfast and good lunches.

Kavárna Slavia Famous cafe opposite the National Theatre.

Top Tips

A Pub tabs, particularly in traditional places, are often recorded on a slip of paper on your table; don’t write on it or lose it.

A To pay up and go, say zaplatím (I’ll pay).

Treasure Hunt

Prague doesn’t initially seem to be a particularly inspiring shopping city. But if you know where to look, you can find great, classic souvenirs: Bohemian crystal and glassware, garnets and puppets. Farm-produced beauty products and old-school children’s toys also make great gifts.

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For mainstream shopping, central Na Příkopě boasts international chains from H&M to Zara. For the most part, you can put your wallet away along Wenceslas Square. Instead, explore the Old Town’s winding alleyways. Ritzy Pařížská is lined with luxury brands. Dlouhá, Dušní and surrounding streets house some original fashion boutiques, while even central Celetná contains a worthwhile stop or two.

Best for Unique Souvenirs

Orel & Friends Stocks authentic, top-notch souvenirs made across Czechia.

Manufaktura Specialises in traditional Czech crafts and wooden toys. (pictured)

Bric A Brac Aladdin’s cave of yesteryear jumble.

Botanicus Natural cosmetics and local, hand-crafted items.

Best for Design & Glass

Modernista Czech cubist and art-deco design with cool ceramics, jewellery, posters and books.

Moser Ornate Bohemian glass objects.

Artěl Traditional glass-making meets modern design in this stylish shop in Malá Strana.

Best for Books & Toys

Shakespeare & Sons More than just a bookshop – a congenial literary hangout.

Kavka Coffee-table art books you won’t find anywhere else.

Under the Radar Prague

Prague’s central core is so lively that many visitors might be mistaken for thinking this is all the city has to offer. The fact is, Prague stretches out in all directions and to places that visitors rarely, if ever, see. Come out to the neighbourhoods to find out what really makes Prague tick.

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Cool Karlín

It’s difficult to tell where the dice will fall in coming years as far as Prague’s coolest up-and-coming neighbourhood