My friend went to Prague for the first time – they had a hotel at the center near the Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) and he had a question:
„Is there any restaurant or bar or club which is a MUST TO SEE ( like an insider) ?“
Since I am not a bar or club expert I wrote about Prague's centre basics to give him a basic orientation. Also tips where to eat, the best of my knowledge about bars and clubs, tips about art (which I am much more informed about) and also a tip for the MUST-HAVE cake.
Note: I am updating and extending this article to reply also to other friends' questions.
Prague's city centre basics
Hello Nino!Your hotel is almost at the Wenceslas square (Václavské náměstí) which is one of biggest squares with a lot of great buildings and the National Museum at the top. Its named after the patron of the country St. Wenceslaus (surprisingly, the English carol Good King Wenceslas is about him) who has also a statue there. It is a truly the most important square for modern Czech history. Here was declared the independence of Czechoslovakia from Habsburg monarchy in 1918 (after 400 years), Czechs protested here against the Soviet invasion and tanks in 1968, Velvet revolution which ended communism and returned democracy culminated there. And unlike at the Old Square from middle ages - you can see this modern history reflected on buildings on Wenceslas square.
As it is a good place to see (and partly shop - see map below). I would rather not go there into restaurants (Starbucks and Pauls are obviously not a problem ;) What is quite disturbing development that Wenceslas square upper part (above Vodičkova-Jindřišská) is the center of sex tourism in Prague - during the night only. My German friend visited with a group of friends - and since they looked like tourist and typical clientele they got offered to "get some girls" and drugs. I was quite shocked to hear that since it never happened to me - on the other hand it highlights that sometimes Prague has to faces. One exploitative-touristic and the second one - rather normal. I will try to get you info to minimize the first one and maximize the second one ;) (e.g. see the post how to exchange money and get from/to airport). But now back to city-basics:
From the Wenceslas square leads the street Na Příkopě, which is something like a middle-class shopping street. It goes to the Náměstí Republiky (Square of the Republic) where is the very popular shopping mall Palladium. When it is cold it is good to know where you can stay for a while ;)
Near all this places is the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) where is the famous Astronomical Clock (Orloj - which show is little bit overrated taking into account the crowds, if you are around take a look but do not wait long for it). From the Old Town Square to the Vltava (Moldau) river goes the luxurious street of Prague called Pařížská (Paris street). Which is very nice with its trees and all the decorative buildings in neo-historical style. The rest of the Jewish quarter is also next to it and is considered tobe one of Prague's highligts (which mean it can be corwded).
Take a look on the map below with the main (shopping) streets in the city center of Prague. Those streets can be quite touristic - so if you get tired and want to see more of "real" Prague explore the sreets next to the main ones.
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| Map (from the article) of shops at the city centre - Wencelas square is the most affordable, Na Příkopě middle and Pařížská luxurious |
Best cakes in the world!
What you HAVE TO visit in the city center is café~café at the Rytířská street near the Wenceslas square! In the German magazine HOME they wrote that they have the best cakes in the world and it is absolutely true! For around 120Kč (5€) you can choose a big cake (Schwarzwalder or Banan bomb, Cheescake etc) and you can get Kofola. Kofola is communist cola which is very popular in the Czech Republic – contains more herbs and less sugar, it tastes differently but "If you love her there is nothing to question." The owner offers there Kofola to make it affordable for students, because cafe-cafe is rather stylish high-end cafe.
Kofola anniversary advertisement
My Map
For Restaurants, Bars and Art it is worth of getting outside of the historic city center.
Restaurants - rather outside Prague 1
The Old Town is quite touristic, which means there are still too many restaurants with overblown prices for their medium to low quality (although there are also the best). Since it can be difficult to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones - it may be easier to get out of Prague 1 (it's not far). And also it would give you a very different feeling of Prague if you leave the crowded Old Town ;)Great alternative is just one metro station from Wenceslas Square - on the green B line from Muzeum to Náměstí Míru (Square of Peace). You will get directly to the centre of Prague 2 - Vinohrady (Vineyards) where the prices respond to quality.
For example you can eat affordably at Einstein Pizza, where you get with the ISIC one pizza and a second one for free. If you want real Italian pizza you have to go to Pizzeria Giuseppe at Náměstí Míru (the same company has also a boat Restaurant Marina on Vltava river with great view on Prague castle, not cheap but special). Or go to Rumunská street as this American foodie suggests (PS: See her FCB).
Hipster districts: Vinohrady, Karlin, Vrsovice
Furthermore Vinohrady boasts a great number of very nice cafes, check my Foursquare list. Another city districts which are not touristic and are becoming quite hip are Karlín (in Praha 8) and Vršovice (in Praha 10) which have been higlihted for their hipster cafes in a Guardian article.Bars and Clubs
With my classmates we usually ended up at the PopoCafePetl at Michalská 15 (they have another 4 bars) at the Old Town where is a quite small dance floor but reasonable prices and good atmosphere.
What is worth of visiting are beer pubs - friends told me Beer museum at Namesti miru is very good and offer wide variety of beers. Also Vinohradsky pivovar=brewery is just a nice non smoking place with local beer.
What have I heard about the clubs: Duplex at the Wenceslas Square is at a touristic centre – rather expensive. Karlovy lázně (Charles bath) near the Charles bridge say about themselves they are the biggest disco at the Central Europe - someone said it's "Erasmus party style" - probably too many people, too drunk and rather mainstream. In Holešovice (metro C station Nádraží Holešovice) there is the Mecca club, which should be very good. At the same district is also SaSaZu which is quite fancy - it has a fusion restaurant which combines different cultures together and I expect to do the same with music.
I found some lists of clubs and bars at TripAdviser which could be helpful:
Art
I can give you tips about art much better than about clubbing. In national gallery (Veletržní palác) in Holešovice, you can see a suprisingly good collection of Picasos, Monets, Manets and other big names (the brother of a premier minister in interwar period was a art collector in Paris thus the National Gallery boats with great art from that period). The best exhibitions take place usually at Rudolfinum at the city center (where is right now La Chapelle – which I can recommend). Opposite from Rudolfinum is the best Czech art school UMPRUM where is until Thursday artsemester, which shows work from all ateliers: architecture, graphic design, mode, illustration, glass etc.
Rudolfinum
My last Prague tip. Do not buy Matrjoška (the doll in which you put smaller ones) as souvenir! It is Russian toy, which has nothing to do with Czech Republic. It is sold by post-Soviet mafia... More about souvenirs here.
Hope some tips will help you!
Enjoy your stay at Prague :)
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