How are the streets in Prague paved?

They say people can watch three things indefinitely: the fire... the sea.... and someone else working. However, the work of the people who pave the cobblestoned streets of Prague is painful to watch. The sheer intensity of the labour is perhaps too close for comfort. We think that the biggest mistake you can make when doing this is thinking about how big an area you have to pave, one stone by one. It's like building the biggest puzzle game ever, again and again, every working day, nine to five.

When we talk with our guests during the tour, one thing comes up repeatedly: the cobblestones in Prague. They are a mixed blessing, really. For a foreign visitor, they are beautiful and romantic, although they do lose points when it comes to comfort. You can leave those high heels at home because you will hardly ever use them in Prague. Local women are an exception - they are simply used to them and seem to have the ability to levitate above the stones in even the highest heels. Czechs also generally like them for their clear benefits and advantages.

First, there are the looks: the cobblestones look better than the cold asphalt. More importantly, they look cleaner than they really are - the uneven surface is forgiving to every cigarette butt and candy wrapper people may leave behind. Corporations also like them when they can order logos to be made out of different-coloured stones in front of their offices. Finally, the stones are recyclable - when a pipe bursts underneath them, you can easily take them out and then put them back again. That is why paving the streets with cobblestones has become a popular pre-election gimmick: many local politicians set out to repave the main streets in their district just before the election to show that they truly care.

Which takes us to the disadvantages of cobblestones. Firstly, their "recyclability"  became a huge problem when Prague hosted the World Bank/IMF summit in 2000, as the protesters from all over the World took to the streets of Prague and used the stones as ammunition against the riot police. Many streets in the centre were stripped of all the stones and became simple dirt roads. (Ouch!) Also, the comfort - or the lack of it - is an issue, especially when the big stones are used to pave the roads. Yes, never buy a used car from Prague because the stones will ruin the entire suspension. Finally, the cobbled streets are demanding in terms of the required labour and time. There is virtually no automation involved, and each stone has to be hammered in manually. Many of our guests were simply fascinated by the work involved in paving the streets when they saw it in action.

The streets around our home were recently re-paved, so Jan grasped this opportunity to interview the workers about their job. The video proves two things: (1) Jan exhibits a striking failure to multi-task for a former conference interpreter and babbles like an idiot when he shoots videos, and (2) people paving the streets of Prague are extremely reluctant to give interview and are clearly surprised when anyone wants to talk to them. We post the video anyway, in all its naked glory. Just enjoy the view of other people working. And please turn on the English subtitles (CC as closed captioning). Enjoy!

Best Prague cafés (according to us)

[If you are reading this, you may have been pointed to this page by Google. Great! But in reality, this is an older post about breakfasts in Prague. If you want to see our updated, 2015 version of the same post, please click here. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your coffee!]

With the Prague Coffee Festival near, it's about time we update the list of our favorite cafes in Prague. Sadly, winter has come early this year (as we write this, the temperature is below 10C/50F, and it's early October), which really means the coffee season has begun. What may be great news for cafe owners is a piece of bad news for ice-cream vendors (although Czech rarely do believe in seasonality when it comes to having ice-cream). The following list is a list of cafes we love and recommend, in no particular order of preference:

EMA Espresso Bar Opened in June, the newest entry on the Prague coffee scene has quickly become very popular. The modern interiors referencing Czech functionalist architecture are full of light and create a nice atmosphere; the staff is nice and knowledgeable and uses their La Marzocco Strada EUR 20,000 machine to prepare cup after cup of delicious coffee. You can always get espresso or drip coffee either from the coffee roasters of their current preference - JB, based in Bavaria, or their "coffee of the week", which includes anything from Square Mile, Bonanza Coffee Roasters, Doubleshot, Union etc. In addition to coffee, EMA offers a few easy and quick fixes: sandwiches, focaccias, two salads, and a small selection of cakes. They do plan to put more focus on food in the future with the addition of a chef, but you should not expect a restaurant. EMA will always remain an espresso bar at heart. One think should be noted: as a true espresso bar, EMA does not offer wifi to its guests. And for those who don't like coffee, EMA offers a small selection of great teas by TeaJay and home-made lemonades.

Muj salek kavy

A long-established Karlin district's staple, Muj salek kavy is loved equally by locals, expats and travelers, and can get quite easily crowded, especially when they close down their outside seating for the winter. The cafe is owned by Doubleshot, arguably the best known independent Czech coffee roasters, and the owners make great use of their own roasts, using their custom-made Spirit Duette coffee machine. Breakfast is served from Monday to Friday until 11am and the whole day over the weekend, and a light lunch or dinner can be had afterwards, including a daily soup. The food is good, but let's face it: the coffee is the star in this establishment. We hardly ever get a cup of coffee without some of their delicious cakes. Our favorites include their cheese cake, carrot cake and banana-and-coffee cake. They are on the sweet side, but we like them. The staff speaks fluent English (one of their baristas is a Melbourne native) and is very welcoming.

Monolok

Nestled in the heart of the Vinohrady district's residential area, Monolok is our favorite place to go when we want to enjoy a cup of great coffee in a quiet, relaxing atmosphere. One of their baristas has currently finished third in the World Cup Tasting Championship (no, we're not making this up), and the waiters are generally very friendly and attentive. Coffee and some simple dishes can also be served in their tiny but nice courtyard. The interior design of this place is lovely, simple and airy

Café Lounge

This definitely IS your daddy's café. While other establishments may unapologetically form a part of the recent hipster café trend, this café and restaurant clearly evoke times long past, the times of Belle Epoque and the First Republic. The café may feel a bit cramped on first sight, but it is very cosy and fills up very quickly. They serve espresso-based drinks, vacuum pots, drips and cascara drinks. This is the only café on the list that features a proper kitchen and doubles as a full-fledged restaurant, and the food is not bad. About the desserts: the Czech baked sweets on the table are nice, but definitely skip the desserts in the glass vitrine. If you want some elaborate cakes, visit the nearby Cafe Savoy instead (but skip the coffee there). In addition to coffee, Café Lounge serves local wines with a focus on organic wines made in Central Europe. The café also rents out picnic baskets in the summer.

I Need Coffee

Owned by the former co-owner of the Leeda fashion label, I Need Coffee sells nice coffee; cakes and macaroons made by Chez Lucie, a famous Czech food blogger (and our friend); some sandwiches; kremrole (Czech merengue-filled rolls); Czech ciders; croissants with jams from Hradec Kralove etc. They also serve breakfasts, mostly of the meatless kind. All served in beautifully designed cups and tableware. The one-room café is beautifully designed in a minimalist fashion. In addition to coffee (and this is the only café on the list that does not offer drips) and food, you can buy some cool books about design, designer towels and glassware, and sometimes a themed T-shirt. I Need Coffee is a great place to stop on your way to or from the Vysehrad Castle.

TriCafé

The owner of this small café near the Charles Bridge is a photographer (and some of his equipment is on display in the café) who used to work at Café Lounge. TriCafé serves good coffee, nice home-made cakes and nice savory treats. To call the design of this café minimalist would be an understatement: the café features just the bare essentials: the bar, a few tables and chairs. That's it. However, the atmosphere is very relaxed and nice (even though the Charles Bridge is just few steps away), and you can see they all put all their heart into their little cafe.

Kavárna Pražírna

If you need a dose of caffeine and you're near the I.P. Pavlova subway stop at the border of the New Town and the Vinohrady district, the Prazirna is the place to go. As the Czech name of the place suggests, the café roasts its own beans. The place is located in a cellar and is popular among locals, especially in the evening. If you need wifi, sit in the first room, while the second room will provide more privacy. While we are not blown away by their selection of small nibbles (clearly there's space for improvement when it comes to food), they do understand their coffee and they always welcome you with a smile.

AlCafetero

One of the first gourmet coffee establishments in Prague, this mom-and-pop operation has been on the coffee map for years. The owner reigns supreme in this café (e.g. refusing to serve sugar with the coffee), and a visit to this café is more like a visit to the owner's living room: it's small, and it's personal. That said, the place has a loyal following, and offers some nice small dishes, cakes and pastries made by the owner's wife (who, incidentally, comes from the same small town in Eastern Slovakia as Jan's mom).

Mezi zrnky

Mezi zrnky in the Vinohrady district is a diminutive café replacing the now extinct Cup Up café. Their barista Jara is a coffee geek full of ideas: recently, the café organized a coffee pairing with food. This café can serve also as a bistro: the establishment offers a daily soup and some other small dishes. It is small, with the seating capacity of no more than ten, but it's quite cosy. We love their tables decorated with newspaper shreds.

Mushroom picking in Prague

We always try to persuade our guests to step out beyond the ordinary and do something they may not even have planned to do while in Prague. Not that it's mandatory. But it could be definitely fun, and this time of the year offers a great opportunity to do something that probably was not on your list, and is food related: picking mushrooms in Prague. As we never forget to highlight during our tours, Czechs (along with the Germans and perhaps Slovaks) must be the world champions of mushroom picking. This is definitely a cultural phenomenon not shared by all the European cultures: the Spanish cringe at the idea of pickled mushrooms, a delicacy here in the Czech Republic, and mushroom picking is illegal in the Netherlands (and we're not talking about "those" mushrooms).

Mushroom picking turns into a craze especially during the fall season, with popular daily newspapers dedicating multipage inserts to the best mushrooms, the best locations where to find them, and the best recipes how to cook them. The only year when people did not pick mushrooms was 1986, the year of the Chernobyl disaster: the Communist government downplaying the effects of the blast and withholding information from the people, the myth was that the mushrooms were full of radioactivity from the acid rains that allegedly followed the tragedy.

Nevertheless, people do love picking mushrooms. Not really an adrenaline-packed activity, we would liken mushroom picking to a blend of fishing and golfing: you get to walk through beautiful surroundings while waiting for the perfect "catch". The best time to go is early in the morning, especially after a night rain. And preferably on a working day to avoid the crowds of other mushroom pickers. If you have a morning to spare and do something really local and different, we think mushroom picking is the activity for you.

"How do I know which mushrooms to pick? My travel insurance does not cover poisoning by mushrooms!" We hear you ask. Don't worry: if you are not sure which mushrooms to pick, you can visit the "Mushroom Advice Centre" in the centre of Prague, run by the Czech Mycological Society, a publicly-funded organization, and their experts will sort the basket for you on the spot. Just remember: never store the mushrooms in a plastic bag, and opt for ventilated storage instead.

Now, there are several places where the locals go to pick mushrooms, but in the interest of simplicity and convenience, we will just mention one, which has already been tested by several of our guests with good results: the Kunraticky les forest. Getting there is easy: just hop on the subway and get to the Roztyly subway stop in the Haje direction on the red "C" line. Walk out and you'll see a dense forest on your right. Getting there takes less than 30 minutes from the centre. The forest is well organized and includes well-marked, color-coded routes that will lead you back to the Roztyly or Chodov subway stops. Other points of interest in the forest include a small zoo of local forest animals and - if you venture far enough into the Kunratice part of the town that feels more like a village - a nice branch of the Lokal pubs (called U Zavadilu) that offers great Czech dishes and beer (and is located near a bus stop that will take you back to the subway stop).

Don't have a full morning to spare? No problem. You can still get a taste of how the Czech cuisine uses mushrooms (which we think should be the cornerstone of vegetarian, or any, Czech cooking) in some of our favorite restaurants in Prague, although, sadly, not many restaurants have made full use of what we think should be the king of autumn seasonal menus here. Čestr offers a lovely mushroom sauce with their array of steaks and a mushroom salad, although it is not available every day (and they also make a wonderful truffle sauce to go with steaks and a roast chicken with truffle stuffing if you think truffles belong to the mushroom family). If you want to taste a great Kulajda, a slightly sour creamy potato soup with dill mushrooms, head over to Essensia in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, although be prepared to spend some serious money there. For a cheaper, but still delicious, version, visit Café Imperial. Finally, Mlynec seems to be making great use of mushrooms in their revamped Czech-inspired tasting menu (although we have not been there yet after they reopened the restaurant).

Charles Bridge - Early Morning Edition

One of the things we always recommend to our guests is that they visit the Charles Bridge, one of the main sights in Prague, early in the morning. That is the only way to see it "naked", without the crowds of large tourist groups that visit the bridge later in the day. It is also the only time of the day the Charles Bridge is truly used by the locals for its original purpose - as a bridge. Later in the day, the locals tend to avoid the Charles Bridge and the crowds on it, opting instead for the two bridges on each side. Now, when we give this recommendations, many guests generally like the idea of an empty Charles Bridge, but really dislike the idea of waking up early. You don't do that when you're on vacation, right?

That is why we visited the Charles Bridge early in the morning ourselves to show you what you should expect if you indeed decide to go, or if you are still jet-lagged and don't know what to do when you wake up early in the morning and can't fall asleep. We took these pictures in the spring at about 7am, just as we were heading out to the Main Train Station to pick up Jan's cousin and her boyfriend arriving in Prague on the overnight train from Slovakia, due to arrive at 7.30.

Obviously, you can see that the bridge is pretty empty and offers some very nice views when the day starts. You will see a few people on the bridge: council workers cleaning up the bridge, the occasional jogger, a few photographers taking advantage of the opportunity, and a few locals going to work. We absolutely love the atmosphere of the place just as the city is waking up. We'd recommend that you walk to the Old Town and just get lost in the narrow streets between the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. Trust us. You may make memories of a lifetime. And when you get hungry, start the rest of the day in one of the places we recommend.

Enjoy the day!

Breakfast in Prague

(Please note that this is an older post on breakfast in Prague. Click here for the most up-to-date post on the best breakfast in Prague.) 

For some, it is a waste of time, and a croissant and coffee or a bit of yoghurt will do. For others, breakfast is a vital start that sets the tone for the rest of the day. We must admit we belong to the second category. For us, a late breakfast is definitely one of our favorite pastimes. There's nothing better than getting out of the bed with the promise of some scrambled eggs with bacon, fluffy pancakes, delicious coffee - okay, now we're salivating. What makes a breakfast so great is you can stop for a moment, think about all the things you did yesterday, and plan the day ahead of you. All this thinking deserves a nice meal. Whether you prefer savory or sweet, we give you a list of our favorite breakfast spots in Prague:

Café Savoy

This is one of our favorite places for breakfast. The art deco interior is nice but not overwhelming. The high ceilings are airy and there's lots of light inside, which is something we like. This is a great place for people watching: the crowd is a mix of elegantly dressed locals and visitors from abroad. When you walk downstairs to the bathrooms, you’ll pass the wine cellar and if you go further, you can have a look at the bakery where they prepare their delicious pastries. Book a table in advance (especially for weekend mornings) and have the French toast, one of the best croissants in the city with wonderful apricot marmalade, baked brioche bread with ham and Gruyere cheese and a poached egg, or scrambled eggs - all delicious! Their sausages are also nice. They also have a nice but pricey selection of teas, but we are not huge fans of their coffee, despite them having beans from local roasters - so we hope they improve on their coffee-brewing skills.

Café Lounge

If coffee is an important part of your breakfast, then Café Lounge, just a few steps off Café Savoy, might hit your fancy. As for breakfast, you can choose from several items that include sausages, scrambled eggs, ham-and-eggs, Bircher muesli, or you can build your own “Hunger Wall” (which actually runs through the patio of the café), i.e. you can choose create your own breakfast set. We also like their sandwiches, especially the chicken-and-egg sandwich sandwich, or their focaccia with grilled vegetables and goat cheese or chorizo. If you prefer a sweet breakfast, we recommend you opt for the Czech sweets - sweet buns or kolachees. Definitely avoid the pastries in the cooler - they may look nice but they fall behind in terms of taste. Fresh juices and a wide selection of tees are also available for the non-coffee drinkers. When the weather permits, definitely choose a table in their lovely garden.

Home Kitchen

This small and intimate place really feels like home: you sit at two communal tables, and the staff is friendly and helpful. The selection for breakfast is small but tasty and of high quality. Apart from eggs, you can also get pancakes and good bread with several toppings, or choose from a daily selection of three soups served with bread and flavored olive oil. Home Kitchen is great for really early breakfasts, opening as early as 7:30. However, they are closed on Sundays. The only downside is that they don't serve tap water, but we still like it a lot.

Můj šálek kávy

Another of our favorites in Prague, Muj salek kavy is a lovely and a very popular place located in the Karlín district, which has witnessed dramatic renewal since the 2002 floods, and is almost always packed. We both have favorites on their breakfast menu: while Zuzi likes their home-made muesli with Greek yoghurt and fruits, Jan always orders their omelette with ham, cheese, mushrooms and tomatoes. Their coffee is delicious, and their beans, roasted in house by the owner of the cafe, the Doubleshot roasters, are served both in espresso-based drinks and in drips. You can even order a tasting set of three different drip coffees. We love their home-made lemonades, and we never leave without tasting one of their delicious cakes. Oh, and the pistachio ice-cream is finger-licking-good.

Pasta Caffé

Although the crowds - an eclectic mix of shady Czech businessmen and B-list celebrities - may not be to our taste at times, their breakfast sets are a terrific value and consist of  good-quality components. We love the boiled eggs with Parmeggiano cheese or fried eggs with spinach and onions, for instance. Later in the day, they focus on lighter, pasta-based dishes and salads. They also offer a nice selection of Czech and Italian pastries if you cannot imagine your breakfast without a sweet ending. They have another branch in the Vodickova street near the Wenceslas Square with a virtually identical menu.

Café Imperial

Being a hotel restaurant, Café Imperial offers a breakfast buffet and breakfast sets in addition to the a la carte choices. Their staff is very polite and professional, at times to the point of being a little bit stuffy. Their menu is very extensive and you will find it hard to find something missing. We liked our breakfasts (poached eggs and the English breakfast set) the last time we visited, although we must admit we would skip the croissant and jam the next time. The interior, with its high ceilings and the walls covered in tiles, is striking, but may make the impression that you are eating in a spa. :-)

Monolok

This nice café off the beaten path is located in the Vinohrady district, and its location is excellent if you want to explore the area further (which is something that we definitely recommend). They serve delicious coffee and offer a small selection of breakfast dishes: nice sausages, egg-based dishes, muesli, pancakes, fruits, and a few breakfast sets. If the weather is nice, definitely get a table in their lovely patio in the courtyard. Their baristas are really good and the staff is very friendly in general. The only problem we have with this place is, ironically, the owners - they don't seem to be interested in how their guests are doing or if they feel welcome, and just boss their employees around in front of the guests.

La Bottega di Finestra

This shop/bistro near the Charles Bridge is a bit upscale, just like the sister restaurant next door, but their eggs Benedict are worth a visit alone. The few breakfast dishes they serve are all of very good quality, and they make full use of their own in-house bakery. The shop/bistro combo plays very well to the customer's advantage: all the ingredients are fresh and tasty.

EMA Espresso Bar

OK, this is not a place for "proper breakfast" with eggs and bacon, but if you want great coffee in a relaxed and nice atmosphere, and you'll do just fine with a small sandwich or croissant, we cannot recommend EMA enough. As an added bonus, you can meet us there - we are there so often we are thinking about having our mail forwarded there ;-) No, really, the baristas are excellent, and the coffee usually fantastic. In addition to their more regular coffees, they always offer something special as their "coffee of the week", so you'll never get bored. In terms of food, they offer fresh sandwiches, one or two salads, and something sweet. They also serve fresh juices and home-made lemonades.

Where can you have a salad in Prague?

The heat is presently boiling Prague and its people, making a stay outside very exhausting. And if we trust the weather forecast, we’ll still have to suffer through the heat wave the next week (well, the temperatures should drop with thunder storms on Tuesday). With temperatures this high, it can be difficult to imagine yourself doing anything outside, let alone eating.

The only thing we crave during these days is watermelon and salads. Unfortunately, for many restaurants in Prague salads are still sort of an afterthought. In too many places you can still find the following only: chopped iceberg lettuce, a tomato cut in six wedges, some cubes of cucumber, add a bit of salty cheese and four green olives and voila - you have a Greek salad! Luckily for you, we have some tips because a good salad is hard to find.

Imperial – The Imperial Café offers a great selection of salads. This is the place if you love your food in a Belle Epoque interior. Although essentially a hotel restaurant, Imperial has a great reputation among the locals, and their menu includes classics like the Caesar salad but done right: not with iceberg but romaine lettuce. Other salads include goat cheese salad or the endive and orange fillets salad.

La Bottega di Finestra– The sister restaurant of the next-door La Finestra di Cucina restaurant, La Bottega di Finestra, the more casual bistro, offers a nice selection of salads. You can mix whatever you like on a plate, order some bread baked in house, have their cucumber lemonade, and eat it there or have it wrapped to go.

PastaCaffe – This is a great option when you crave something simple and decent. The salad with Gorgonzola and avocado has a nice orange dressing, but we usually go for a salad with tuna, which, although canned, is of good quality. Go to the Vodickova branch or watch the Czech nouveau riche in the branch near the Old Town Square.

Muj šalek kavy– A very popular café, Muj salek kavy offers smaller meals and at least two salads in their menu. Complex, fine dining dishes? No. Quick, tasty meals? Yes. Don’t forget to have one of their ice-creams made by 2AD in Tuchlovice, a small village about 15 miles off Prague, or combine it with their delicious coffee in a cup of Affogato.

Café Lounge– Another one of our favorite cafes, this time on the Castle side of the river. In addition to great coffee, they prepare full meals for lunches and dinners. However, we return there for their grilled vegetables and goat cheese combo. Two additional perks: tap water is served without any obstructions, and their lovely garden in the courtyard offers a shady, cool environment, and an intimate contact with the medieval Hunger Wall that runs through it.

Café Savoy – Just two minutes by walk from Café Lounge, Café Savoy is slightly upscale, and we usually recommend it for a rich, plentiful breakfast. Perhaps not the lightest of meals in these hot days, but their French toast is to die for. That said, they also have a small selection of nice salads, some adding cheeses or meat to the mix.

Home kitchen – One of the most popular bistros in the centre, Home Kitchen changes their offer daily. Their daily specials usually include a salad and they are open to adjust it to the client’s tastes. In addition, their summer soup menu includes a cold soup daily. We also love their breads with different toppings.

Cestr – We can hear you say it: “Salad in a steak house? Are you crazy?” No, according to our doctors, we’re not. Čestr makes salads using locally sourced products from local farmers. In addition, they really know how to season even a plain salad: we get great responses from our guests about the simple garden salad, too. We recommend the salad with the cheese from the Krasolesi farm, or the sheep cheese salad with oregano, or the roast beef salad (obviously). And don’t forget to have a scoop of their delicious beer ice-cream.

Dish fine burger bistro – Just like in Cestr, Dish’s forte is in meat, namely burgers. However, this should not deter you if you crave a salad. They offer two salads as we write this: one with watermelon, tomatoes and feta, and another one with marinated fennel, citruses and mint. Their older salad, arugula with caramelized garlic and ricotta cheese, remains Zuzi’s favorite to this day – quite logical, given that she was born in a village known as the “garlic capital of the Czech Republic”.

Pizza Nuova– Are you really hungry and crave something more substantial? Than we recommend Pizza Nuova’s all-you-can-eat salad and tapas bar, which offers good value for decent food, ranging from salads, smoked fish, cold cuts, olives and so on to cheeses and other Italian products.

Pho Vietnam – If Asian flavors is what you are looking for, head over to the Vinohrady district for a plate of Bún bò Nam Bộ, Vietnamese beef noodle salad. Head over to the branch at Anglicka street, which offers seating.

No matter of what eatery you visit, remember the three Hs of summer: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Enjoy the sun... and the salad!

Picnic in Prague

Our lovely guests joining our todays' tour, Eleanor and Max, have expressed a wish to have a picnic in Prague. What a great idea! To be honest, having a picnic in one of Prague's plentiful parks is one of our favorite things to do in Prague when the heatwave hits. "Why?" We hear you ask. We'll tell you why!

First of all, having a picnic in a park among locals is a great way to relax after you've had enough of the crowds occupying the main sights in Prague. Second, Prague is a hilly town so many parks offer splendid views of different parts of the town. Many of our guests ask where they can get a romantic meal with a view, and for some, a picnic may be the answer and the memorable experience you will be bringing home with you. Third, it is perfectly legal to have a drink or two in public places; therefore, nothing stops you from enjoying a nice bottle of Bohemian or Moravian wine with the picnic, or enjoy a chilled lager or ale from a beer specialty shop. Finally, some really nice food can be had in the shops surrounding some of our favorite spots for picnic, so you won't be hauling heavy loads across the city. The only slight niggle you may have about the whole experience is the fact that you may, at times, be eating your food about two feet from a hungry labrador staring at you with those hungry, sad eyes. But they never stay for long, trust us!

And because we want our guests, including Eleanor and Max, and you to make the best out of your stay in Prague, we have put together a small map of our favorite places for a nice, calm and tasty summer picnic. The map does not stop at the recommended spots for picnics but goes beyond that: it shows the suggested shops where you can find some delicious food to bring with you.

Kampa park

Ah, the Kampa park… Jan used to spend all his high school days over there, hanging out with his friends… usually not studying. The Kampa is a very hip, local park in the centre. Just a few meters off the Charles Bridge, one of the most crowded sights in Prague, it has still retained its local character. You will find everything there: dogs running around, people throwing frisbees, practicing tai-chi, playing the drums etc.

Petřín hill

The ultimate picnic with a view. We have been recommending this place for a picnic for over a year now, and it still is hard to beat when it comes to the view. After you're finished eating, you can follow on to the Strahov monastery and the Prague Castle. And if that hill seems intimidating or you're not feel like climbing steep hills in hot weather, there's a solution: simply buy a ticket for the funicular car and get off at the middle station. Easy!

Letná park

The Letná park is a place where people in Prague love to go for jogging, roller-blade skating, riding bikes or simply having a cup of beer in the local beer garden. The whole park becomes alive with the first spring days, and stays that way until the fall. The park is a place that makes you realize there's more life in Prague than just the centre, and may invite you to explore some other districts, including the Letná itself.

Stromovka

If you want to have a picnic like a local, you must visit the Stromovka, the biggest park near the centre of the town. The Stromovka actually includes designated picnic areas where grilling is allowed, including benches and tables. Nothing will disturb you there, save for the occasional train running through the park. If you'll see horses, don't panic: there's is an equestrian centre near the park. Follow the horses and then follow on to the Prague ZOO and the Troja chateau.

Riegrovy sady

A very popular park that is the perfect place for a late picnic: the park offers a great view of the Prague Castle and the Old Town in the sunset. You don't have to bring beers along, with a wildly popular beer garden just a few steps away. The park also doubles as the gateway to the Vinohrady district, which offers lots of great food and architecture.

Vítkov hill

The Vitkov hill may not be on the first pages of your guide book but we think it is an absolutely awesome place for several reasons. First of all, you'll find solitude there, if you want it: the slope offers many hidden parts and small areas that offer at least some privacy. Second, you will see Prague from a different perspective - either the centre over a huge railroad track coming out of a tunnel underneath the hill, or the Zizkov district from one of the designated picnic areas along the old-railway-now-turned-into-a-cycling route. Third, you can visit the awesome National Memorial at the top of the hill, and enjoy one of the most stunning views of anything you've ever seen.

Show Picnic spots & where to shop on a larger map