Prague is one of the most picturesque cities I’ve ever visited, but this also makes it extremely popular. Dealing with the insane crowds of tourists often became overwhelming – elbowing your way through throngs of tourists with selfy sticks as you cross the Charles Bridge is not my idea of romantic. That coupled with me getting the stomach flu meant that my time in Prague wasn’t quite what I hoped. Nonetheless, the city still managed to captivate me with it’s beauty, history, and timeless charm. Once you get out of the tourist sites, it’s really a lovely city to just wander.
EATS & DRINKS
I Need Coffee: A cute little coffee shop around the corner from our apartment inNové Město. I had hoped to visit EMA and Kavárna co hledá jméno, but my queasy stomach unfortunately prevented me. Go there on my behalf.
Lavande: A nice place for dinner that accomodates all kinds of eaters. I had a delicious house made ravioli and a giant pitcher of hibiscus iced tea to myself that definitely is means for 4 people
Cafe Lounge: A lovely place for lunch, with fantastic coffee and desserts. Make sure you sit in the beautiful back patio.
Ichnusa Bottega Bistro: We ate a lot of Italian food in Prague, which I guess sounds strange, but it was all really delicious. This place had delicious Sardinian food – we had a cured meat platter and I had seafood pasta.
Pizza Nuova: Actually amazing Neopolitan-style pizza. They really push you to get the pasta/pizza tasting menu but we found a pizza a person was juuuuust fine.
Cafe Savoy: The perfect place for breakfast/brunch in a beautiful space with old-world charm.
Eska: One of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever been to. The bread and (homemade) butter was some of the best I’ve ever had.The food is contemporary takes on Czech food, so some of the dishes I loved, but some were a little bit too heavy for me. If I went again, I might order a-la-carte instead of getting the tasting menu, or go back for brunch.
SITES
Prague Castle: Can’t miss it! It’s not really a single castle, but more a series of beautiful buildings. Joe insisted we watch the changing of the guards and it was pretty entertaining – even if we were surrounded by tourists taking photos with their iPads.
St Nicholas Church: An incredibly beautiful church. Not much else to say!
National Gallery of Prague: A slightly off the beaten path site that was one of the highlights of our time in Prague. An amazing collection of Czech but also French and other European art and design. We spent hours here on a grey and rainy day and it was perfect. Their adjoining cafe is also very cute with cool deisgn.
Jewish Museum: Despite the immense ticket price and throngs of people, to me this was a must do-site. There is an incredible amount of Jewish history preserved here, best exemplified by the Jewish cemetery. If you only want to do highlights I’d suggest focusing your time there.
Astronomical Clock: Watching the Astronomical clock do it’s thing is a Prague must-see. We had the pleasure of being serenaded by a youth choir while we waited and it was a truly magical experience.
Charles Bridge: Again, walking across the bridge is a thing to do – our recco would be doing it at sunset, when it’s (slightly) less crowded and you get the benefit of a beautiful sky to look at.
Dancing House: A modern architectural materpiece if you ask me, and a “meh” building if you ask Joe. We got to walk by it every day as we walked from our airbnb into the city centre.
GOOD TO KNOW
- The Prague transit system is frustrating in that there are very few places you can buy tickets with anything other than exact change. We recommend you buy an unlimited pass if you think you might take it a few times, from a bodega/newspaper stand.
- We stayed in a more residential part of Prague (Nové Město) which was really nice. We were only a 20 minute walk to many of the sites but avoided the tourists, and got to have a nice walk along the water each mornings.
- If you can, avoid high tourist season. I’m sure Prague is even more beautiful with less crowds.
- Czech food was not my cup of tea, but there is plenty of delicious food available, you just need to do a little planning/research.
those roofs!