This store is probably one of Prague’s best know and it is often featured in Czech and international design magazines, and that’s with a reason. Modernista is the foremost dealer in 20th century Czech avant-garde design-classics and also acts as design consultant for hotels and restaurants. It has specialized in originals and reproductions of furniture and decorative arts in styles such as Bauhaus, Art Deco and Czech Cubism (the golden age of Czech design) as well as contemporary work by leading Czech designers. At Modernista's gallery in the heart of Prague's Old Town you will find a wide selection of items such as furniture, lightning, ceramics and toys from the first half of the 20th century as well as contemporary glass and jewelry.

Modernista, Celetná 12
www.modernista.cz

Getting to and from the airport

There are no direct buses from the airport to the center of Prague. You have to change halfway from bus to metro, which is actually very easy. The airport personnel will help you by explaining which bus and metro to catch. The price for the entire trip is 20 koruna (1€ = 28 Kč).

Another way to get to the center is by one of the shuttle taxies that go back and forth between the airport and the city center. There is room for four passengers in the taxi and the trip costs 480 koruna, no matter the amount of passengers.

And finally there is the possibility of taking your own private taxi to the center. It costs 600-700 koruna.

Getting around in Prague

Public transportation works perfectly well in Prague. The fastest way to get around is without any doubt the metro, which is very easy and manageable. Tickets can be bought at the small newspaper agents that are all over town, or in the metro stations.

By David Rich

987 Design Prague Hotel  

987 Design Prague Hotel really makes an effort to live up to its name. The hotel is packed with furniture classics by prominent designers, such as Philippe Starck, Le Corbusier and Arne Jacobsen. There are 80 rooms in the hotel, which is located in a former residential building from 1921. The rooms are relatively small, but well arranged. Most noticeable is the dark granite looking bathrooms with bright orange doors. The hotel has an excellent location in walking-distance from all the main tourist attractions in Prague.

140 € and up

987 Design Prague Hotel, Senovážné Námĕstí 15,
www.987praguehotel.com

Hotel Yasmin

This hotel, close to the Wenceslas Square, is one of Prague’s new designer hotels. The interior design has organic shapes and the hotel is kept in light cream colors, except the bathrooms, which are black. Large mirror-ball lamps are hanging all over the reception area, from where you have access to a pleasant yard.

173 € and up

Hotel Yasmin, Politických Vĕzňů 12/913,
www.hotel-yasmin.cz

It can be discussed whether this hotel, located on the Wenceslas Square, should be recommended. It is totally worn-down, the beds are small, the water pipes are noisy and there is a smell of goulash everywhere! Nonetheless, you should not completely avoid the place. It is an architectural beauty, built in an extravagant Jugend style. If you skip staying over at Hotel Evropa, you should at least have a cup of coffee in the hotel’s high-ceilinged restaurant.

Room with a shower: 70 € and up

Hotel Evropa, Václavské Námĕstí 25
www.evropahotel.cz

Hotel Páv

Hotel Páv is a small, newly renovated hotel in the middle of the SoNa neighborhood. The hotel is simple and stylishly decorated and kept in light colors.

80 € and up

Hotel Páv, Křemencova 13
www.hotel-pav.cz

La Boutique Hotel

A small and simple hotel with large, comfortable rooms. The hotel is located in the area Andel, a few minutes walk south of Mala Straná. The nearest neighbor to La Boutique Hotel is the Staropramen brewery, where you can go on a guided tour.

70 € and up

La Boutique Hotel, Staropramenna 728/3,
www.laboutique.cz

By David Rich

It is fun to go out at night in Prague, where you can find something for every taste. The city’s venues are packed all week, but particularly on weekend nights. Bars and nightclubs close late and most often you don’t have to pay to get in.

In Josefov you will find the so-called “triangle of sin”, a tempting place with its numerous bars and nightclubs.

Roxy is one of Prague’s most popular night clubs and it is located in an old shut-down theater, only a few minutes walk from the Old Town Square. The principal space is a large dance floor with an overlooking balcony. Local and international DJs mix. Roxy is not the place to go for a deep conversation over a well-prepared cocktail. But if you want cheap drinks and dancing to loud electronic music, go!

Roxy, Školská 28
www.roxy.cz

M1

Another popular place in “the triangle of sin” is M1. You sit in the red couches that line the concrete walls of the rough and industrial space and sip your cocktail while you watch the hip and the chic let their hair down. At the bottom of the long room is the DJ booth. Particularly on weekends the mood incites you to dance.

M1, Masná 1
www.m1lounge.com

In the same street as Roxy, you will find Bombay Cocktail Bar, which gets crowded every night of the week. The place is mainly frequented by ex-pats – particularly American university students - who are evidently not just coming to enjoy the cocktails, but also the opposite sex.

Bombay Cocktail Bar, Dlouhá 13
www.rasoi.cz

Chateau

The American exchange students’ favorite place to go out in Prague must be Chateau, where a lot of other foreigners and Czechs come as well. In the upstairs bar there is often live music and in the basement there’s a DJ. Chateau is packed all week and it is far from Prague’s most elegant bar, but no doubt one of the liveliest!

Chateau, Jakubská 2
www.chateaurouge.cz

If you want to go out at night in up-scale surroundings, you should check out Radost FX, which is situated on the border of Vinohrady and Nové Mesto. Radost FX has the reputation of being Prague’s swankiest nightclub, and Ministry of Sound has elected it one of the world’s 20 best clubs. The young, beautiful and successful people come here to enjoy the wide selection of cocktails and to be seen!

Radost FX, Bĕlehradská 120
www.radostfx.cz

Palác Akropolis

In Žižkov you will find Palác Akropolis, which appeals to an alternative crowd. Palác Akropolis is located in an old movie theater complex. In the back of the space there is a small and cozy café and downstairs there are two bars with DJ’s who play drum & bass, reggae and funk every night. Moreover, there is a concert hall, which is a venue for big international names.

Palác Akropolis, Kubelíkova 27
www.palacakropolis.cz

Žižkov is nicknamed the gipsy area and there are many small sneaky bars where there’s often good – and sometimes pretty weird - live music. From the outside, the bars are hardly noticeable, but if you knock on the door, a doorman will open and let you into a “secret” party.  The bars can be hard to find, so if you want to experience these places, the best advise is to go to Žižkov and walk around the area until you see a group of Czechs knocking on a door – and then follow in their footsteps.

By David Rich Momondo

Most shops in Prague are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm and Saturdays until 12am. Opening hours can vary pretty much though – particularly in the touristy areas.

The area between The Karel Bridge and the Old Town Square, passing by Karlova, must have the world’s biggest concentration of souvenir shops selling t-shirts, glass, amber, dolls etc to tourists with credit cards burning in their wallets. It is more fun though to shop in the pretty little shops that are slightly out of the way from the common tourist magnets. There are lots of small shops selling antiques, artworks and other exciting stuff in Nové Mesto – particularly in the SoNa area between the two large streets, Národní and Resslova, where a lot of Czech designers and artists have settled down.

If you’re looking for clothes, you should seek towards Wenceslas Square and Prague’s shopping streets that run along Na Přikopĕ: Října and Národní as well as the elegant street Pařížska in Josefov. On Wenceslas Square and in the shopping streets you will find all the usual chain stores like H&M, Benetton, Levi’s, Nike, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Adidas, C&A, Zara, Debenhams etc. The prices are significantly lower than those in their sister branches many other places in Europe.

On Pařížska you will find all the luxury brands. You can ruin yourself in Hugo Boss, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, Rolex, Hermes, Versace etc. In the streets surrounding Pařížska; Dlouhá, Dušni and V Kolkvonĕ, a lot of designers have opened up shops and renamed the area “The Czech Fashion Centre”, which is also the name of the marketing alliance established by the 16 designers (www.czechfashion.cz). The shops are all decorated in good and simple taste and the clothes are neat, but not exactly cutting edge.

Refill

If you still have money left in you wallet or on your bank account after shopping in Josefov, you can take your lunch at Pravda, which is one of Prague’s most up-scale and expensive restaurants. The food in the fancy place on Pařížska is a fusion between the European and the Asian kitchens, and all dishes on the menu are named after their country of origin. The restaurant has a fabulous wine menu and they shake great cocktails behind the bar.

Pravda, Pařížskas 17
www.pravdarestaurant.cz 

King Salomon

If you find yourself in Josefov, an obvious alternative to Pravda is King Salomon, which is Prague’s oldest kosher restaurant.

King Salomon, Siroká 8
www.kosher.cz

There is definitely a lot more than tourist souvenirs, clothes, expensive restaurants and kosher food to spend your money on in Prague.

Tea Shop

On Národní is a pretty impressive tea shop, filled with hundreds of different tea sorts. You can find tea that is most suited for porcelain and sponge cake, and tea that has a healing effect on body and soul.

Teashop, Národní 20
www.cajovykramek.cz

If you wish to treat your body and soul additionally, you should go by Botanicus, which can be found behind the Týn Church in Staré Mesto. In the pleasant-smelling store they sell organic soaps, oils, perfumes, lotions and potpourri. The products are exclusively made from herbs grown on the farm Ostra, northeast of Prague, where they have tried to recreate a garden from the 15th century.

Botanicus, Týn Ungelt 3
www.botanicus.cz

Agentura Provás

Not far from Botanicus you will find Agentura Provás, where you can buy historical posters. They sell reprints of Soviet propaganda posters and old movie- and commercial posters. The profit from the sales goes to improving the living conditions for people with physical and/or psychological handicaps.

Agentura Provás, Rybná 21
www.agenturaprovas.cz

Art Deco

Across SoNa runs the street Pštrossova, which houses a beauty of a shop named Art Deco. In accordance with the name of the place, only art deco items are sold in the narrow shop. Numerous chandeliers hang from the ceiling and there are lamps, candelabras, sculptures, tables, glasses, jewelry, knick-knacks, arts and crafts and design from the 1920’s and 1930’s all over the place. You can easily get ruined here. The only thing that will hold you back is your wallet and the lack of space in your suitcase.

Art Deco, Pštrossova 35
www.art-deco.cz

Refill

U Mateje Kotrby

In SoNa, you can eat your lunch in brown surroundings at U Mateje Kotrby, which serves an extremely filling goulash made with Urquell lager. The waiters speak English, the beer is well-served and Czech country music plays from the loudspeakers - and so the restaurant is definitely a pleasant place to spend time.

U Mateje Kotrby, Kremencova 17

Café Rybka

After eating at U Mateje Kotrby, you can cross the street and have your coffee in the cozy book café Rybka. Young students and failed academics hang out in the sophomoric and smoke-laden atmosphere.

Café Rybka, Opatovická 7
www.rybkapub.cz

By David Rich