Havlíčkovy sady aka Grébovka is one of my favourite parks in Prague. You can go there and have a picnic, read a book, go there for jogging or even have a glass of local wine… Parents with kids will find two playgrounds in the park.

The park was built between 1871-1888 around a villa which belonged to Mr. Moritz Grobe (an important Prague industrialist of his time). You can find many interesting things in Grébovka: the above mentioned villa, an artificial cave (grotto), an ex “gaming house” (there is a restaurant now, but the old bowling alley is still in working order) and also a vineyard. 

I recommend you check out the wine cellar, which is open every Friday and Saturday from 14:00 – 21:00. They are curently offering 4 wines (3 whites and 1 red) made from grapes grown locally (=directly in the park’s vineyard) which are well drinkable.

P.S. A part of the upper park is now under reconstruction, but you can still visit the majority of the place.

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Havlíčkovy sady | Bars, Relaxing | Red wine (glass) CZK 35
Havlíčkovy sady
06:00 – 23:00 daily

You can go to an antique shop, search for gorgeous pieces hidden between tons of bizarre objects. Or you might prefer having a wide selection of well taken care of and delicately chosen items in one place. I am sometimes in the mood for the first process, but I just must appreciate it if someone’s done the work for us common folks. Nanovo is a shop which did it, and how! In case you want to see a piece of Czech design history sit on your shelf, this is a great place to go to.

Guys from Nanovo are sensibly selecting pieces they were surrounded with since childhood. Let me quote: ‘This positive relationship with uncomplicated objects endowed with graceful curves remains inside us.’ I browse their site just to remind myself of how pure and useful design can be and also I am often trying to recall where I saw the object before – was it my friend house? Grandma’s cottage? I also appreciate their taste and work done completing and saving these items.

In case you want to invest in a long-lasting piece, that was appreciated before in the past or crystallized into design evergreen with years, visit the online shop or better arrange an appointment in the studio. I believe you will proudly bring home an item which will remind you of not only your stay in Prague, but also of everything good what’s passed, giving the hope for everything good that is ahead of us.

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Nanovo studio | Art & culture, Shopping
Kolbenova 616 | +420603145362
Visit by appointment

When I plan my trip to a foreign country, I not only check the sites, nature, art I want to explore, but I also go to local football sites to check if a game is on. I am not a regular visitor of Czech matches. But the same way I was only once in Bilbao and once in Luton, I just want to live the experience and that is easy among a passionate football audience.

Football will be an adventurous experience for a few reasons – it is adventure to choose a match you want, the event will look adventurous and also using public transport around the stadium is adventure in itself. But I wouldn’t consider the event to be dangerous – just always buy tickets for the home-team and do not scream the opposite team’s name without a helmet. I sometimes have the urge to shout ‘Goal!’ for whatever ball falls there, but I eliminated it with practice.

On the picture is the ‘Sparta‘ stadium, one of the two leading Prague teams. When they play with ‘Slavia‘, prepare for an interesting match. These are the two Prague ‘ESS’. There are other popular teams in Prague – Bohemians 1905, Dukla, Viktoria Žižkov, and others, but none of them are in the first league.

I recommend you browse the matches here, where all the important ones from Czech and European leagues are listed. Check the division of the leagues here, so you’ll know if you’re going for first-class football or district championship.

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Prague Football | Relaxing, Festivals & events
Milady Horakove 1066/98
Open depending on match

Like (almost) every woman I like to go shopping for clothes. I try to combine the visits in classical fashion chains with the ones at young Czech fashion designers shops – with clothes from them, you have quite a chance that you won’t meet half of Prague in the same outfit. I took in affection the brand Leeda. Every time I go there, I buy something new (and that is also the reason why I should not go there too often).

Leeda is an original Czech brand, created by a duo of designers Lucie Kutalková and Lucie Trnková. Their collections are thematically tuned and you can always find some extravagant models as well as normally wearable to the office and for leisure time. I find it interesting that Leeda is also cooperating with people from other creative areas (art, architecture, graphical design etc) – eg. the world-known architect Jan Kaplický was concerned in one of the collections named Leeda Kaplicky.

From time to time Leeda throws fashion parties to sell out old collections. It’s always a small event with a nice atmosphere – the small shop and its surrounding is full of people, chatting over a glass of wine and some chips.

P.S. Leeda is now known among movie stars – Tilda Swinton and also Kim Cattrall went shopping there while filming in Prague

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Leeda | Shopping | Top CZK 1290
Bartolomějská 1 | +420224234056
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 19:00

The hall number 22 is one of my favorite places where I go regularly –  the vegetable market takes place there. It is an oasis of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from local provenience (although you can also find there imported commodities) of course according to the season. It is actually quiet nice to see how the goods (hence seasons) are changing if you go there regularly. Now, I go there each Saturday to buy mainly apples, pears and pumpkins

Some people can not understand, why I tend to buy vegetables there if I do not live in the neighborhood. But it’s simple – the rate quality/price compared to what you can buy in supermarkets is definitely better, in spite of the fact that I like to support local farmers (one note: some are only re-sellers, but you still have plenty of local ones!).

Another favorite represents a small stall with authentic Vietnamese food (and would-be Chinese food). The stall is quite well hidden – you will find it in a small side street just under the hall number 8 schedule. Try any kind of phở soup, bún chả or bún bò khô, it´s delicious! To compare, you can check out the fusion Asian cuisine SaSaZu, which is a music club and restaurant under one roof.

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Holešovická tržnice | Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Vietnamese)
Bubenské nábřeží 306
06:00 – 20:00 daily

For sweet lovers with refined taste, patisserie St. Tropez is a very dangerous place, where your passion for chocolate can fully break out.

Under the name Passion Chocolat the French married couple Musso ran their company at Vinohrady neighborhood, in 2009 they relocated further into the city centre to the passage at Dům U Nováků (just a couple footsteps from Wenceslas square).

The interior of the patisserie feels airy and holds our interest with the prep place where you can observe the production…fortunately all the goodies are separated by a glass wall. The place is strictly non-smoking.

Croissants for breakfast, cakes and tarts of various flavors to afternoon coffee or a cup of tea, delicious chocolate pralines, popular macarons or gateaux to order – everybody will find his or her favorite in St. Tropez.

If you have a dilemma, which one among the many sweets you should choose, try a couple of mini-sweets out (I also recommend the macarons, e.g. the lavender one) and then let the smiley madame Nadine pack the one which you like the most for you in its classic size.

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St.Tropez | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Mini cake from CZK 25
Vodičkova ulice 30 | +420222524333
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:30 – 19:00, Sun 10:00 – 19:00

Lokál is another baby that Tomáš Karpíšek – the well known Czech entrepreneur and founder of Ambiente group – can be proud of. Since its opening it became quietly known and tourists come here as well, but it is still one of the favorite spots among locals. 

I think that Lokál’s attraction is the beer (Pilsner) which is fresh and crisp – also thanks to the fact that it is kept in the special beer tanks. As far as food is concerned, you can choose from simple and classic Czech dishes – there is a nice selection of starters, soups and main dishes (and a lunch menu). I can recommend eg. the Prague ham with creamy horseradish as a starter and the fried cheese with home made tartare sauce from the main dishes (the cheese is quiet expensive comparing to what it is, but you know, from time to time, it is good to have it .

Lokál is also interesting from the design point of view. Some people do not like it because it is a long corridor (which can be as noisy as a beehive), but I like it especially because of the carved wooden walls and the funny “retro” posters at the toilets. 

There is a second branch located near Charles bridge, so you can try the beers there as well. Another one in Prague 4 – Kunratice and there will be another one opened very soon in Prague 7 near the Stromovka park.

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Lokál | Restaurants (Czech) | Beer 0.5L CZK 42
Dlouhá 33 | +420222316265
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 01:00, Sat 12:00 – 01:00, Sun 12:00 – 22:00

I like receiving presents, but giving them even a little bit more. If I have a problem with gift selection or am only looking for some inspiration, I go to Naoko. I always stay there for a while – the shop is packed with many interesting things to see and buy, hence I have to watch my wallet carefully. If you like things with idea and uncommon design, you will definitely like Naoko.

Naoko is situated in Revoluční street (near the shopping centre Palladium) and has two shops side-by-side. The first is Eat & Drink, where you can find various things designated to cooking, eating and drinking. The second one, Home & Fun, is full of household and garden accessories, stuff for amusement and sport and last but not least funny „personal” accessories (if as a kid you were craving for a bath duck and never got it, you have a chance to compensate this with style

Naoko has a nicely done website, which works as an e-shop as well. The website is in Czech only, but you can check it to see the range of goods and also the prices.

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Naoko | Shopping | Bath duck CZK 251
Revoluční 24 | +420222312567
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

I like flowers and I like to decorate our home with freshly cut flowers to make it more cozy (which works perfectly until my naughty cat tries to be a gardener).

My favorite spot where I buy flowers is called Belles Fleurs. One branch of it is situated just a few steps from the famous Radost FX (check the Radost FX article), another location can be found in Prague 7 and there is a new one in Jindrisska street (just a few steps from Vaclavske namesti). I like Belles Fleurs because they have a variety of already prepared bouquets (both one kind and mixed flowers) which are reasonably priced. You can of course let the florist assemble a bouquet by picking up single flowers.

At the conclusion, a little recommendation for men: if you would like to have a romantic dinner in Prague with your partner or date, flowers would be definitely a nice thing to top it off. So don’t hesitate – now you know where you can find them .

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Belles Fleurs | Shopping | Flowers CZK 99
Bělehradská 124 | +420222512486
07:30 – 20:30 daily

Na Kopci restaurant, which is situated in the quiet villadom part of Smíchov is owned by two friends who have known each other since childhood. The outside of the restaurant might surprise you – it’s a typical building from the communist eighties. The inside of the restaurant is nice and modern, various family photos decorate the walls.

A couple of important things : 1) I strongly recommend you make a reservation, 2) the restaurant is non-smoking, 3) if you’re on foot, keep in mind that it might be quite a long walk uphill!

The cuisine can be considered as international – it consists of various selected dishes of different types. The menu changes during the year and reflects the seasons.

For starters, try the chef’s selection of six starters, from the main courses I can recommend one of my favorite dishes –  the beef tartare with fries, which has become quiet legendary for Na Kopci. Because the menu changes a couple of times during the year, so you can always find something new (currently they have a spring menu from which I had a delicious stuffed quail).

The fact that the restaurant is uphill might be positive at the end – if you do not want to take a bus or taxi on your way back, you can simply roll down with a big tummy

P.S. Last year, the owners opened another restaurant called Na Konci and also a bistro in Prague 6. You can check the website for more info.

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Na Kopci | Restaurants (International) | Beef tartare & fries CZK 250
K Závěrce 2774/20 | +420251553102
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 14:30 & 17:30 – 23:00, Sat – Sun 11:30 – 23:00