Where we eat, and how we get around
The places our team actually books, the transport apps worth installing, and the practical details nobody tells you until day three. Curated by the people who live here.
Breakfast and coffee
Where to start the day without queueing behind a tour group.
Café Savoy
Malá Strana · €€€
A grand 1893 café at the foot of Újezd, restored ceiling and all. Best known for its breakfasts - book ahead at weekends.
Au Gourmand
Old Town · €€
French bakery and patisserie on Dlouhá, in a tiled former butcher's shop. Croissants, quiche and tarts to take away.
James Dean
Old Town · €€
American diner and bar off Kolkovna. Full breakfasts served well past the hour most Czech kitchens stop.
Kampa Café
BV Café
Coffee & Waffles
Food Lab
Lunch and dinner
Places we book ourselves - Czech classics and the best of everything else.
Lokál Dlouhá
Old Town · €
Tank Pilsner and Czech classics done properly, at prices that have not chased the tourists. The bar to send anyone to first.
Kolkovna
Old Town · €€
The original of the Pilsner Urquell restaurant group, on the corner of V Kolkovně. Reliable Czech cooking, big rooms, open late.
Mincovna
Old Town · €€
On Old Town Square in the old mint building, and still better than its address suggests. Modern Czech cooking, generous lunch menu.
Brasileiro U Zelené žáby
Old Town · €€€
Brazilian churrasco - waiters carve from the skewer at your table until you turn the marker over. Go hungry.
Les Moules
Old Town · €€€
Belgian brasserie on Pařížská - mussels by the pot, frites, and a long list of Belgian beer.
La Bodeguita del Medio
Old Town · €€
Cuban kitchen and cocktail bar near Kaprova. Loud, late, and the place to end an evening rather than start one.
Kachna
U Kalendů
Smíchovský Sklípek
Smíchov
Staromáček
Katr
Yami
Asian Temple
Beer and bars
Tank Pilsner, old-school pubs and a few rooms worth staying in.
U Zlatého tygra
Old Town · €
Bohumil Hrabal's pub on Husova, and still run on its own terms - shared tables, no menu theatre, beer arrives when your glass is low.
U Pinkasů
New Town · €
Pouring Pilsner Urquell since 1843, which makes it the first pub in Prague to do so. Courtyard garden behind.
Getting around
Timetables, tickets and the fastest way in from the airport.
PID Lítačka - buy tickets
The official Prague transport app. Buy a 30-minute, 90-minute, 24-hour or 72-hour ticket on your phone - no machine, no coins, no queue. Validate before you board.
PID timetables and journey planner
Live departures and route planning for every metro, tram, bus and ferry in the Prague integrated system, including the night network.
IDOS - trains and coaches
Nationwide timetables. Use it for day trips out of Prague - Kutná Hora, Karlštejn, Karlovy Vary - and for Dresden, Vienna or Berlin.
Pay with a contactless card on board
Newer trams and buses carry a yellow contactless reader by the door, as do metro entrance halls. Tap a card or phone to buy a 30 or 90-minute ticket - one tap per passenger, and use the same card if an inspector asks.
Dopravní podnik (DPP)
The operator itself - planned service changes, replacement buses, and the lost property office.
Václav Havel Airport Prague
No metro or train to the terminal. Airport Express (bus AE) runs to the main railway station; bus 119 connects to metro line A at Nádraží Veleslavín in about 20 minutes.
Bolt
The ride-hailing app locals actually use. The fare is fixed before you get in, which street taxis in the centre cannot promise.
Rekola shared bikes
Pink dockless bikes unlocked from the app. Lovely along the river and through Stromovka, less so on Old Town cobbles.
Everyday shops and services
The supermarkets, markets and pharmacies locals actually use.
Billa
Central supermarket chain with branches inside several metro stations. Open late, and priced for people who live here.
Albert
The other central chain. Branch finder and opening hours on the site.
Lidl
Cheapest of the big chains. Worth the tram ride if you are cooking for a group.
Kaufland
Hypermarket scale - the one to pick for a long stay or a full weekly shop.
Náplavka farmers market
New Town
Saturday morning along the Vltava embankment, roughly 8am to 2pm. Produce, coffee, breakfast and half of Prague walking its dog.
Jiřák farmers market
Vinohrady
Wednesday to Saturday on náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, under the brick church. Smaller than Náplavka and far less photographed.
Dr. Max pharmacy
The largest pharmacy chain. Branch finder and opening hours.
BENU pharmacy
The second chain, often open when the nearest Dr. Max is not.
Alza
Czech electronics retailer with pickup boxes across the city. The fix for a forgotten charger or adapter.
Culture and time well spent
Galleries, cinemas and parks that reward an unhurried afternoon.
GoOut - what is on tonight
Tickets and listings for concerts, theatre, cinema and clubs. The most reliable picture of the week ahead.
Kunsthalle Praha
Malá Strana
A 1930s electricity substation below Letná, converted into a contemporary art gallery. Good café, better roof terrace.
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
Holešovice
Big, argumentative exhibitions in Holešovice, with a wooden airship moored to the roof.
National Gallery Prague
Several buildings, one collection. Trade Fair Palace in Holešovice holds the modern and contemporary art and is the one to pick with limited time.
Kino Aero
Žižkov
Žižkov's 1930s repertory cinema. Films run in the original language with Czech subtitles, so English-language screenings are easy.
Kino Světozor
New Town
Central arthouse cinema in a passage off Wenceslas Square. Same subtitle rule.
Letná beer garden
Letná
Trestle tables under the trees on Letná plain, looking straight down the river at the bridges. Opens when the weather does. Bring cash.
Riegrovy sady
Vinohrady
A sloping park in Vinohrady where the city goes to watch the sun set behind the castle. Ten minutes from the Jiřák market.
Practical essentials
Numbers, clinics and small facts that save an evening.
Emergency numbers
112 reaches police, ambulance and fire and is answered in English. Direct lines: 155 ambulance, 158 state police, 156 city police, 150 fire. Free from any phone.
Na Homolce Hospital
Has a department for foreign patients that is used to treating visitors, with English-speaking staff. The nearest full emergency room west of the centre.
Canadian Medical
Private English-speaking clinic - general practice, paediatrics and dentistry, usually same-day. Bring your insurance details.
24-hour pharmacy
New Town
Lékárna Palackého at Palackého 5, just off Wenceslas Square, is the central round-the-clock pharmacy. Ring the night bell after hours.
The tap water is fine
Prague tap water is soft, tested constantly and safe to drink. Refill a bottle rather than buying one.
How tipping works
Round up, or add about ten percent. When the card machine arrives, say the total you want to pay rather than leaving coins on the table.
Local accommodation fee
Prague charges a local accommodation fee per person per night. Ask us if you need it itemised for an expense report.
Lost passport or wallet
Report it at any police station first - your embassy will want the written record. Tell us and we will call ahead if the language is a problem.
Come stay in Pragueon your own terms.
Real availability, real keys, real cleaning every week. Cancel free up to fourteen days before arrival. No marketplace in between.