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Prague is a city that takes its liquid refreshment, and its after-dark entertainment, seriously. The beer is rightfully world-famous and beer gardens are a dream, a new trend for cocktail bars has taken the city by storm, and music and dancing options are plentiful.
Plus, with such a small city center, you'll rarely have to travel far to find the best bars and clubs. In fact, one of the great pleasures of Prague is wandering around Old Town and just popping into any of the bars that take your fancy (and that don’t look hideously overpriced). Go for the back streets, and don’t pay much more than 50 K? for a beer.) Another Prague perk is the relaxed hours. In the past, bars used to close down by 10 pm or so, but now Czechs have taken cheerfully to all-nighters spent discussing philosophy in smoky dives, listening to jazz in cavernous underground clubs, or dancing on tables in avant-garde clubs.
Many of the best nightlife spots combine international pizzazz with a bit of Czech eccentricity—think beers delivered by a miniature railway or a cocktail bar where absinthe is a major component in most of the menu options.
Prague is also a very musical city, which is reflected in its nightlife. A lot of the clubs also host live music performances, and the atmospheric jazz clubs offer great shows almost every night of the week.
Clubbers have plenty of options too, although anyone looking for the cutting edge of cool is unlikely to find it in Prague, because having a good time is much more important. There's an increasingly visible gay scene, too.
For those who want to look beyond the bar, there are evening cruises on the Vltava that show off the city’s gorgeous waterfront, which is beautifully lit as the sun sets. In recent years, a thriving scene on Náplavka (a riverside walkway in Nové Mesto) has sprung up, offering cheap and cheerful pop-up pubs right alongside the water, often accompanied by food and fashion markets. And if we're talking alfresco drinking, Prague's beer gardens, comprising no-frills benches and brews in its beautiful parks, are a must-visit in summer.
And while Prague isn’t Monte Carlo, gambling is legal, and there is a range of establishments from exclusive high-end casinos to all-night herna bars with slot machines and video-game terminals. Most gamers say the top venues lack ambience and only the brave try the nonstop herna bars.
Bearing the name of an old Miles Davis album, this small but charming vaulted basement is home base for many local jazz acts. The management also runs a jazz record label and sells its CDs at the club's store. The historic place can't handle big acts, so the club's ongoing jazz festival often puts those who will draw larger crowds into Lucerna Music Bar. Music starts around 9, but come an hour earlier to get a seat.
If you missed your boat tour, don't despair. You can still hear notes and beats wafting across the water while sipping a cocktail in a decadent venue. This extremely cool, glass-enclosed nightclub and jazz bar—built, as the name suggests, on a dock—offers a view of the passing boat traffic and lit-up landmark buildings like the National Theater, while you enjoy the strains of world-class live music acts. There are typically two concerts per night; it's worth reserving a table in advance for weekend shows.
Rock bands on the comeback trail, touring bluesmen, and other solid performers across many different musical genres, including some Czech acts, make up the live schedule of this basement music venue in the historic pasáž. The crowds are always friendly and up for it, and the acoustics are good, making it a great place to see live music in the city center. Book tickets in advance for the bigger acts. Another big draw are the nights—usually Saturday—of 1980s or '90s music videos. The nostalgia-fest will have you dancing your socks off until the wee hours, alongside what feels like half of Prague and much of the rest of Europe as well.
Housed in a funky art deco–esque building, this is arguably the city's best live music club. When shows are sold out, the place is pretty packed. While the main room closes at 10 due to noise concerns, DJs play in the two side bars until much later.
This jazz club is where President Bill Clinton jammed with Czech president Václav Havel in 1994, and lots of pictures of that night are still hanging around the joint. Reduta was one of the bigger clubs in the 1960s and '70s, and it still feels a little like a dated museum of those glory days (or like a funky retro tribute to that era, depending on your persuasion). The coat-check person can be pretty aggressive, which is another throwback to the pre-1989 era, but the jazz is worth any aggravation.
If you go on a quiet weeknight, staff might upgrade you to the VIP seats, where Bill and Václav sat back in the day.
The decor at this stalwart Smíchov club could be described as odd but cool. Think 1950s sci-fi crossed with art deco, and you're on the right track. It all makes for a fun, casual night out. Video parties, complete with '80s, '90s, and '00s music, draw big crowds every Friday night. There are occasional live performances, too, usually from punk or goth bands, or DJs playing electronic music.
Once the town hall, then a mecca for writers and artists, it's now a three-story music and theater club. Every level of this attractive building has something different going on—there's an art gallery under the roof, a "video café," a live music bar, a restaurant, a café, and a basement beer pub.
The live acts are mostly popular Czech bands.
Part nightclub, part performance space, the Roxy doubles as a residence for DJs and as a popular venue for electronica and touring cult bands. The large former theater has a comfortable, lived-in feel that borders on warehouse chic. All exits from the club are final, and patrons are encouraged not to hang around the area. Upstairs, the NoD space has all manner of bizarre acts.
Commonly known as "Little Glen," patrons are willing to cram in to hear solid house jazz and blues bands, as well as a few visiting acts. Get there early to stake out a seat near the stage; the tunnel-shape vault can be crowded but that only adds to the atmosphere. Upstairs they serve food until midnight.
Hidden in the side streets behind Old Town Square, this basement has been around since the 15th century and has been a cozy club with good music since 2000. The house bands are decent and play jazz, blues, or fusion, depending on the night. Its central location means there's mainly an international crowd, but you can still see some classic Czech sights—a sleeping dachshund perched on a barstool, unaware of and unimpressed by the stage acts, for example.
Currently the holder of the unofficial title of Prague's most alternative city-center pub and music venue, Vzorkovna operates a confusing chip system for payment (you get the change back at the end of the night, but don't lose the chip or they'll charge you). It's an acquired taste, with a rough pop-up feel of bars in metropolises like London or New York, plus that uniquely Prague junkyard vibe, with dusty floors, and often a giant dog wandering around. The beers on tap are from the award-winning Únětický Pivovar brewery, and reasonably priced for such a centrally located bar.
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