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Shopping in Prague still feels like an adventure. Around one corner, you’ll find a crumbling shop front and a glimpse of a stooped jeweler hard at work restoring an ancient pocket watch. Around the next, a cutting-edge design boutique selling witty Czech-made home accessories.
In recent years Czech fashion and design has come of age. While it’s no Paris, there’s a funky, even punky, edge to many of the clothes and objects on offer that will stand out anywhere in the world.
But traditional pleasures still abound. Endearing traditional crafts are available on every cobblestoned street. Each region of the Czech Republic has its own specialty, and many are represented in Prague. Intricate, world-renowned hand-blown glassware, wooden toys and carvings, ceramic dishes, and delicate lace all make perfect "I got it in Prague" gifts. The Czechs are also masterful herbalists, and put plants to good use in fragrant soaps and bath products made on local farms.
That said, every city has its kitsch, and Prague is no different. Marionettes have been a favorite Czech handicraft and storytelling vehicle since the late 18th century, and they are ubiquitous here. The trick is avoiding mass-produced versions at tourist kiosks and getting your hands on the real puppet deal.
There are plenty of real deals in the city’s antique shops, art galleries and antikvariats—secondhand book and print stores. Some are vast, dusty caverns, some look like an elderly aunty has tipped out her entire attic willy-nilly, while still others are pristine, prissy, and pricey. Either way the unpredictable jumbles of merchandise offer a fun day of flea market–like spelunking—you may pick through communist-era buttons in one shop and find cubist office chairs or ancient Czech manuscripts in the next.
If you like your souvenirs to sparkle, garnet peddlers abound. But take heed: all that glitters isn’t garnet—many are not the real deal. True Czech garnets are intensely dark red. Also known as pyrope or Bohemian garnet, these precious stones have been mined here for centuries. Tight clusters of garnets are found on antique pieces, while modern baubles are often sleeker and set in gold or silver. Stick to our recommended shops for quality gems, and inquire about the setting—if a low-priced bauble seems too good to be true, it could be set in low-quality pot metal.
The international jet set isn’t forgotten either. If you crave big luxury labels, the aptly named Paris Street (aka Pa?ížská ulice) will give you your dose of runway glam. Do not expect any steals here, although they are available elsewhere in the city’s impressive selection of European chain stores.
Most of Prague’s shops are open from 10 am until 6 or 7 pm, and malls tend to stay open until 9 or 10 pm.
If shopkeepers in Prague seem aloof, don’t be dissuaded—try greeting them with a friendly "dobrý den" when entering a store, and you may be surprised by their warmth.
A unique, 100% natural, zero-waste, eco-friendly cosmetics shop that not only sells products, from lotions to lip balms, but also runs classes teaching customers how to make their own. From the moss growing in the cupboard (for decoration) to the friendly owners, Petra and Tereza, who are happy to help with any queries, it's a delight. The name is cute, too: cunning fox.
A cultural center in a former factory that's also a foodie mecca with a cinema, plus a hub for workshops, galleries, and hip boutiques, Vnitroblock resembles a shopping center as imagined by the coolest kids in town. From rotating pop-ups, including a favorite selling falafel and rosé wine, the gorgeous reclaimed industrial spaces, and the chill café vibe at the heart of the project, it's worth a trip here regardless where you are staying in Prague.
The shop logo (it looks more like (C)over than Coverover) should give you a clue: this is an interiors shop with design chops that's not afraid to have fun. Set up by a French man and his Czech wife, products are available from across Europe and are varied and interesting, from the fig room scent by Geodesis that also gives the boutique its fragrance to the parrot earrings from Nach, among the cool bags, coasters, rugs, and cushions.
This wonderful modern bookshop specializes in art books, magazines, and prints, from gorgeous coffee-table photography books to Czech poetry. Page Five is also a publishing house, with a few of its own books available, as well as a meeting place and exhibition space. Plus, there's a friendly shop dog welcoming customers.
This large, industrial-style market by the river offers some great deals and scope for bargaining, as well as a pleasant art nouveau market hall selling fruits, vegetables, and fresh flowers (Hall 22). Known locally as Holešovická tržnice, there are also some restaurants, bars, and bakeries, including a Slovakian deli, plus the experimental theater Jatka78.
There's an Asian market section here, too, but if you are looking for Prague's famous Vietnamese market, head to Sapa, or "Little Hanoi," on the edge of town (Metro Line C to Chodov, then Bus 197).
This light-filled boutique in a historic building, with a gorgeous tiled floor, showcases clothes that are easily as lovely as the surroundings. Chic, light, and individual, for men and women, this is modern, sustainable Czech fashion at its most understated and elegant.
Part bar, part wine shop, this is a great addition to this neighborhood, offering wines from across Europe. It includes Czech producers as well as all-natural wines. There are tastings too.
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