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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.
Organic body and bath products here, like "lettuce and olive oil" soap, are crafted from fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs on a rural Czech farm. Inside the spacious and fragrant store there are myriad other all-natural products that make charming gifts for those back home, including tempting chutneys and condiments.
There is a nice sense of high drama here, with black and white clothes (mainly) making dramatic silhouettes in this chic shop. A good option for something a little bit more high-end, but still authentically Czech.
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.
A hodgepodge of jewelry, clothing, and bags gives this design-led Czech store a slight jumble-sale feel, and it's none the worse for that. Finding the unexpected, like robot faces on a skirt, is all part of the fun. There are a few branches around the capital.
Located inside the SmetanaQ building, a gallery-cum-café-cum–design space right on the river, this fashion and interior design shop showcases the best of Czech design. Some of the artists work in the building's Bottega project on the second floor, and others are located elsewhere, but if you're looking for the most up-to-the-minute Czech design work out there—anything from chic handbags to modernist posters and unusual earrings—get it right from the source here. There's a great assortment of ubercool vases, in particular: much better than an "I love Prague" sweater.
Half of the world's population wears jeans every day, reasoned the bloke-y team behind this hip denim shop, so surely there is a gap in the market for a cool, quality denim brand in Prague's Staré Mĕsto. They weren't wrong, and it doesn't hurt that their shop—and the team behind it—is fun; they're often found sipping a beer on the street underneath the horse's head mounted by the shop entrance at 6 pm, as the evening shoppers approach.
In her chic studio close to the river, Czech designer Denisa Nova shows off carelessly sexy clothing that is both wearable and luxurious. Slouchy dresses, velour trousers, and an occasional pop of color (think a bright pink shirt dress) seal the effortless deal. You can get a personal consultation with the designer if you book ahead.
Above the Roxy music club on Dlouhá ulice, this gallery space is filled with youthful energy. Exhibits feature edgy work by up-and-coming artists focusing on anything from puppets to photography. The gallery also hosts experimental theater, music, and comedy nights and touts an adjacent bar and café sprinkled with twentysomethings on laptops.
Specializing in postwar surrealism, this airy gallery features work from many of the leading Czech artists present and past, including globally significant painter Josef Šíma. If artwork prices are too many koruny for your comfort, a good alternative is picking up a book on the artist's exhibition, also for sale here.
Josefov's answer to Staré Mĕsto's glass stores certainly holds its own. A bright space filled with amazing Czech glass sculptures, as well as porcelain pieces and contemporary art, Glassimo is a good option if you just have to take home some Bohemian glassware. The light fittings made by Kateřina Smolíková and Italy bowls and vases by Jiří Pačínek are unique to the store.
This classy Czech-German jewelry company, set up by a couple in the 1970s, supplies trinkets by carefully chosen brands and produces its own pieces and is among the only home-grown brand on swanky Pařížská. It holds its own against the international big hitters, offering stunning pearls in different shades, as well as gold, silver, and platinum items. This branch offers the most varied selection, while the serene shop on Na příkopě focuses on pearls.
Havelská is a charming open-air market, centrally located in Staré Město, featuring touristy kitsch, seasonal trinkets, and handmade jewelry alongside fresh fruits and vegetables. The market is open daily.
The beautiful smell of the organic Czech cosmetics sold by this little store will lure you in, and the cheerful staff, who speak English, will find out exactly what you need in true "apothecary" style. Their "3-minute morning mask" is their most popular; there are moisturizers for kids too.
Czechs love getting out into nature, so if you are planning to join them or just want to feel like a local, head here, where the two floors overflow with hiking, camping, and rock-climbing equipment from top outdoor brands. This store is also a good place to pick up a backpack, laptop bag, or water bottle. Look for end-of-season sale bins.
This almost impossibly cute toy store was founded in the last few years by a parent-led team who wanted to bring traditional Czech toys back to Czech children. Its name means "Hugo goes barefoot," and it sells a range of lovely toys and gifts, many wooden, which hark back to a more innocent age.
An extremely swanky beauty boutique run by two Czechs, with Sisley Boudoir, the on-site aromatherapy and treatment center. Rare perfumes, skin-care products, and candles are displayed amid contemporary Czech art in such a crisp display that it borders on clinical.
Ivana Follová's little boutique and atelier at the top of Wenceslas Square showcases her wares in a chic, green space in central Prague. The designer specializes in silk, which she dyes in bold colors, patterns, and shapes into gauzy garments, from wedding dresses to coats. She also stocks distinctive accessories like chunky costume jewelry by other Czech designers.
This attractive shop's specialty is timepieces of all kinds, from a wide array of luxury wristwatches to clocks from the 18th and 19th centuries hailing from Austria, the Czech Republic, France, and Germany. Antique pocket watches featured in the window displays also draw longing stares from knowing collectors and passing tourists alike.
This attractive store on a quiet Staré Mĕsto corner is pretty much a temple dedicated to art books. It's a pleasant place to browse, and while many of the books are in the Czech language, there's a foreign section and art available to buy, too. Some of the photography books are fantastic: Jan Jinda's Charles Bridge, which captures the people on the famous structure rather than the bridge itself, is a highlight.
This funky boutique just off Old Town Square caters to moneyed hipsters. The eponymous Czech designer excels in the little details—unusual draping, old-fashioned flowered dresses amid leather, an unexpected giraffe print—that make each item unique and original.
A warren-like hexagonal layout makes this Czech department store feel more adventurous than most. Across the tram tracks from the massive Palladium, it houses the standard clothing and household goods shops as well as electronics, beauty products, and luggage, and even a small minigolf course. There's a great roof bar, too.
This properly chic Czech lifestyle and furniture boutique gives a glimpse of how the most stylish Prague locals live. From the fact that their pieces are often rented out to filmmakers, to the fact that the shop itself is in the Mozarteum Palace, designed in 1913 by Czech architect Jan Kotěra, it's worth a visit; plus, they ship globally.
With its four floors, music section, and coffee shop, this bookstore is the biggest in the Czech Republic, reminiscent of major American chains and known as "the palace." Only a small area in the basement is set aside for English-language books, but the store is an excellent source for maps of the Czech Republic and other European cities and countries and has some travel guidebooks in English. It also hosts various literary events.
Regular markets, including a mix of fresh vegetables, souvenirs, and craft beer, are a pleasingly Czech take on open-air shopping. Check the website to see what is on, and when, during your stay.
A fresh wooded scent greets visitors to this pleasant puppet shop on steep Nerudova ulice, which is next door to Prague's Center of Contemporary Puppetry. Discover an array of linden-wood marionettes, including classic characters like Tinkerbell and Charlie Chaplin, eerily reptilian wizards, and princesses in pink—plus some modern politicians. Artist biographies are found alongside a few displays, and plaster puppets—cheaper but not quite as charming—are also on offer, as well as custom-made ones for those who have really signed on to this Czech tradition.
The light dancing on the incredibly eye-catching glassware in this elegant boutique makes it almost impossible to walk on by. But the unusual jewelry, stunning brightly colored chandeliers, and an array of beads and Bohemia crystal will make you want to stay and shop. The prices are not for the fainthearted, but the pieces are worth it if you want to bring home something truly original.
A grimy, slightly hidden-away music shop that offers the same sense of retro within as its wares---records and CDs---will when you get them home. Friendly staff can help you find what you are looking for among the wall-to-wall music.
A fantastically atmospheric wine shop and bar, with tapas. Bottles line the walls---it's a good spot for a recommendation---and there's an eye-catching winding iron stairway towards the back, as well as stools helping staff reach the more obscure choices. There are tastings too.
Elegant glass stemware and decorative bowls and candlesticks are hand-blown or -cut and gorgeous enough to outfit the dining tables of Europe's aristocratic elite. This historic Czech company, established in Karlovy Vary in 1857, maintains two Prague locations—here and on Old Town Square. Both stores are breathtaking (although this location is a bit less hectic), boasting chandeliers, tea sets, and porcelain figurines on multiple floors, in addition to all that graceful glass.
Czech designer Martina Nevarilova offers a great line of relaxed and cozy knitwear, often in bold colors or stripes. The shops are worth a look if you're feeling the chill of the Prague winter or if you're on the hunt for a classy and unique cover-up for other occasions.
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