What to do in Prague Czech Republic
This post, What to do in Prague Czech Republic, is for those looking for restaurants, activities, food tours, home cooking classes, and sites in Prague! This post is in partnership with Czech Tourism.
After returning from one of our favorite European cities, Prague, the City of a Hundred Spires, I believe it truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Check out my post: Where to Stay in Prague, Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Our hotel was near Old Town, which by far is the most attractive and is the most popular place to stay in Prague. I can’t recommend Cosmopolitan Hotel enough, a great location and classy, beautiful space with fine food next door, and the best staff.
One of the true joys of vacationing in Prague is standing across the Vltava River watching the sunset over Prague Castle. In fact, everyone wants to be there to witness the beauty of the castle lit up at night. And to view from up high the famous Charles Bridge!
Where Is Prague?
Prague is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, the 14th largest city in the European Union and the historical capital of Bohemia. It’s bordered by Germany, Austria, Poland, and Slovakia.
Why Should You Visit Prague?
Prague is charming, romantic, and often compared to as Paris. You can walk until you drop (which we did), or the public transportation is super easy to use. We hopped on and off public transportation to spend 4 hours on a Taste of Prague Foodie Tour (well worth the time and money)–details below!
The views of the city and river and castles are everywhere, and you can get breathtaking and panoramic views. Prague is filled with colorful homes, buildings, and churches, many with Gothic and medieval architecture.
What should you bring back from Prague? Shop if you want, but our favorite thing to return with was the experiences.
Prague is for food lovers
Today I’m sharing two of my favorites, the Taste of Prague Foodie Tour and a home cooking class. Of course you can also bring back something small and tangible to remember this great city!
Don’t forget to visit the Easter Market to shopt and experience more great Czech foods!
While touring Prague Castle, we walked up to Karvarna Novy Svet and grabbed a tiny table overlooking the lovely garden for a glass of wine.
And sat for awhile enjoying the amazing view.
What Prague is famous for?
Prague is well-known for its beautiful architecture, spires, Czech food, and beer!
Potato soup, traditional pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, and their beloved apple strudel–these are foods you have to try! Don’t swap out the side dishes! Czech food comes with specific side dishes, and if you swap them out, you’ll miss the true Czech flavors!
If you’re a foodie, Prague is also known for their Taste of Prague food tours. You’ll experience great beer, and traditional Czech foods like roast duck, beef steak tartare, wiener sausages, fried cheese, goulash, dumplings and pastries.
Home Cooking Class
One of our favorite activities during our stay in Prague was to participate in a home cooking class! The Czech tourism board set this up for us, and we are so glad we did it.
Tereza was our guide. She showed up in the lobby of our hotel (the Cosmopolitan) and then we jumped on a tram to the Holesovicka Trznice Market to shop for fresh ingredients. Here we bought potatoes, pork neck (for dumplings) apples, and more.
What a fun experience to taking in the the sounds, beautiful colors of fresh produce, smells, and stopping to talk to locals.
Here we met Czech farmers! This was something I’ll cherish forever!
Then we took the subway to Tereza’s home to cook a fantstic meal. With a “home cooking class” the guide will not only direct you, but your tram and subway tickets are included, so you don’t need to worry about anything!
Our menu consisted of:
- Kulajda – potato and mushroom soup
- Knedliky plnene uzenym se zelim – dumplings filled with meat (pork neck) and sauerkraut
- Strudl – apple strudel
I was happy to peel the apples with a potato peeler (easy, peasy!) for studel.
It was so fun to hanging out for hours in a private Czech home. Remarkably, Paul and I both even took naps on her sofa (after our snack of beer and cheese).
Tereza made us feel so at home. As did her cat, Kocka.
At the end of our stay, not only had we enjoyed an amazing meal, but we had gained a new friend.
Taste of Prague
Taste of Prague is a 4 hour food tour through the city, with the stories behind the recipes and restautants! The Prague Foodie Tour throws in modern Czech cuisine, taking you on an adventure outside of the city center. You’ll ride the tram and the subway!
Prague Foodie Tour
This is what we loved about the Prague Foodie Tour. Our guide, Martin, not only talked about the Czech culture, he told the stories behind the food, shared stories about his childhood, living in their country, present and past. So every tour guide is a local Czech foodie with a personality and opinion (and you learn a lot!)
Martin helped us get a better understanding of who the Czech people are. What they believe in. What are the differences, and we all have in common. Martin made it all so interesting, and of course, he was so food-knowledgeable!
He knew of the best Czech food and drinks. And we got to hang out with the locals!
What’s included in a Foodie Tour
- You not only get a lot of delicious traditional and modern Czech food, you get Czech beer and Moravian wine.
- Personalized email consultancy of your Prague trip before and after the tour.
- A super popular Prague Foodie Map, with personal tips added through the tour based on your questions and the discussion.
- Lifetime coverage. Once you take their tour, you and anyone you know will be treated to updated tips whenever you decide to visit Prague again.
Where to eat on the foodie tour
Our food tour was led by Martin, and it goes down as one of the best food tours we’ve ever taken (and I’ve done a lot, being a food/travel blogger). He was so knowledgable, layed back, fun, and interesting! Plus, a true foodie who I really appreciated.
Lokal Dlouha:
Our first stop was at Lokal Dlouha where we had the Pilsner Urquell Lager. We also dove into the marinated cheese “nakladany hermelin”, the Prague ham with horseradish and cream, beef goulash and the smoked sausages. We loved this “locals” hang-out!
Nase Maso:
Then we stopped at Nase Maso on Dlouha street, where we tried the meatloaf and the beef steak tartare. We also had the Pale Ale from Albrecht Brewery. If you want to try making a true Czech meatloaf, here is the recipe.
Eska:
Next we took the tram to Eska restaurant (Pernerova 49) in the Karlin district!
This time we had gin & tonics, with gin from Little Urban Destillery. We also had the burnt potato in ash with potato espuma and an amazing grilled chicken with cabbage and gooseberries. WOW!
The wine was 2017 “Gruner Veltliner” white wine from Ota Sevcik.
Kantyna:
Well into our tour, we took the subway to Mustek Metro Station and had the dark “Kozel” lager, the pork neck schnitzel, the pulled beef and the pickled veggies, at Kantyna restaurant.
Kantyna is located at Politickych veznu.
Cukrarna Mysak:
We finished the tour with coffee and sweets at Cukrarna Mysak, and OH MY GOODNESS was it amazing.
The staff was amazing and the pastries and coffee so dreamy!
This “vetrnik”choux pastry with vanilla cream, caramel whipped cream and caramel fondant was my favorite!
We tried these pastries:
- Laskonka: Coconut meringues with nougat and hazelnut ganache.
- Venecek: Choux pastry with vanilla cream and sugar glaze.
Attractions in Prague:
- Prague Astronomical Clock
- Prague Clock Tower (we went to the top of the Prague Astronomical Clock Tower for an amazing view of the city.
- Old Town Square: The narrow, cobblestone streets of Old Town are filled with shops and colorful, delicious cafes.
- Charles Bridge: After you make your way through Old Town, you’ll reach Charles Bridge, one of the main highlights of this gorgeous city. Walk across to the other side and enjoy the views of the Vltava River!
- From the Charles Bridge, you have the best view of Prague Castle.
- Old Town Bridge Tower: You can also go up into the Old Town Bridge Tower for another beautiful view of Prague. We did this on our last night.
- Prague Castle: After crossing the Charles Bridge, climb the steps up to Prague Castle. You can even watch the changing of the guards here. The architecture is incredible, and the blossoms were just starting to bloom.
- St. Nicholas Church
One of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen is St. Nicholas Church in Prague. - Spanish Synagogue
Another beautiful house of worship is the Spanish Synagogue. - Saint Vitus Cathedral
Best places to eat in Prague?
First of all, check out this recommendation BEST FOOD IN PRAGUE!
Nejen Bistro in Karlin district. Above is cauliflower soup with beetroot, Brussels sprouts, lemon and bacon!
Chimney Cake at Trdelník
Svíčková (braised beef) with dumplings at Cafe Louvre
Gingerbread at Perníčkův Sen
Chlebíčky (Open-Faced Sandwiches) at Sisters Bistro
Donor Kebabs, a must in any European city, and have you tried a Baguette Hot Dog?
Kuchyn next to the main entrance to the castle. Make sure you have reservations!
Some of the best food we enjoyed was at our hotel’s restaurant, Next Door by Imperial.
Visit the Tavern U Krale Brabantskeho and enjoy a pint of beer and a tasty meal! This is the oldest pub in Prague – EST 1375!
The last night we had dinner at Kampa Park on the Vltava River.
We dined on the water, opening the windows and enjoying the breeze and the beautiful river. It’s perfect at night and so romantic!
The moon was spectacular!
Tips for eating in Prague
Tips for where to have Czech classics and what to choose, here.
Do you want to try REAL Czech recipes, here.
And tips for Czech sweets your could buy, here.
Prague’s best coffee shops, here.
What is the best time to visit Prague?
We visited in mid-April, which was perfect weather! The blossoms were out and the temperature was perfect for all the walking we did.
So overall, April to October seems to be the best time to visit Prague. Pack a warm jacket just in case, and book your room couple of weeks in advance.
Where to find live jazz in Prague
You could spend several days just wandering the colorful streets, window shopping all the cute boutiques. Trying local sweets in the bakeries. Stopping for a pint of beer.
Relaxing on a terrace of one of the many charming cafes.
But Paul and I do have one favorite memory. One night, we were wondering home from walking Charles Bridge, and we stumbled upon a small place with live jazz.
We waited for a spot to open up for the Jazz Republic, and there we sat and listened to what we think is some of the best live jazz we’ve ever taken in.
Classy place, super fun drinks, and awesome music. AND FREE!
Here are a few more live music places to visit:
- Jazz Dock
- Reduta (conservative classic)
- AghArta (contemporary local jazz)
Do they speak English in Prague?
I’d say most Czech citizens have a good command of English, with the second most “popular” foreign language being German, and the third one Russian.
Beautiful city and people. So easy to get around, clean, and we love the Czech people, their culture and food! If you’ve never gone to Prague, you will not be disappointed.
I hope you enjoyed my review of our time in Prague! Czech Tourism hosted and helped us plan our time in Prague. All opinions are my own.
I just became aware of your blog through a friend when I mentioned that I’m hooked on charcuterie boards. That led me here and when I saw that you had visited Prague, I had to read all about it. My husband and I lived there for 5 years and it was so fun looking at your pictures and reading about the food all of which were so familiar to me. It made me happy and homesick at the same time. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to receiving your emails and checking out all your recipes including the charcuterie board ones!
Links to your outfits! I love your dresses and want to know more about those shoes (were they comfortable enough for so much walking?)!
Hi :) The black dress is Athleta and the polka dot I bought in Prague! Shoes? Black or red? :)