11 tips to experience Prague like a local

No matter what kind of city trip you’re in the mood for, the Czech capital is the place to be. If you’ve ticked off the old familiar sights and want to experience Prague like a local, this is tips for you.

Here you can party, experience lots of culture, wander through the beautiful streets, drink really good beer and take hundreds of photos. Compared to other popular European cities, you can still have a good time for cheap.

1. Drink the best beer in town at Pult

• Ad: V Celnici 1031/4, 110 00 Nové Město
• Open: 3pm – 1am

Beer is omnipresent on a city break in Prague. That makes it all the more difficult not to lose track of the bars and pubs with the best beer. One of them is PULT. Here, beer tapping is treated like an art – and it tastes like one. Because the bar specialises in light beers, six of them are offered fresh from the barrel. The beer professionals at PULT want to show tourists that light beers are even more versatile than the well-known Pilsner Urquell. For those who prefer IPA or sour beer, there are three changing special beers and countless bottles from small breweries.

2. Get an overview on one of Prague’s towers

• Ad: Staroměstské nám. 1/3, 110 00 Staré Město
• Open: Monday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday: 9 a.m.-2 p.m
• Price: 10 €

Prague is called the city of towers. If you look around, you’ll quickly realise why. No matter where you stand in Prague, you’ll see at least two spires and thus countless great places to get an overview of the city.

Prague’s three most famous towers include the Powder Tower, from which you can get a good view of Prague’s surroundings, the Charles Bridge Tower, from which you get a great view of the Vltava River and Prague Castle, and the Old Town Hall Tower. The latter is the one for you if you want to see a large part of the Old Town and don’t want to or can’t climb many stairs. Two lifts take you to the top and the observation deck.

3. Discover the cool Kasárna Karlín

• Ad: Prvního pluku 20/2, 186 00 Karlín
• Open: Monday to Friday: 13-23.30, Saturday & Sunday: 10-23.30

If you don’t a local, you’ll probably never find Kasárna Karlín. The former military barracks are hidden away in the backyard of the Karlín district. It’s definitely worth a visit, though, because the grounds are one of the coolest places in Prague. Here you can play beach volleyball, watch films in the open-air cinema and art in the gallery, relax on the deckchairs, stop by the bar and even go to the sauna or drink coffee in a former swimming pool.,

4. Stroll through Prague’s hipster district Holesovice

For a long time, the former working-class district of Holešovice was considered run-down, and few tourists strayed into the district. Now, however, Holešovice with its nooks and crannies is up and coming and a hip district where bars and alternative restaurants are springing up. One highlight, for example, is the Dox Gallery, where contemporary art is exhibited in a former factory. Holešovice is also a great place to party. For example, in the Club Altenburg 1964, which is located on a former GDR inland cargo ship.

5. View modern art at the Kunsthalle Prague

• Ad: Klárov 5, 118 00 Malá Strana
• Open: Wednesday: 11-21 h, Thursday to Monday: 11-19 h
• Price: 10 €, for visitors under 26 years: 6 €

The Kunsthalle Prague opened in February 2022 and it’s quite something to behold. Located on the site of a former transformer station, the gallery exhibits Czech and international art from the 20th and 21st centuries. If you stop by, however, you should not only take a look at the installations, but also go to the top floor and walk around the building. Up here there are two terraces, a café and a small library where you can relax.

6. Take a boat trip on the Vltava

• Ad: Křižovnická 191/3, 110 00 Staré Město
• Open: Monday to Friday: 10-19 h
• Price: 18 €

There is the category of tourist attractions that are absolutely cliché, but “unfortunately awesome”. One of them is a boat trip on the Vltava River with one of Prague Venice’s wooden boats. The tour takes about an hour and starts at Charles Bridge. You won’t get very far because of the dams around the bridge, but the leisurely boat trip gives you enough time to see the most beautiful buildings on the riverbank from a different perspective and learn more about their origins with an audio guide. The trip also takes you into a small canal that looks more like Venice than Prague.

7. Feast your way through Manifesto Market

• Ad: Ostrovského 34, 150 00 Praha 5-Anděl
• Open: Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m

Until a few years ago, there was no reason to visit the run-down and impersonal Anděl business district on a city break to Prague. Then the Manifesto Market took up residence in a former car park, bringing one of Prague’s most creative places to the neighbourhood. The street food market changes 180 degrees every few months.

In summer, you can dip your toes in a swimming pool here, in winter, a carousel spins. It’s not only worth stopping by for tacos, frames and cocktails, but also for the events that take place here every evening. Stand-up comedy and films are shown in a special part of the market, and there are always parties, dance classes and pop-up galleries where young artists exhibit their work.

8. Enjoy the view from the Petřín lookout tower

• Ad: Petřínské sady 633, 118 00 Praha 1-Malá Strana
• Open: January to March: daily 10am-6pm, April & May: daily 9am-8pm, June to September: daily 9am-2pm, October to December: daily 10am-8pm.
• Price: 6 €

If you think the Petřín lookout tower resembles the Eiffel Tower, you’re not wrong. At 58.7 metres, the tower in Prague’s Petřín district is not quite as tall as the Parisian version, but it was built on the occasion of a world exhibition as a copy of the French landmark. Unlike in Paris, however, you have to earn the view here and climb all the stairs yourself. But from the top you can see not only the whole of Prague, but also Bohemia. Pretty scary: when you stand on the top of the two viewing platforms and look down at your feet, you notice that the tower moves slightly in the wind.

9. Spend an evening on the Náplavka promenade

It’s not easy to find a promenade and bar area in Prague that isn’t full of tourists. The Naplavka Vltava promenade is full of locals chilling in bars and restaurants. What’s cool is that some of them are even on boats and others are built into the arches that separate the riverbank from the main street. On the pedestrian promenade, depending on the time of day, you can cheer on joggers, listen to live music and sometimes even watch street performers. On Saturdays, a farmers’ market is held here from 8 am to 2 pm, and a special kind of flea market is held on a boat until 4 pm.

10. Shop local products in the CZECHDESIGN Shop

• Ad: Myslíkova 209/5, 110 00 Nové Město
• Open: Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m

If you are a design fan or like experience Prague like a local, the CZECHDESIGN Shop is a must. The shop in the centre of Prague mainly sells products by Czech designers. Some of them are real stars of the design world, others are just starting their careers. Here you can find jewellery, backpacks, porcelain, toys, handbags, books, natural cosmetics and everything else that is practical and looks cool and creative.

11. Relax in Petrin Park

• Address: Petřínské sady 118 00, 118 00 Praha 1-Mala Strana

If the hustle and bustle of Prague’s Old Town is too much for you, you should head to the other side of the Vltava and to Petřín Park. The large park is located on a hill, so walking can quickly become quite sweaty. If you want to take it easy, take the funicular through the park and up Petřín Hill. Due to the hill’s location, there are several places where you can linger with a beautiful view of Prague.