Amadea
A slightly kitschy but still lovely woodwork shop, where you can start small, with hand-carved Christmas decorations, and work your way up to beautifully crafted tables and chairs.
8 Best Shopping in Prague, Czech Republic
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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.
Deelive Design Store
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.
Ecospace Prague
This is a very cute eco and zero-waste shop tucked onto this winding, typically Old Town street. The rolltop bags made of ocean plastic, children's puzzles, vegan ice creams, and candles shaped like cakes are some of the highlights.
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Galerie Nostalgie
A small, vaguely hippieish store with loose-fitting linen clothes, mugs and other pottery, dried flowers, and some more traditionally touristy postcards and Kafka-themed gifts. The friendly owner is happy to chat with patrons, and the calm vibe of the space makes for a nice place to recoup after the mania of the Charles Bridge and its environs, even if nothing catches your eye (but it probably will).
Lípa
Forget the overpriced junk available on every corner, and bag yourself some quality souvenirs here, from Czech designers and producers, in a chic minimalist store. There's an impressive variety of products available, too, from jam and soap to soft toys and wooden bowls.
Mucha Museum Shop
The perfect place for your art nouveau or Alfons Mucha fix (the world-famous Czech artist who made his name painting Sarah Bernhardt in fin de siècle Paris), this charming shop is located in a museum dedicated to the artist. You'll find posters, postcards, calendars, glass, jewelry, scarves, books, lamps, and more, all with the signature Mucha motifs.
Rocking Horse Toy Shop
Take a trip back in time to when toys were made from wood and model cars were cherished. Everything about this store will make you smile, from the friendly owner's greeting to the stock of cheerful wind-up music boxes and animal figurines. Look closely at those wood-carved rocking horses and three-headed dragons; many items are handmade by Czech craftsmen. The shop even sells kits with colored pencils and pastels for budding young artists. It's only open in the afternoons, but easily combined with a visit to the Loreta.
Smaltum
These cute enamelware products are a proper homegrown success story, from a sister-and-brother team who started off selling them on Charles Bridge. The look has now taken off, but these are the original and best, with their bright mugs, decorated with animals, now gracing a million homes worldwide, the team estimate.
