Written by Denise Stegmann in December 2019
How to share prague with the other tourists
My husband and I were in Prague for a short getaway without the kids in May 2019. We had a phenomenal time and really enjoyed Prague but what really stood out for me was the sheer number of tourists. When I was growing up my parents often took the family to touristy destinations all over Europe but never before Prague had I seen such a diverse horde of visitors. There were Europeans, Americans, families from India and China. It added a fascinating layer to the Prague experience but it also made me wonder about actual tourism numbers and ways of how to enjoy a city that is such a destination for visitors from all over the world.
Thoughts on overtourism in the world and prague in particular
The numbers of tourists visiting Prague has grown exponentially over the last decade. In 2013 Prague had three million visitors, in 2018 at least 8 million tourists have visited Prague, whereby the number might be much higher since the sharing economy has not only made it cheaper to visit Prague but also harder to track tourist numbers. This kind of growth in tourism is any marketer's dream come true, but also a strain on residents, and it simply makes for a more crowded visitor experience. And Prague has one particular problem, a gorgeous old town. Most tourists never leave that zone. The tourism department is aware of the problem and there are efforts for something called geographical distribution, meaning to get tourists to also visit other parts of Prague and the Czech Republic. But of course people are still drawn to the Charle's bridge and Prague castle, and for good reason since these are worthy sights.
prague really is magical
At some point during our Prague visit, right after we had bought a combination ticket to visit several sites of the Jewish museum, it just hit me- this whole Prague tourist experience feels something like a more sophisticated adult Disney experience where instead of going from one ride to the next you are shuffling your way through historically significant sights with hordes of other tourists. Just like Disney World Prague is supposed to be magical, but then being the critical me, I also didn't find the Disney experience that magical. But I am a huge fan of fairy tales, so I have to admit that the fairytale like experience can be found in Prague. You just have to find those random winding cobbled side streets that aren't the obvious points of interests. You need to meander in those places and spot the magical details in historical buildings, and charming narrow streets. They are there, all over Prague. The town was never bombed during the two World Wars. Everything still exists in its beauty and glory from all the past centuries.
Do you really need to visit All the tourist attractions?
There are usually good reasons for why certain tourist attractions are more popular than others in the world. The exceptional piece of art, the historic significance of a location, the stunning beauty of a landscape, bridge or building. Over time these places have stood out to people, maybe a location was the set to a movie, maybe you have learned about it in history class, OR maybe you have seen them on Instagram. Yes, if you are into traveling there is a good chance you are following other traveling people on Instagram. Maybe this is even how you planned your travel itinerary. That is okay, it can be an awesome resource but the attempt of recreating an Instagram image can also lead to significant overcrowding of places. Just think of the "I Amsterdam" letters, that were removed because it drew to many tourists to the same spot. In my opinion it is worth dwelling on the idea to just forego taking the picture that has been taken millions of times already, and instead to find a different, less crowded spot to take your image of the experience. Maybe your curiosity about a specific place can already be satisfied by simply researching facts while planning your itinerary, and then deciding that you are already satisfied having read some facts and having seen pictures, and that you are now ready to immerse yourself in the mundane culture the city has to offer.
4 experiences that are a little off the regular itineraries
1 Reduta- jazz club
Turns out Prague has a vibrant jazz scene, and you should explore it. There are several well known jazz clubs that attract locals and tourists alike. Before we arrived in Prague we looked up what our options were for concerts on our days there and decided on the Reduta Jazz Club that offered a "Tribute to World Legends- John Coltrane". Buying the tickets was actually our first stop after we had landed at the Prague airport. We just stopped by the club, and even though it didn't seem open at first there was a woman who was able to sell us the tickets for the night. The Reduta is a small friendly basement jazz club with a relatively big stage. It's an intimate space with a tiered layout that seems to draw people for the music. I could have kept listening to the concert until the morning hours, the music just carried me away. You could tell that the band members live for their music, and relish the jazz. My husband is a critical and experienced music listener, and he confirmed that this was world class jazz. The drinks were good, the bar seemed a little slow, maybe understaffed, but we had an excellent time. A little trivia about the club, Bill Clinton once demonstrated his saxophone skills on its stage, a picture is still there to prove it.
The Reduta is located in the center of the city, near the National Theatre and the Old Town Square.
Also check out these jazz clubs for their programs:
They are all very walkable from Prague's old town.
Agharta
Located in a 14th century cellar right by the Old Town Square.
Jazz Dock
Located on the banks of the Vltava river it offers views of Prague. This one is not located right by the old town. It's about twenty minutes by foot or public transportation from the Old Town Square on the other side of the Vltava river.
Jazz Republic
Listen to jazz in an old metro station surrounded by art exhibits. This club is also right in Prague's historic center.
The Reduta is located in the center of the city, near the National Theatre and the Old Town Square.
Also check out these jazz clubs for their programs:
They are all very walkable from Prague's old town.
Agharta
Located in a 14th century cellar right by the Old Town Square.
Jazz Dock
Located on the banks of the Vltava river it offers views of Prague. This one is not located right by the old town. It's about twenty minutes by foot or public transportation from the Old Town Square on the other side of the Vltava river.
Jazz Republic
Listen to jazz in an old metro station surrounded by art exhibits. This club is also right in Prague's historic center.
2 gardens below prague castle
Prague is known as The City of a Hundred Spires. So you know it is worth it to find a place to enjoy the view over Prague's roofs. I did not expect to find this from the Gardens below Prague Castle but this was where we found our view. Not only was it stunning but it was also peaceful. Just us and a few other tourists. This place is really worth your time, especially if you want to feel historic Prague and you just want some peace and quiet. There are multiple levels to explore. You ascend a steep staircase and can take breaks on different levels. It is quiet and picturesque, with breathtaking views of the city from the upper levels. We sat on one level for at least 30 minutes, completely undisturbed, soaking up the spring sun with a partial view of the city, roses around around our bench and a garden of potted citrus fruit trees enclosed by a partially open glass door. This truly felt fairy tale like. I pictured princesses playing the harp and reading books in this exact spot, or whatever princesses do in castle gardens. When you climb the stairs you are under the impression that you can access the castle once you are at the top but that is currently not possible. There is a reasonable 200 Czech Koruna charge to enter this piece of paradise.
Just to give you an idea of how much fewer visitors this place sees, Visitor Statistics to Prague Heritage Sites reports that in 2017 this park got 24.000 visitors while the castle had an estimated 7.9 Million visitors. I am just reporting on these numbers to show you how much of an escape this place is going to feel like. In my opinion these are the places worth seeking out.
*Note, these gardens are not handicap or stroller accessible. They can only be accessed via steep stairs.
How to get there:
Tripadvisor reviews stated that it was difficult to find the gardens. I think this might be because the entrance does not look like the entrance to a public place. You have to find a black iron gate behind which opens up to some sort of public garden. It looks somewhat private but if you keep walking you will find the ticket booth.
Valdštejnská 158/14, 110 00 Malá Strana
Just to give you an idea of how much fewer visitors this place sees, Visitor Statistics to Prague Heritage Sites reports that in 2017 this park got 24.000 visitors while the castle had an estimated 7.9 Million visitors. I am just reporting on these numbers to show you how much of an escape this place is going to feel like. In my opinion these are the places worth seeking out.
*Note, these gardens are not handicap or stroller accessible. They can only be accessed via steep stairs.
How to get there:
Tripadvisor reviews stated that it was difficult to find the gardens. I think this might be because the entrance does not look like the entrance to a public place. You have to find a black iron gate behind which opens up to some sort of public garden. It looks somewhat private but if you keep walking you will find the ticket booth.
Valdštejnská 158/14, 110 00 Malá Strana
3 eat seriously good czech food
Almost everything we ate in Prague was delicious, seemed authentic, and had a modern healthy twist to it. This is the kind of food we like. Every waiter, waitress we encountered tried their absolute best and we left Prague with the impression of kind and helpful people. Some places we went to seemed so new and unprepared for all the tourists who wanted to eat their food. I don’t know if this was just a coincidence or if we really witnessed a town still trying to figure out mass tourism.
A young man who was working at the Henry Bell Tower recommended a restaurant to us that he and his family liked. Since you should always follow the recommendations of unassuming locals we went there. And the food turned out to be absolutely delicious. Like I had mentioned before, we like traditional food with a modern touch, so this restaurant was right up our alley, Tiskarna. They had the expected Goulash but also interesting dishes like pickled trout. I especially liked the part of the menu where they recreated dishes from old cookbooks. I had the Veal Meatrolls from the Cookbook for rural housewives from 1909. While eating this tasty dish I just tried to imagine all the steps that the rural housewife had to go through at the beginning of the last century to create this meal. It seemed quite complex and made me wonder how one acquired anchovies in the rural parts of Bohemia in 1909. Despite my worries about the rural housewives from yesterday I enjoyed everything we sampled from the menu. I should mention the interesting location of our table. Tiskarna is a big restaurant that does not seem big from the outside but goes down several levels. While the waiter showed us to our table I just wondered how many more staircases we would still go down until we would arrive at our table. It turned out that our table really was the last table at the way bottom, in the way end of this labyrinth of a restaurant. That is what you get if you do not make reservations. It also seemed like the further down we went the more foreigners there were. I would say all this speaks for the popularity of this eating establishment.
When you visit Prague you also need to know the secret of where to find the most beautiful and historic cafés. Prague has a café culture, but it does not happen at street level. You have to ascend to the second floor of beautiful art noveau buildings with almost intimidatingly high ceilings to find these beauties. And you might actually find yourself among locals since the naive tourist usually is not aware of these gems. One example for such a cafe is Café Louvre.
A young man who was working at the Henry Bell Tower recommended a restaurant to us that he and his family liked. Since you should always follow the recommendations of unassuming locals we went there. And the food turned out to be absolutely delicious. Like I had mentioned before, we like traditional food with a modern touch, so this restaurant was right up our alley, Tiskarna. They had the expected Goulash but also interesting dishes like pickled trout. I especially liked the part of the menu where they recreated dishes from old cookbooks. I had the Veal Meatrolls from the Cookbook for rural housewives from 1909. While eating this tasty dish I just tried to imagine all the steps that the rural housewife had to go through at the beginning of the last century to create this meal. It seemed quite complex and made me wonder how one acquired anchovies in the rural parts of Bohemia in 1909. Despite my worries about the rural housewives from yesterday I enjoyed everything we sampled from the menu. I should mention the interesting location of our table. Tiskarna is a big restaurant that does not seem big from the outside but goes down several levels. While the waiter showed us to our table I just wondered how many more staircases we would still go down until we would arrive at our table. It turned out that our table really was the last table at the way bottom, in the way end of this labyrinth of a restaurant. That is what you get if you do not make reservations. It also seemed like the further down we went the more foreigners there were. I would say all this speaks for the popularity of this eating establishment.
When you visit Prague you also need to know the secret of where to find the most beautiful and historic cafés. Prague has a café culture, but it does not happen at street level. You have to ascend to the second floor of beautiful art noveau buildings with almost intimidatingly high ceilings to find these beauties. And you might actually find yourself among locals since the naive tourist usually is not aware of these gems. One example for such a cafe is Café Louvre.
4 buy a unique and lasting souvenir
The Czech Republic, and Prague in particular is known for shoe manufacturing. Bata is probably the most well known Czech shoe brand you will have access to outside of the Czech Republic. While meandering the cobble stoned streets of Prague we came across a window display of stylish, colorful retro sneakers that immediately caught our attention. Minimalist store with a classy product, we went right in. After talking to the young man working the store it turned out that these handmade Czech shoes are the classic Czech Botas sneakers from the 60s which were revived in 2008 by design students who had won several national and international design awards for their reinvigorated shoe design.
Now that you have read about this fantastic shoe store you should actually plan to make this your first stop during you Prague trip. Your feet will thank you. There you have it, a truly Czech shopping experience for a high quality usable product that will bring you actual joy in your every day life way past your journey to Prague.
Maybe good to know, "botas" means "sneakers" in the Czech language.
There are multiple locations for Botas. We enjoyed this one: Skořepka 4, 110 00 Staré Město
Now that you have read about this fantastic shoe store you should actually plan to make this your first stop during you Prague trip. Your feet will thank you. There you have it, a truly Czech shopping experience for a high quality usable product that will bring you actual joy in your every day life way past your journey to Prague.
Maybe good to know, "botas" means "sneakers" in the Czech language.
There are multiple locations for Botas. We enjoyed this one: Skořepka 4, 110 00 Staré Město
Links for those who want to learn more about overtourism
Eye opening read that shows you the local's perspective on tourism.
www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190818-whats-it-like-to-live-in-an-over-touristed-city
This one comes highly recommended. A fascinating and expanding webpage that uses data to predict if your time of travel will be a popular on with other tourists. Get answers to your question of how crowded your destination will be.
avoid-crowds.com/
www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190818-whats-it-like-to-live-in-an-over-touristed-city
This one comes highly recommended. A fascinating and expanding webpage that uses data to predict if your time of travel will be a popular on with other tourists. Get answers to your question of how crowded your destination will be.
avoid-crowds.com/
