Prague Shopping

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Na Prikope is a part pedestrian street lined with clothing stores, arcades and restaurants. If you want to do some shopping in some of the usual chain stores this is the place to come.

We took a little time to pop into a few shops....plenty to choose from, but had no success...

What to buy: You may also find yourself wandering along Na Prikope if you are walking from Namesti Republiky to Wenceslas Square....perhaps you can do some window shopping on your way to discover more of Prague's attractions.

Looking for flea market? To get anything for nice price? Just visit flea market in Kolbenova. Its industry area of Prague and market takes place in old factory court.
Just in front of the market is metro stop KOLBENOVA line B so its very easy to find this place.
Its very popular among Czech people and tourists too. Every saterday you will see line of cars waiting for car park place...
You can get there anything! Cloth, music, tv, old paintings, furniture, old silverwear...

But again watch your bags and pockets...pickpockets may be there too...

Every Saterday, Sunday...6am - 1pm
Entrance fee 10czk

What to buy: You can get there anything! Cloth, music, tv, old paintings, furniture, old silverwear...

So great suvenire what you will not get for sure in gift shops in Old Town...

What to pay: 1czk - 10000czk

The Art Deco Galerie is a fabulous cluttered treasure trove of a shop filled with antique furnishings, clothing, jewellery and other bits and pieces from the 1920's and 30's.

The overcrowded displays just add to the appeal of this shop where you will want to spend more time browsing than your husband/partner/friend will have the patience for.

What to buy: I saw a fabulous handbag and some interesting jewellery….but Alex bustled me out before I had time to buy anything!

Prague has a wonderful large open air market in the area of Holesovice, it's great for buying, well everything!

Note: the area can look a bit run-down (see picture) but truly it is not a problem, happy shopping (cash only)

What to buy: There are stalls selling watches, clothing, shoes and boots, handbags, rather doggy knives and swords, perfume, jewellery ect, you will not have too much difficulty finding what you want.

And if you start to feel hungry there are several sit-in stalls making the most wonderful Chinese take-away foods at incredibly low prices (65 CZK).

What to pay: It is a MUST that you barter the price, take for instance a watch, the starting price will be about 950 CZK, just laugh and walk away, the stall holder will bring out a calculator and start to drop the price down, keep saying no until you are offered the calculator, you then offer 400 CZK, keep at it and you will get that price.

Or if you want to buy more than one item at a stall bargain hard for a good price based on the fact that you are buying more than one.

Have fun!

Most shops in the center of Prague will have some kind of wrought iron object for sale.
Around the Old Town square you can actually see the blacksmiths at work.

Most of the items that they have for sale are not, in my opinion, hand-made. No problem, they are still nice to look at.

However, should you want something really hand-made and special, just ask for it.
We had seen a very small candle holder at a blacksmith, but his prices were quite high, so we went looking for other places (TIP: if you have the time, just look around as the prices very greatly from one place to another, even in the same street).
We found this other blacksmith close to the old town square and we asked him if he could make those candle holders that we had seen before.

No problem! was the answer, so we waited for about 20 minutes to see him create them from a piece of metal. Now we are sure to have a unique, hand-made piece.

I will soon add a travelogue with some more pictures.

What to buy: All kinds of objects in wrought iron, from candle holders, to coat-hangers.

What to pay: Depending on the product, from 5 to 500 Eur...

What to buy: I love Czech crystal. It's cheap and if you shop around you'll find some amazing pieces. It's best get off the main shopping streets (Paris & Celetna). I have found that the Jewish District is probably the best bet for your crystal needs. I have also found that leaving Prague altogether is not such a bad idea, either. I have found some great buys in Cesky Krumlov.

As a tip, I always travel with bubble wrap to safely bring my purchases back home with me.

What to pay: You can buy small pieces for as little as $5 per item. Or you can pay up into the hundreds. Bargain with them!

Located in Old Town Square (Starmoetske Nam. 15), this shop had the highest quality Czech handcrafts, and some really unusual items. Two years in a row I fell in love with Czech textiles...I purchased two purses and a backpack, so unusual and beautiful, and well priced (between $30 - $40.) There are also gorgeous silk-screened scarves, jewelry, paintings, more.

What to buy: In the Gallery (English translation: "The Gallery at the White Unicorn"), best buys include hats and bags, scarves, and jewelry.

What to pay: Jewelry was priced from $4 up, bags from $6 up.

You pay 15,97% VAT on most purchases you make, the VAT rate is depending on what kind of goods you are buying and the VAT is included in the price. All foreign tourists outside th EU are entitled to claim back the tax, if they spend over 2.000 CZK in one shop in one day.

After deduction of the handling expense, you will receive a refund up to 14% of the purchase price. You can cash your refund cheque at the airport in Prague and Karlovy Vary, inland or abroad at one of more than 200 international cash refund offices.

Global Refund offers you several possibillities of receiving your VAT-refund:

Cash at a nearby Global Refund Office
Cash refund when you return home.
Direct crediting of a chosen credit card or bank account.
Bank cheque sent to a chosen address.

What to pay: How to Claim
- When paying for your goods at the check out, ask the store for a Tax Free shopping voucher.

- Present the voucher to a Czech customs official within 30 days of the date of purchase to get a stamp. At the airport this is located BEFORE passport control.

- Hand the Cheque in AFTER passport control to one of the Duty Free Shops. They will then refund your VAT, minus their commission.

Debenhams is a favourite department store in Britain and it was great to see one in Prague. The shop looks very similar to the Debenhams i have been to at home. Its a big store with lots of items including mens, womens and childrens clothes.

The opening times are monday to saturday 9am till 8pm & sunday 10am till 6pm.

What to buy: Mens, womens and childrens clothes, electricals, things for the home, furniture, underwear, jewellery, handbags and gifts. They also do the Wedding service as they do in the stores in England too. The store is famous for its clothes with a range of designer clothes for all.
Its a great place to go for all your family and home needs.

What to pay: Similar prices to in England.

Down an alley in the Prague Castle and Hradcany area, this shop was a treasure. There were marionettes all over Prague, but this shop, although it had fewer to choose from, had some of the nicest ones we saw. I purchased a non-Disney Pinocchio marionette, absolutely lovely, for about $25 U.S. The shop also had lots of nice local artwork and crafts.

What to buy: Look for well-made marionettes, ceramics (keramika), fine art.

What to pay: High-end marionettes were about $25 and up.