Prague gets a reset and the emphasis is on local

Prague was deservedly popular with visitors before the pandemic, but life here often felt a little out of hand before 2020. As a small counterbalance to an immense tragedy, the pandemic presented the city with a chance for a much-needed reset. Residents had time to rediscover places and neighborhoods they had long left to tourists. The sudden lack of foreign guests forced restaurateurs to refocus on customers who actually live here. Historic attractions were renovated. And new projects that continued with openings in 2020 and 2021 have made the city even more fun than before.

As a result, Prague now feels like a place with less touristy tricks and more local flavor. It also has a younger vibe than many visitors would expect, explains Jan Valenta, who blogs about local restaurants and offers tours of his business. Taste of Prague.

“The biggest difference, I think, between a western country like the US and a post-communist country like us, is the distribution of wealth across generations,” Valenta said. “The older generation here doesn’t have the money to spend in the restaurants that young people go to.”

Mr Valenta, 44, notes that he defines young people as “very generous”. Regardless, the city has a more youthful vibrancy than in previous years, which could explain the newfound popularity of public spaces, including the banks of the Vltava River, as well as islands and parks.

“There’s more of a sense of community than five years ago,” said Mr. valentine. “People are more willing to meet outside and spend time together. That’s a very new development, I think, and it’s great.”

Some of those new spaces include: a tentacle, a scenic but overlooked spot on the embankment of the Old Town that debuted in mid-2021 as an open-air concert venue and multi-purpose meeting place. Even attractions with a bit of history, such as the popular promenade on the shore of Rašín known as driftwood, was given new functions during the pandemic, including new cafes and pop-up bars in the former ice storage vaults in the retaining wall along the riverside walkway.

Less pompous, but more direct in terms of local memory: Retro Museum, an exhibition of everyday objects from Czechoslovakia’s normalization era in the 1970s and 1980s, which opened earlier this year at the Kotva department store in the Old Town (adults, 220 koruny or about $10). The commie-kitsch collection of clothing, furniture, interior design, packaging and collectibles fits perfectly with the setting, a renovated but still bizarre Brutalist building from 1975.

Barbecue, beer and bakeries

Most of the big new draws are in the world of food – and many love the central areas of Old Town and Malá Strana. That may sound discouraging, but Prague’s metro and extensive tram network make traveling around the city easy, as Melissa Joulwan, a resident of Prague and co-host of the Strong sense of place literary travel podcast, often tells visitors.

“People who are not used to public transport may not understand how easy it is to get around, and places that seem far away are actually not far away at all,” she says. “It’s so nice to look at the architecture in other neighborhoods – there’s always something beautiful or interesting to see.”

With a 72-hour ticket that costs 330 koruny, or a 30-minute ticket for 30 koruny, it’s easy to get to up-and-coming neighborhoods like Holešovice, where big smokers began serving its perfect Austin, Texas-style barbecue to a relaxed crowd in late 2019 (the Big Taste platter serves four smoked meats and four sides, enough for three dinners, for 765 koruny), not far from a popular takeaway for smashburgers that opened under a non-printable name in 2021. Take another metro and in minutes you can check out the newcomers to the once-derelict Smíchov district, such as the global food court Manifesto Market. The stylish Angel branch opened in September 2021, shortly before it closed the original location near the Florenc metro station; highlights include tacos, Italian seafood sandwiches, and Brazilian barbecue. Just around the corner is another arrival in 2021, Bon Ramenthe third outpost of a local micro-chain.

Even neighborhoods with an already enviable list of restaurants got nice newcomers. The Karlín neighborhood was cool half a decade ago, but with the advent of casual eateries like 2021’s home-cooking-inspired Kro Bistro & BarServing up rotisserie chicken, roasted cauliflower, and house-made kimchi, it just got cooler. The extensive development projects transforming the nearby embankment are underway, but a handful of new cafes, bars and restaurants have already been established, such as Ye’s Coffee Wine – a day cafe with great vino, homemade lemonades, creative brunch dishes, cakes and easy cocktails.

One trend is running all over the city: better bakeries and pastry shops. With the opening in 2020 of its newest, sixth branch in Smíchov, it is easy to Antonin’s Bakery (or Antonin’s Bakery) in Prague, even though the name isn’t easy to pronounce; an espresso with a poppy seed-covered loupák bun or a gingerbread-like perník is an ideal mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

There are now three branches of the Icelandic company Artic Bakehouse — a source for super flaky almond croissants and Icelandic cardamom-scented kleina pastries — including a Smíchov branch that opened in 2021. And you’ll find Cronut-esque “crobliha” pastries, a cross between a Czech kobliha pastry and a French croissant (about 110 koruny), right across town at the four branches of Oh Deer Bakery, three of which will open in 2020 or later. More traditional sweets, including the small cakes sometimes called kolache in English, can be found in the Vinohrady district on Piece of cake, which was launched in mid-2020 to rave reviews.

Due to social distancing and other public health restrictions, Prague’s famous drinking culture has seen less growth than in previous eras. That said, a handful of major watering holes have opened, including the grand reopening of the Vintage-1912 this year American bar in the monumental Obecní Dům, or town hall, in Republic Square, after a long closure. Other newcomers include: Countera specialty beer bar that focuses on expertly tapped Czech foam-capped lagers, and Oh my Yaltaa cocktail bar run in collaboration with the cult Czech distiller Martin Zufanekmaker of great absinthe, unusual fruit distillates and a cherished local gin known as OMG.

Where to lay your head?

The recent cancellation of virtually all coronavirus restrictions and a severe, residents-pleasing reduction in short-term apartment rentals have only heightened the sense of a city in full bloom.

While a few hotels closed for good during the lockdown, they were compensated by some wonderful new arrivals, such as the one from 2021 Hotel Kubus, a contemporary boutique hotel housed in a 1920s former cinema (in August, doubles start at around 149 euros, or about $157). Famous for Viennese coffee and gourmet groceries, the Austrian Julius Meinl group opened its first hotel in Prague, the Julius, this summer; many of the 168 rooms and suites have full kitchens or kitchenettes (double rooms start at around 145 euros in August). On that same New Town square, Senovážné Náměstí, the new Hyatt’s Andaz Prague opened its 176 luxuriously appointed rooms earlier this year; the landmark neoclassical building, Cukrovarnický Palác, which the hotel translates as Sugar Palace, dates back to 1916 (in August, double rooms start at around 342 euros).

That seems enough to warrant a visit. But to sweeten the deal, the city has just launched a new tourist card, Prague Visitor Pass (1800 koruny for a 48 hour version). In addition to unlimited travel on public transport, it offers free entry to dozens of museums, galleries, gardens, towers, and historic sites.