One of my favorite galleries in Prague is situated in Školská street, just a few meters above the Cafe Therapy restaurant (check the Café Therapy article). Leica Gallery Prague is run by a non-profitable company of the same name and its objective is not only organization of quality photographic exhibition, but also running workshops for public and other activities.

During the years that LGP was open, I have seen a number of great exhibitions held there. Besides their own showroom, LGP has been using various exhibition spaces (such as the Prague Castle in the past or Mánes). Until 17.6. there is an exhibition of Jan Lukas – The New York city diary – photos from NYC. 

LGP has an added value – the café which is part of the showroom. The coffee there is fine and if you are in the mood for something else, you can for sure to enjoy a glass of wine and browse some of the art books and magazines they have there.

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Leica Gallery | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Festivals & events | Exhibition entry CZK 70
Školská 28 | Praha 1 | +420608963523
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 21:00, Sat – Sun 14:00 – 21:00

If you love Vietnamese food, you should check out the so-called little Hanoi aka Sapa, situated in Prague.

TTTM Sapa, located in the south surround of Prague called Písnice, is a wholesale market where you can buy a lot of stuff (the majority of the items sold comes from Asia of course). Actually it’s like a town in a town with different amenities for the Vietnamese community: restaurants and bistros (including bubble tea places) beauty salons, a school, a temple etc.

I’m a big fan of Sapa especially because of the food. I like the Vietnamese groceries, where you can buy different ingredients for Asian cuisine that you can not buy anywhere else (or they are way to expensive) – various vegetables and fruits, herbs, sauces, frozen prawns, alive crabs, strange looking meat, tea, rice, tofu and much more…

Besides checking the shops you should definitely eat there. The criteria of a good place to eat is simple: eat where local people eat. Places which are oriented in one type of food are usually the strike home. My favorite place is a tiny place named Hai Há – the have the best bún chả- it is rich and savory.

P.S. if you go to Sapa by bus, you can take bus 113 from metro station Kacerov (C line) – that is the best way. A second option is the bus 198 from Smichovske nadrazi metro station (B line). 

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Sapa | Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Bún chả CZK 90.00
Libušská 319/126 | Praha 4
09:00 – 20:00 daily

Just by the river, some six kilometres south of Podolska vodarna lies the local’s very favourite cyclo-road. Of course you will not find only bikes there but also a bunch of in-line skaters as well as pedestrians.

It is not only its length which makes it so attractive. It is also the position at the outskirts of the city, in the green area. It is a great place for a picnic or various outdoor sports. By the road, there are several ‘refreshing’ spots where you can get a cheap cold beer or a Kofola – the popular Czech coke drink (which I really recommend trying, we, locals, love it – what about you? ).

A trip there makes for some sort of cultural event, too. That is thanks to the number of great graffitis placed at the so called ‘legals’ – concrete spots by the river on which it is completely legal to spray.

If you own a bike or feel like a long walk, you can go even further than the previously stated 6 km and reach the ‘real’ nature near Zbraslav (where there’s even a small zoo and a former Celtic settlement). Enjoy!

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Modřanská cyklostezka | Relaxing | Free
From Podolí to Komořany | Praha 4
24 hours daily

Vaguely reminiscent of a French countryside living-room, with its blue and white décor and lavender stems in glass vases, Prádelna is all nouveau Žižkov. With mismatched quaint furniture, white walls and black-board menu, this non-smoking café seems to be made for a lazy afternoon of conversation and light snacking.

Prádelna, or laundry room in translation, is home-made through and through. Aside from the furnishing, the cakes, panini, soups and even the paté, which is a staple on the menu, are also all made with love by the café staff and associates. Although service can be a bit on the slow side – all the times I’ve been there, there was only one young lady serving the whole place – it is very pleasant and laid-back.

This café is definitely a great stop on your way from Riegrovy Sady (check the article) or a late-morning coffee after doing your shopping at the farmers’ market (check the article) at Jiřího z Poděbrad. I prefer the latter. The only downside to this place is that it closes at 20:00.

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Prádelna Café | Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Home-made paté CZK 65
Slavíkova 21 | Praha 2 | +420774843477
11:00 – 20:00 daily

For the life of me, I still don’t understand what the name of this restaurant – translated as caffeine – has to do with the menu or the concept, but this became fairly irrelevant once I tasted my first Kofein tapa. Inspired by the Spanish original, this family restaurant decided to put forth an international, and in some cases even purely Central European, twist.

Although Chorizo and pork belly still have a place on Kofein’s dinner menu, the much more exciting small dishes are not commonly seen in the world of tapas – like red lentil salad with bacon chips or millet grains with vegetables and beef fillet in red wine sauce. Served with fresh bread and a smile from the multi-lingual waiters, the tapas are great way to try out the chef’s versatility and finesse. Each tapa dish is actually enough for two to three people to have a good tasting.

If you’re not in the mood to share, you can also enjoy the portobello or beef burger, or a hearty beef borsch alone. But Kofein definitely seems like a place for sharing. The interesting wine list definitely helps that along.

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Kofein | Restaurants (Tapas) | Average tapa CZK 65
Nitranská 9 | Praha 3 | +420273132145
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 17:00 – 00:00

The A2 Prague bike path slices the city in half from north to south. Starting all the way up around Roztoky the path hugs the Vltava river, taking you to the southern outskirts in Zbraslav. But, that’s actually not the way I would recommend to go. The best way to use the A2 is to take it from the outer center of the city north or south and watch the city landscape turn to green countryside.

If you want to head south, which I highly recommend, start at the railroad bridge near Výtoň. This way, you avoid the tourist crowds moseying along the embankment. The sidewalk quickly turns to a proper paved bike path, once you go under the Vyšehrad cliff, and then at Branik slopes down towards the river away from the car traffic. After that you’re riding along practically uninterrupted greenery for about eight or so kilometers, passing along a golf course, a wonderful tree-lined lane and then riding near the river with plenty of grassy meadows for picnics and pit stops. And since it’s the Czech Republic, there is always a beer stand close by serving refreshing beverages.

Once you reach the bridge to Zbraslav, though, the A2 official ends and you are doomed to riding along a narrow undivided local road, which can be dangerous. If you don’t want to go back, you can cross over to Zbraslav. We recently even kept going to Černošice and then to Karlštejn, without having to ride along any big roads.

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Vltava bike path | Relaxing | Free
Vyton | Praha 1
Daily

I discovered Merrygorando just a while ago while walking to Papelote shop (check the Papirnictvi Papelote article) to buy myself a nice notebook. At  first sight th Merrygorando shop appeared like another shop with T-shirts, but when I went inside and especially after a talk with the shop assistant I learned more about the concept and idea. On my second visit I bought nice T-shirt and presents for children of my friends.

Merrygorando concept store offers eco-friendly furniture, original lamps, T-shirts, fashion accessories, bags and toys, all under the brand Merrygorando. The offer is completed by pieces from Thai and Japanese designers. The designers of Merrygorando claim that they are creating the products with respect to our planet and they are very often using recycled and natural materials.

This attitude is best recognized on the funny toys that shine with beautiful colours and remind me of early Star Track fantasies of alien organisms. These are made in Thailand by designer Thongsuk Mongkhon who also cooperates with Merrygorando. The furniture is mostly made in Czech Republic and the motto of it is ‘fresh design of quality products for reasonable price’. I also admired the very original and merry watches that are surprisingly also made from recycled materials!

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Merrygorando | Shopping | T-shirt CZK 350.00
Vojtěšská 12 | Praha 1
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 20:00, Sat 12:00 – 16:00

It is so rare these days to see a sky full of stars in the city. All the light pollution is giving us the feeling that the city exists in a different universe than the countryside. For those who think the stars belong to the sky there is the Planetarium in Prague. If you would ask any Prague citizen if he visited the planetarium, answer would be ‘Yes, on a primary school trip’. And now, when you visit it, you will be mostly accompanied with families and children.

The Planetarium is located in the park Stromovka (check the Stromovka article) and was founded in 1960. The dome is one of the largest in the world, so imagine how many stars will fit there…yeah, many. The shows in English are of a limited number but I believe this tip is worth it. When you choose to listen to the presentation in English, the price is a bit higher and you will get headphones with the English translation. Remember to come 15 minutes before the start. The shows available in English are ‘Nocni Obloha – The Night Sky’, ‘Poutnici prostorem a casem – Wanderers through space and time’ and ‘Astrologie a alchymie na dvore Rudolfa II. – Astrology and Alchemy in the court of Rudolph II.’. Especially the show ‘Night Sky’ is on twice per week.

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Planetárium Praha | Relaxing | The Night Sky show/1 person CZK 220.00
Královská obora 233 | Praha 7 | +420220999001
Mon 08:30 – 12:00 & 13:00 – 18:00, Tue – Thu 08:30 – 12:00 & 13:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:30 – 12:00 & 13:00 – 20:00, Sun 09:30 – 12:00 & 13:00 – 18:00

Do you see the ties on the picture? This is what second-hand looks like. You can imagine any type of clothing, ties, shirts, trousers, T-shirts, dresses, and in this second-hand store you will always find many of those, so you will be amazed. This second-hand store offers the vintage clothes you can also find in the center of the city, but for a lower price.

The lower price is balanced by the effort you have to invest in searching. As I mentioned there are many pieces of one type of clothing. And not all of them are really tempting. But I found a wonderful shirt from the 50′s, a dress from the 70′s and let’s not speak about the 80′s and 90′s, because I found a jacket even Vanilla Ice would not be ashamed of.

The second-hand is located out of the center and I suggest you save some time to visit it. The connection can be found on this website – the final station is ‘Stare Namesti’. While walking to the shop you will pass a prison (who passes prison on a tourist visit??). The price is per piece or per kilogram and I suggest to negotiate when the piece is a little broken.

This spot is really for second-hand lovers. I like to relax here – I am being  honest, because I had two beers in Kulovy Blesk (check the Kulovy Blesk article) and I wished I had time to visit the shop right away.

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Ruzyňský second-hand | Shopping
Kralupská 2/47 | Praha 6 | +420235301251
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 15:00

Aero, floating on air, relaxing, feeling good among people who seems close to you…and I believe you will also come up with a different description once you have been to Kino Aero.

Kino Aero is one of the few specialized in art films, various festivals and special projections. The cinema itself was built in the years 1930 – 33 in the courtyard of residential house in a purely functionalist style. The last renovation affected the bar that turned from cosy and old-school to pure black, white and green space so corresponding with the function of the bar and giving free space to often held exhibition of film posters.

I have loved visiting Kino Aero since I was small. Although the journey from the other part of the city took hour and a half and I was able to recall the part of Prague we passed much later in my life, I never felt Kino Aero was too far. And when I lived in Prague? I could not resist any more. I believe you will love the bar, love Bernard beer, enjoy the carefully chosen films and welcoming atmosphere.

Interesting fact – as an extended activity of Kino Aero and Kino Svetozor (check the Kino Svetozor article) distribution company Aerofilms was born, focused on valuable feature films and documents.

Why not to end your Zizkov tour with a quality film?

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Kino Aero | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas | Film ticket CZK 100.00
Biskupcova 31 | Praha 3 | +420271771349
16:00 – 00:00 daily