Image by Tomáš Jungwirth

You will not only find bars and cafés at Újezd. On the corner, there is also a shop you might not have seen before. In Czech, this kind of shop is called „vetešnictví” (literally „junk-shop”) and they were quite popular some hundred year ago. There are not many left these days and that makes this one even more special (I bet it has been there for at least a century)

In this shop you can get just about anything. Old postcards, sewing machines, musical instruments, books, maps, dishes, coffee pots, beer bottles – to start with. Everyone will probably find their sort of thing and won’t leave bare-handed. The prices are naturally very low, although perhaps if you start speaking some other language than Czech, you might get a mark-up.

When you come in, it feels like another world. Most of all in winter, when it is freezing outside, it is a great place to wait for a tram to come… The room is very dark and crowded with all kinds of stuff. I would recommend visiting on a cold winter day, it is particularly nice to go and see this warm and dark place, then. Oh, and if you are really broke, you can sell some stuff too…

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Vetešnictví na Újezdě | Shopping
Vítězná 16 | Praha 1 | +420257310611
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 16:00

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Image by Gift from friend

Are you one of those, whose souvenirs are collected in the skin? Or you just fancy Prague so much that you must engrave it into your derm? Then choose carefully where you go.

There are plenty of tattoo studios but few are really good. There is place called Hell, Poupětova 7, in Prague 7 with its branch Fallen Angel in Prague 5, Kováků 4. Both do tattoos, the first one does piercing and heavy bodymods too. But don’t expect any catalog – they do only originals.

Another one pretty famous and hipster trendy is Tribo (doing both tattoo and piercing) located in Lidická 8 (P5) and also in the very centre – Klimentská 2. The Prague 5 location hosts Musa with a very characteristic style and there are also many guest tattoo artists. I have also heard some good experiences with Alien tattoo studio in Jilská street 22 (Prague 1). Very significant style has Peter Bobek, who opened his studio in summer 2011.

In all those you shall be safe: everything is clean, disinfected, tattoo artists speak at least English (if not Spanish, Italian or German on top of it) and will discuss with you all your questions and remarks and of course will give you proper aftercare treatments and advices.

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A tattoo souvenir | Relaxing, Shopping | Small bw tattoo CZK 500
Kováků 4 | Praha 5
Check the website for opening times

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Image by Jana Kneschke

“Sentimental, maudlin, melodramatic, corny”, that’s what Urban dictionary says about the word “cheesy”.

The truth is that after having some cheese from this place I do feel maudlin and sentimental. Sentimental when there is not a single crystal left from the super-old Gouda I love. Maudlin is that phase when there is only one last bite left. Melodramatic fits when I offer a mature goat cheese around my office. Corny are the comments of those who refuse.

Cheesy is a franchise, with shops open all over the Czech Republic, and with couple in Prague. You can find all shops in map on their website.

List of those in Prague:

Prague 1 at Na Poříčí streetPrague 2 Vinohrady – Jugoslávská 23 (where picture is taken)

Prague 5 Smíchov – Štefánikova 18/25

Prague 7 Letná – Letenské náměstí 6Prague 8 Kobylisy – at the metro station Kobylisy

Prague 9 Balabenka – Sokolovská 264

Probably thanks to Cheesy, there are many other cheese shops in Prague, springing to life on many streets and corners.

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Cheesy | Shopping, Snacks
Jugoslávská 23 | Praha 2
Depends on location, see website

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague

Image by Filip Grimm

I love photography and I try to reserve some of my time for it even now when school consumes practically all of it. Whenever I need anything related to this hobby, I can be sure to find it here.

FotoŠkoda is a unique place not only because of the building it is located in but mostly because of its conception – five floors full of photography – a huge store selling both new and used equipment and all kinds of material, repair service, studio, printing department and more services including photography courses and exhibitions. All of this under one roof and situated in the very centre of Prague – right by Wenceslas square.

Even though buying stuff online and having it shipped to our homes is a normal thing to do I still like to go into such stores where I can see the goods in real, try them out or ask the seller in person. The staff here is professional and really helpful, they were always nice to me even when I annoyed them with my questions for a half-hour and ended up not buying the product

If you run out of film, need a passport photo, your camera gets broken or you just want to buy some photography books, this is the place I recommend.

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Centrum FotoŠkoda | Shopping | FUJI Velvia RVP 100F/135-36 CZK 215
Vodičkova 37 | Praha 1 | +420222929029
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 18:00

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Image by Katerina Vankova

As (almost) every woman I like to go shopping for clothes. I try to combine the visits in classical fashion chains with the ones at young Czech fashion designers shops – with clothes from them, you have quite a chance that you won´t meet half of Prague in the same outfit. I took in affection the brand Leeda. Every time I go there, I buy something new (and that is also the reason why I should not go there too often).

Leeda is an original Czech brand, created by a duo of designers Lucie Kutalkova and Lucie Trnkova. Their collections are thematically tuned and you can always find some extravagant models as well as normally wearable to the office and for leisure time.I find interesting that Leeda is also cooperating with people from other creative areas (art, architecture, graphical design etc) – eg. the world-known architect Jan Kaplicky was concerned in one of the collections named Leeda Kaplicky.

From time to time Leeda throws fashion parties to sell out old collections. It’s always a small event with a nice atmosphere – the small shop and its surrounding is full of people, chatting over a glass of wine and some chips.

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Leeda | Shopping | Top CZK 1290
Bartolomějská 1 | Praha 1 | +420224234056
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 19:00

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Image by Katerina Vankova

Like every woman, I love to receive flowers, especially, when there is no special occasion. I like to decorate my flat with fresh cut flowers to make it more cosy (which works perfectly until my cat tries to be a gardener). But as my man still does not understand the importance of giving flowers to woman for no special reason, I have to buy them by myself .

My favourite spot where I buy flowers is called Belles Fleurs. The shop is situated just a few steps from the famous Radost FX (another location can be found in Prague 7) I like Belles Fleurs because hey have a variety of already prepared bouquets (both one kind and mixed flowers) which are reasonably priced. You can of course let the florist assemble a bouquet by picking up single flowers.

At the conclusion, a little recommendation for men: if you would like to have a romantic dinner in Prague with your partner or date, flowers would be definitely a nice thing on top. So don’t hesitate – now you know, where you can find them

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Belles Fleurs | Shopping | Flowers CZK 99
Bělehradská 124 | Praha 2 | +420222512486
07:30 – 20:30 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague

Image by Katerina Vankova

I like receiving presents, but giving them even a little bit more. If I have a problem with gift selection or am only looking for some inspiration, I go to Naoko. I always stay there for a while – the shop is packed with many interesting things to see and buy, hence I have to watch my wallet carefully. If you like things with idea and uncommon design, you will definitely like Naoko.

Naoko is situated in Revoluční street (near the shopping centre Palladium) and has two shops side-by-side. The first is Eat & Drink, where you can find various things designated to cooking, eating and drinking. The second one, Home & Fun, is full of household and garden accessories, stuff for amusement and sport and last but not least funny „personal” accessories (if as a kid you were craving for a bath duck and never got it, you have a chance to compensate this with style

Naoko has a nicely done website, which works as an e-shop as well. The website is in Czech only, but you can check it to see the range of goods and also the prices.

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Naoko | Shopping | Bath duck CZK 280.00
Revoluční 24 | Praha 1 | +420222312567
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague

Image by Katerina Vankova

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, 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 favourite place is a tiny place named Hai Há – the have the best bún chả- it is rich and savory.

P.S. Check out the Anthony Bourdain´s No Reservations episode from Czech republic, he´s been to Sapa as well

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Sapa | Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Bún chả CZK 80.00
Libušská 319/126 | Praha 4
09:00 – 20:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague

Image by Katerina Vankova

The hall number 22 is one of my favourite places where I go regularly –  the vegetable market takes place there. In the season, it is an oasis of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from local provenience (although you can also find there imported commodities). The main season is now, of course over, but you still can buy a lot of veggies, fruits and also fresh fish (not every day).

Some people can not understand, why I tend to buy vegetables there if I do not live in the neighborhood. But it´s simple – the rate quality/price comparing to what you can buy in supermarkets is definitely better, in spite of the fact that I like to support local farmers (one note: some are only re-sellers, but you still have plenty of local ones).

Another favourite represents a small stall with authentic Vietnamese food (and would-be Chinese food). The stall is quite well hidden – you will find it in a small side street just under the hall number 8 schedule. Try any kind of phở soup,  bún chả or bún bò khô, it´s delicious! (the stall is closed on Sundays and attention, it might be crowded around lunch time). To compare, you can check out the asian cuisine az SaSaZu, which is a music club and restaurant under one roof.

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Holešovická tržnice | Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Asian)
Bubenské nábřeží 306 | Praha 7
06:00 – 20:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague

Image by Veronika Bílá

English books, relaxing atmosphere, and Harney & Sons Tea. What else do you need when the clouds in Prague are rainy and the feet tired? If you are an American and feel homesick, the Globe is the perfect place to go. And if you do not find yourself in any of the conditions mentioned above, you should still give this place a try.

I personally find The Globe ideal because a café and a bookstore combined is exactly what I look for when I am traveling. The truth is that I don’t usually come to The Globe in their busiest hours when it is pretty loud and not as pleasant as enjoying the atmosphere when it’s quieter.

If you are more into Czech beer than natural tea or watching TV more than reading books, there are still options for you in The Globe. You can buy Pilsner on tap for a pretty good price during their happy hours and watch the big screen with the side of hot wings.

I like the appearance of the place because of the high ceilings. So even though smoking is allowed in the café part of The Globe, it does not usually bother me.

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The Globe | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping | Hot Chocolate CZK 50
Pštrossova 6 | Praha 1 | +420224934203
Sun – Wed 09:30 – 00:00, Thu – Sat 09:30 – 01:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Prague