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

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Sapa | Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Bún chả CZK 80.00
Libušská 319/126 | Praha 4
09:00 – 20:00 daily

Image by Jana Kneschke

Podolí itself was build at the beginning of the 1960s and opened in 1965, which you see at every step. But despite its slightly run down character (which I actually like very much), their two outside pools, 33 meter and 50 meter long (the latter open all year long) with a view of Barrandovské skály are absolutely outstanding. There is also a 50 meter long inside pool and separate steam baths for men and women.

The place gets quite crowded around 06:00 – 07:00 and after 18:00, as people from the offices go swimming, so if you can, try to go in during the day. If you plan to come more often, than is better to buy a special pass instead of one-entry ticket. Being open till 22:00, you do not need to rush anywhere. Relax and enjoy this retro trip.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Podolí swimming pool | Relaxing | 90 mins ticket CZK 95
Podolská 74 | Praha 4
06:00 – 21:45 daily