12 Tips on Unique Gifts From Prague

Gifts from Prague

If Prague can be said to be anything, it is a city of ancient history, culture, art, and excellent services. While it can’t compete with the sheer vastness and diversity of shopping options in New York or Berlin, the pleasant small size of Prague’s shopping centre and the specific areas of Czech excellence can provide visitors with an extraordinary shopping experience.

Choosing a Czech souvenir

Here are our criteria which governed our process of choosing which gifts to recommend you to bring back home from Prague - authenticity, Czech manufacture, value, and uniqueness. These were chosen because we view them as the best reasons to purchase a gift or souvenir in Prague. Therefore, we excluded any brands you can buy in any or most European cities, as well as trinkets for tourists (mugs, T-shirts, magnets, etc.) although these can have a sentimental value.

Where to go shopping in Prague

Prague’s full of shopping streets, malls, small stores, boutiques, and marketplaces. The highest concentration of stores can be found in the so-called Golden Cross area, near the Wenceslas and Old Town Square, in the Na Příkopech Street, the, Pařížská Street, and nearby. The Little Side and Hradčany districts on the other (left) bank of the Vltava River may be magical and you’re sure to visit them while touring the city, but they’re not an attractive shopping location unlike Vltava’s right bank (where the Wenceslas and Old Time Square are located).

Like we stated, our selection of tips on what to buy in Prague is intentionally limited and built around specific products and stores. For this reason, we’ve omitted to include e.g. the Pařížská Street (otherwise the most luxury street in Prague where you can shop for such well-known luxury brands as Dior, Hermes, Fendi, Gucci, Brunello Cucinelli, Valentino, etc.) or large shopping malls.

Our guide will take you around special stores which are worth a visit and located in the city centre or nearby.

Shopping customs in Prague

Stores in the city centre are usually open from Monday to Saturday, morning (9–11 a.m.) till the evening (6–8 p.m.), and in some cases also on Sunday.

Outdoor advertising is restricted in the city centre but other than that there are no big surprises waiting for you if you decide to go shopping. Most stores accept payment cards as a method of payment or you can choose to pay in cash (usually it’s possible to pay in EUR or USD). When making a substantial purchase, consider asking the store to complete a VAT refund form. Most quality stores should also be able to deliver the goods to your hotel or to your address abroad.

12 tips on gifts from Prague

Art and design as gifts from Prague

1. Prague art

Czech contemporary art is known for its quality both domestically and internationally, as evidenced by the fact that it’s being sold for increasingly high sums abroad and included in world-famous galleries. You can choose from older (19^th to 20^th century) or contemporary Czech art. The most interesting pieces are to be found at auction halls but it’s also a good idea to look around shopping art galleries in the city centre.

Tips on shopping art galleries in Prague:

• Galerie Kroupa, Voršilská 5, Prague 1

• DSC Gallery, Dlouhá 923/5, Prague 1

• Česká Galerie Moderního Umění (website in Czech only). Betlémské nám. 8, Prague 1

• Galerie Dolmen, Pštrossova 31, Prague 1.

2. Where in Prague you can purchase Czech design

When walking around Prague you’ll have many opportunities to admire the city’s architecture. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Prague is also home to Czech design. You can purchase Czech design products in many stores around the city.

Tips on design stores in Prague:

• Kuntshalle, Klárov 5, Prague 1
• Deelive design store, Smetanovo nábřeží 334/4, Prague 1
• Artiseme, Velkopřevorské nám. 639/4a, Prague 1.

Prague jewellers and contemporary designers

3. Czech jewellery flowers from Prague

Visit a unique Czech jewellery in Prague. GIYOU was born in 2022 and inspired by the charming garden surrounding the founders’ historic homestead. The jewellery flowers’ charm, originality, and craftsmanship were recognised almost immediately, and extraordinary commissions followed. The flowers are handmade by a Czech family business in Bohemia, using silver or gold, and can be used as gifts, home décor for your vase, or to make your big moments even bigger.

You can find the small jeweller’s shop GIYOU GARDEN in the Jungmannovo Square 765/5, Prague 1 (1-minute walk from Wenceslas Square, or 3-minute walk the Old Town Square).

4. Modern designers in Prague

Contact one of the excellent Czech fashion designers based in Prague and commission a beautiful dress to bring a memory of the city’s elegant fashion back home with you.

Tips on Czech fashion designers:

• Jitka Klett , Ruská 2026/71, Prague 2 (20-minute walk from the city centre)

• Kateřina Geislerová, Široká 5, Prague 1

• Beata Rajská, Široká 37/7, Prague 1

• Blanka Matragi U Prašné brány 2, Prague 1.

Czech music as a gift from Prague

5. Manufacturers of Czech musical instruments

Czechia is famous as the birthplace of excellent classical composers (Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, etc.), and performers, as well as the location of numerous music halls, schools, and festivals. There are also many fantastic jazz and contemporary musicians. It’s not the least bit surprising, then, that the country is the home of famed masters who are engaged in the manufacture of virtuosic musical instruments. The "Made in Czech Republic" designation is in and of itself enough to make an instrument a rare piece.

Tips on Czech manufacturers of musical instruments:

• Jan B. Špindlen, Jungmannova 749/32, Prague 1 (violins, violas, cellos)

• Furch Guitars, Velké Němčice (2-hour ride from Prague) (guitars)

• Petrof, Hradec Králové (1.5-hour ride from Prague) (grand pianos and pianos).

6. Souvenir from the Talacko music shop in Prague

If you’re interested in purchasing an original musical gift, from classical or popular sheet music to various musical instruments (be they keyboards string, wind instruments, or products related to vocals and orchestra music), visit the charming Talacko, store in Rybná 29, Prague 1 and browse its vast range of products.

Other and folk crafts as souvenirs from Prague

7. Pencils from Koh-i-noor Hardmuth

Joseph Hardtmuth, a prince and court architect, founded the business as far back as 1790. Later, it became one of the largest of its kind in the world. The Czech factory KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH also spawned a number of stationery inventions. Its famous yellow pencil won numerous awards at the 1900 Paris Grand Prix. Purchase Czech pencils, colour pencils, or creative supplies at KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH in Na Příkopě 860/24, Prague 1 and bring a great souvenir back home with you.

8. Souvenir of Czech puppets

The Czech puppet theatre and puppet art are renowned all over the world. Perhaps you even heard of the Spejbl and Hurvínek comedy duo. Hand-made wooden puppets are products typically aimed at adults rather than children. Consider purchasing a piece of authentic Czech folk craft and pick your Prague souvenir at the puppet shop and workshop in Nerudova street 32, Prague 1 or at České hračky a loutky in Týn 10, Prague 1.

Czech glass

9. Czech designer glasswork

As of 2023, Czech handmade glasswork is incorporated in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. The prized Czech glasswork is handmade, cut, or engraved all over Czechia, in glass factories large and small. Purchase designer glasses, vases, lamps, or a crystal chandelier and bring them back home with you. Browse the Prague stores of first-rate Czech glass factories.

Tips on Czech glasswork stores in Prague:

• Moser, Na Příkopě 853/12, Prague 1
• Rückl, Uměleckoprůmyslové muzeum, nám 17.listopadu 2, Prague 1
• Preciosa, Rytířská 29, Prague 1
• Pragl, Malé nám. 7, Prague 1 (multiple brands and a small glassworks).

10. Lasvit - Czech bespoke glasswork

Make your dreams come true, think about all the areas the Czechs excel in, and commission a unique bespoke product in Czechia. If you’re interested in purchasing original glass lighting or glass art, visit Lasvit, Komunardů 894/32, Prague 7 (20-minute walk from the city centre).

Special gifts from Czechia

11. Elegant craftsmanship as a gift from Czechia

Visit the GIYOU GARDEN store in the Jungmannovo Square or make an appointment and take a look at our Royal garden or flowers made of 24ct gold. 24-carat gold isn’t typically used in jewellery-making. Take the opportunity to commission bespoke jewellery flowers made from this precious metal and use it as a home décor for your vase or a unique gift you can’t get anywhere else.

12. Czech master watchmakers

If you are a fan of watches, visit the master watchmakers based in Prague and purchase a watch or commission a bespoke one - for example from Luděk Seryn, in Ke Studánce 1126/10, Prague 5 (20-minute walk from the city centre), the only Czech watchmaker who is a member of AHCI, a global watchmaker club.