Look up as you walk along Husova street in the Old Town and you’ll spot Sigmund Freud dangling one-handed from a beam high above the cobblestones — David Černý’s 1996 sculpture Zavěšený muž is so lifelike it has fooled passersby into calling for rescue. It’s a wry statement on 20th-century intellectualism from Prague’s most provocative sculptor. Tip: it’s easy to miss — stand near the corner of Husova and Skořepka and look straight up.
A Prague institution since the 1990s, Popocafepetl is a small family of cafe-bars and music clubs where students and young locals pile in for some of the cheapest drinks in the centre. The Michalska branch in Old Town leans cocktail bar, while the Melantrichova and Ujezd spots add live music and a dance floor. Doors run daily 6pm to 2am; if one branch is packed, just hop to the next one a few streets over.
A friendly cafe-bistro (the name means “White Crow”) with a blended team of staff with and without disabilities, providing dignified jobs since 2011. Come for the coffee, breakfast and the good it does.
A gentle “quiet cafe” staffed since 2011 by deaf and hard-of-hearing baristas – order by pointing or signing, and enjoy good coffee and cake in a calm space that doubles as job training. Kind and quietly special.
A polished design hostel in trendy Vinohrady with dorms, privates and a genuinely cool basement bar – the sociable, affordable base with a local neighbourhood on the doorstep.
The Czech Republic’s first work-integration social enterprise, opened in 2005, employing and retraining people rebuilding their lives after addiction or prison. A warm cafe-restaurant where a good meal genuinely helps.
A design-led luxury hotel in a restored 1920s bank near the Old Town, with playful Czech-inspired interiors, a buzzy bar and a spa. Polished but relaxed, and very central.
A fun, retro design hotel on a steep Mala Strana lane below the castle, decked out in playful mid-century style around a glass atrium. Characterful and quiet, minutes from the Charles Bridge.
A design hotel-and-hostel hybrid in the New Town with serious eco credentials (greywater recycling, green energy) and a lively music bar. Rooms from dorms to smart doubles – something for every budget.
A stylish industrial-chic boutique (with a hostel wing) on a quiet street near the National Museum – exposed brick, good design and warm staff at a fair price. A long-time traveller favourite.