Tour Details
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Product Type
- Tour
- Venues
- Various Art Nouveau cafes
Photos & Highlights
- Prague Cafe Tour led by a local historian
- Soak up the atmosphere of Prague’s most beautiful Art Nouveau cafes
Select a date
Tour Description
If you're looking for revolutionaries, look in cafes. This Prague Cafe tour examines the key role that the city's spectacularly preserved coffee houses have played in the lives and works of the influential artists, poets, writers, and intellectuals who frequented them. Before a backdrop of opulent, decorative interiors from 19th and 20th centuries, we’ll soak up the authentic atmosphere of Prague’s cafe culture, taste local coffee and culinary specialities, and learn about the historical and cultural context of these venues.
Fin-de-siècle Prosperity in Prague Cafes
Turn-of-the-century Prague bore witness to an extraordinary cultural and intellectual blossoming. As a result of momentous events within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the population of Prague increased rapidly as people moved in from across the empire. The Bohemian capital became a melting pot, home to Germans, Jews and Czechs, and Prague's new decadent cafes emerged as public meeting points for the city's intelligentsia. For example, German-Jewish author Franz Kafka (explored in greater depth on our Jewish Prague Tour), philosopher and statesman Václav Havel, and later, world-famous writer Milan Kundera all frequented these second homes for Prague's elite.
Prague Cafe Tour
Together, we’ll hop from one stunning cafe to the next, taking in the soaring period architecture—also examined on our Prague Architecture Tour)—and indulging in typical sweet treats and perfectly concocted coffees. Along the way, we’ll discuss the social history of Prague over the past 150 years and unpack the cultural meaning behind our decadent surroundings.
Take Aways
At the end of our time together, we’ll have a deeper understanding of key events in Prague's history over the past century, and how they have contributed to the city’s narrative until the present day. You’ll also feel more comfortable ordering a range of delicious dishes on offer in cafes across the city.
Please note: some of the cafes we visit allow smoking inside. We endeavor to sit in the non-smoking section but be aware that the tour can include time in smoking environments.
Where You'll Start
49 Reviews
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It was great to be able to have coffee with Katerina. Learn about Prague history and it’s great writers. The ability to chat with a local was a valuable and unique experience.
Rita
Jul. 3, 2018
I can't say enough good things about Lenka as a guide! She read our requests before the tour, and incorporated them all into a thorough review of her prepared material. She came with maps, historical photos of the cafes, and a wealth of knowledge. She was able to answer ALL of our varied questions and inject some first-hand experience of recent history in a professional manner. We re-visited several of the cafes later during our stay and had a richer experience for having learned about them first. This was the perfect orientation to the city and its history and culture for our family.
Caroline
Jun. 30, 2018
Tereza was excellent but I wish I had picked a different tour since we had just completed the Art Nouveau tour a day before and the content was almost exactly the same. I was nervous about that but did not figure it out until it was too late to make a change. Tereza tried hard to take us to some different places and she was successful, but for the most part we were in the same area of town and walking by the exact same things as we had for Art Nouveau. I would not recommend doing those 2 tours on the same trip. For us, it would have been better to choose a tour on the other side of the river since we never had anyone knowledgeable telling us about the Mala Strana and the castle, etc. Tereza was terrific, but I think the content was just too duplicative of what we had done before. I also don't think there is enough content for a 3 hour tour here.
Bryn
Jun. 21, 2018
