Jakub Novak, 32, works in IT and has lived in Prague his entire life. and has lived in Prague his entire life. He agreed to talk about tourists, beer, and what's happening to his city over two Pilsner Urquells at Lokal Dlouhááá — where tank-fresh Pilsner costs 59 CZK and the clientele is almost entirely Czech.
Jakub: Mixed. Tourism money is important — it's something like 10% of the Czech GDP. But Prague's center has basically become a theme park. I grew up in Stare Mesto (Old Town), and my family moved out five years ago because there were no more grocery stores — everything became a souvenir shop or a currency exchange booth. The last butcher on Dlouha street closed in 2019. Now it's a cocktail bar.
I don't blame tourists individually. I blame the city government for not managing it. And I blame the businesses that exploit tourists with hidden fees and bad exchange rates.
Q: What makes you angriest about tourist behavior?
Jakub: Trdelnik. (laughs) I know it sounds ridiculous, but seeing "traditional Czech trdelnik" signs everywhere drives me crazy. It's a Hungarian chimney cake. It appeared in Prague around 2010. No Czech person eats it. No Czech grandmother has a trdelnik recipe. It's a marketing lie.
Also: bachelor parties. British and German stag parties turn the center into a frat house on weekends. Matching T-shirts, beer bikes, and shouting at midnight. We've begged the city to regulate them.
Q: Where do you actually drink beer?
Jakub: Not in Old Town. The best beer experiences are in Zizkov, Vinohrady, and Holesovice.
Lokal Dlouhááá (where we are now): Tank-fresh Pilsner Urquell, 59 CZK. This is how Pilsner is supposed to taste — unpasteurized, unfiltered, straight from the tank. Most tourists drink Pilsner from a bottle or a regular tap. Tank Pilsner is a different beer.
U Sudu: An underground warren of cellar rooms near Wenceslas Square. Multiple bars, cheap beer (45-55 CZK), and a crowd that gets wilder as you go deeper into the basement.
BeerGeek: Craft beer bar in Vinohrady. 30+ taps of Czech and international craft beer. If you're tired of lager, this is the place.
Pivni Rozmanitost: The smallest bar in Prague (maybe 15 seats) with 12 rotating taps of Czech microbrews. In Smichov. Nobody goes there by accident.
Q: Czech food — what should tourists actually eat?
Jakub: Our food has a bad reputation — people think it's just pork and dumplings. And yes, vepro knedlo zelo (pork, dumplings, sauerkraut) is the national dish. But when it's done well, with fresh knedliky (dumplings) and properly braised pork, it's excellent comfort food.
My must-try list:
Avoid tourist restaurants near Old Town Square. Walk to Vinohrady (10 minutes on foot) or take the tram to Karlin. Prices drop 40% and food quality doubles.
Q: What's overrated in Prague?
Jakub: The Astronomical Clock show. People gather, stare at a clock for 60 seconds, see some tiny figures move, and walk away confused. The clock mechanism itself is genuinely remarkable — 600 years old, hand-maintained by a single clockmaker — but the hourly show is underwhelming.
Charles Bridge between 10AM and 6PM. It's a beautiful bridge. At dawn or after dark, it's magical. At midday, it's a traffic jam of selfie sticks.
The Lennon Wall. It was meaningful in the 1980s during communism. Now it's repainted constantly and covered in tourist graffiti. It's fine for a quick photo but don't expect profundity.
Q: What's underrated?
Jakub: Vysehrad: The other castle, south of the center. Almost no tourists. Great river views, a beautiful cemetery where Dvorak and Smetana are buried, and a quiet park. Free entry.
Riegrovy Sady: A park in Vinohrady with a beer garden and the best sunset view of Prague Castle across the valley. The beer garden sells Gambrinus for 40 CZK. Locals come with blankets and stay until dark.
Naplavka: The river embankment below the National Theatre. Saturday farmers market (8AM-2PM) with Czech cheese, beer, and sausages. In summer, boats along the embankment become floating bars.
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Holesovice: Excellent exhibitions, far from the tourist center. 200 CZK.
Q: Best day trip from Prague?
Jakub: Kutna Hora (1 hour by train, 130 CZK round trip). A medieval silver-mining town with the bone church (Sedlec Ossuary — a chapel decorated with 40,000 human bones, 160 CZK). Also a beautiful Gothic cathedral (St. Barbara's, 160 CZK). You can do both in half a day.
Cesky Krumlov (2.5 hours by bus, 200 CZK) is the other obvious choice — a fairy-tale town with a castle, river, and medieval center. It's become quite touristy but remains genuinely stunning.
Q: Your perfect Prague day?
Jakub: Wake up at 6:30. Coffee and a rohlik (bread roll, 3 CZK) from a bakery. Walk across Charles Bridge before 7AM — actually feel the medieval stone under your feet. Breakfast: scrambled eggs and coffee at Cafe Savoy in Mala Strana (220 CZK).
Morning: Walk up to Prague Castle (free to enter the grounds). St. Vitus Cathedral nave (free). Golden Lane (part of the Circuit B ticket, 250 CZK).
Lunch: Svickova at Lokál in Dlouhá (175 CZK with beer). Walk it off through Josefov (Jewish Quarter — combined ticket 350 CZK if you want the synagogues).
Afternoon: Cross to Vinohrady. Coffee at Misto. Beer at Riegrovy Sady park (40 CZK from the garden).
Evening: Dinner in Karlin — I like Eska for modern Czech food (mains 250-400 CZK). Then jazz at Jazz Dock under Palacky Bridge (no cover, cocktails 180 CZK) until midnight.
Total spend: roughly 1,200 CZK ($50). For practical mistake-avoidance, read our 18 things I wish I'd known guide. Prague is still absurdly cheap if you know where to go.
Jakub asked me to tell visitors two things: "Pay in koruna, not euros. And please, for the love of God, don't eat trdelnik and call it Czech." For the ultimate Central European debate, see our Prague vs Budapest comparison. And for nearby Vienna, the classical music scene is unmissable."
