Prague is one of may favourite cities in Europe as its old, quaint and beautiful. However it is an amazing city for shopping too, especially for a budget traveller, as you find some really cute and unusual stuff here at very affordable prices. During our trip we saw and bought some really pretty and cute stuff here, like comic coasters of Prague sites, a bookmark with a small book at one end and a pair of spectacles at the other end of a thread, beautiful lace, magnets, key chains, glass painted stuff etc etc. Hence it was not surprising that we bought a lot of gifts for friends and family from here, considering that during the rest of our travel we were in expensive cities and couldn’t buy much 🙂
Amongst all the things that I liked in Prague, my top 5 picks for a “must buy” / or things that you must check out here are –
1. Glassware – You walk anywhere in this city and you will see shops with this glittering glass stuff in some of the most amazing colors. The variety in terms of shapes, colors and designs is absolutely mind-boggling.
2. Paintings – For anyone decorating a new house, please consider picking one of these hand-made paintings from Prague. They are absolutely gorgeous, available in all sizes and colors and affordable too. Walk in the by-lanes of the city to find the best works and the best bargains. We found this particular shop in one of the smaller nondescript lanes behind the Tyn Church.
3. Wooden Toys – We found these adorable hand made wooden toys all over Prague and in numerous shops. They are super cute and a must buy if you have kids at home.
4. Botanicus – This is a shop that you have to visit to actually understand what I am saying. You can recognise it from the fragrance right outside till the square and I guarantee that you will just go crazy when you step inside. I and my sister couldn’t click any pictures here as we just went mad shopping for all the amazing organic cosmetic products – soaps, tea, oils, creams, perfumes, etc etc here and forget everything else. Visiting this store is a must here and you can additional details on it at http://www.botanicus.cz/
5. Marionettes – If you like puppets, then be sure to check these out in Prague. There are the traditional puppets and you find them in all kinds of characters, sizes and colors.
I will await your gifts.
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Sure… I remember ur CDs and coffee 🙂
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Love seeing the photos of Prague it is wonderful place to shop. What a beautiful city.
We spent a day and a night there 3 years ago. My only cautionary tale is to be aware of ATM’s. My husband and brother used one and came home to find our credit cards had been copied and were being used for charges in the US, while we were still in Europe.
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Oh, thats quite unfortunate… We had been taken for a ride on the echange rate and hence had used our ATM to withdraw money. Thankfully nothing like this happened with us….
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Love the post. Love the way you blend your posts with photos. It provides a great visual read. A small suggestion ( loans permitting :P), you can buy a good camera and take some good shots, that way one hobby can pave the foundation for another. I know a couple of bloggers who have done that http://www.cookingandme.com/2006/07/food-photography-for-food-bloggers.html
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Hi, thanks for the feedback and I have already bought a good camera for this… Its now time for the experimentation with it… 🙂
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Cool tips! We’re thinking of visiting Prague sometime soon. Will definitely keep a lookout for the marionettes 🙂
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Hey, have a good trip and wishing you a happy time shopping..
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Ahhhh-I visited Prague in 1997! One of the best things I ever did. Thanks for showing me your shopping picks.
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Hey, thanks for visiting my blog. I loved Prague too and plan to visit it again this year 🙂
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