Prague shopping Guide

Local handicrafts and artisanal what to detect your travel

Vintage Crystal

Walking through Prague, you’d believe it had been one big cup shop, with so many stores supplying ornately carved crystal bowls, vases, and stemware. The Czechs are justifiably famous for their cup, but look out for inexpensive imitations, particularly along roads trafficked by tourists. Czech glassmaker Moser has-been creating genuine, high-quality crystal since 1857. Na Prikope 12; tel. 420 224 211 293. www.moser-glass.com

Early Contemporary Ceramics, Jewelry, and Home Furnishings

Prague liked a short but fruitful vogue in the early years of the 20th century as a hotbed of modern-day design, including an exclusively Czech Cubist style impressed by Cubist artwork. Search for angular cut-glass, ceramics, and jewellery. You can often get a hold of originals at traditional stores (starozitnosti) around town. Galerie Kubista, next to the Czech Cubism Museum, shares finely crafted replicas. Ovocny trh 19; tel. 420 224 236 378. www.kubista.cz

Garnets

These deep-red gemstones are native to north Bohemia. In general, however, the contemporary options will look bland. The pieces at Studio Sperk tend to be an exception: genuine garnet rings, bracelets, necklaces, and brooches in quick, attractive designs. Dlouha 19; tel. 420 224 815 161. www.drahonovsky.cz

Puppets and Marionettes

The Czechs have actually a puppet and marionette tradition returning to the Middle years. Hand-carved leaders, knights, wizards, jesters, alchemists—all the primary figures of a classic medieval melodrama—are offered at Pod Lampou Marionety into the Lesser Quarter. See all of them carved within the shop's workshop. U Luzickeho seminare 5; tel. 420 602 689 918. www.marionety.com

Conventional Handicrafts

These include fantastically simple wooden toys, ceramics, embroidered fabrics, and old-fashioned Christmas time ornaments. Manufaktura, within the Old Town, is a one-stop shopping location for the right traditional handicrafts. Melantrichova 17; tel. 420 221 632 480.