Finding what you need in the Czech Republic is not always straightforward. For many people, especially newcomers or those who do not speak Czech fluently, local marketplace platforms can feel fragmented and inconsistent. One website for second-hand furniture, another for housing, a separate one for services, and yet another for cars. Each comes with its own interface, rules, and language barriers. Messages often require translation tools. Listings can be outdated. And users frequently end up switching between platforms just to complete a simple task. SWAP is trying to simplify that experience. The platform brings together several common categories—resale items, real estate, services, and cars—into a single marketplace. The idea is not new, but the attempt to combine these functions into one place for the Czech market reflects a growing demand for more streamlined digital tools. In practice, users are given one space to browse, post listings, and communicate with sellers. Instead of navigating multiple websites, the process is consolidated into a single platform. A key focus of SWAP is accessibility for international users. The platform includes multilingual features and built-in translation for communication between users. The aim is to reduce friction when buyers and sellers do not share a common...
The world’s most beautiful hotels have been revealed, with a lake house in China and an Italian palazzo making the shortlist of stunning stays. The Prix Versailles, a series of architectural competitions, announced its annual list of 16 of the globe’s most extraordinarily designed hotels. In China, The ArcadiaPlace, Lugu Lake stood out for offering guests an “immersion into one of the world’s last matriarchal societies” across its 57 “striking” guest rooms. The “opulent spirit” of The Silk Lakehouse in Shangri-La Hangzhou was also lauded by the Prix Versailles for having an “intimate atmosphere” that’s “reminiscent of a visit to a friend’s home”. Sir Prague made the list following a bold interior renovation by Linda Boronkay. Set inside a restored Neo-Renaissance building dating back to 1884, Sir Prague combines the city’s historic architecture with interiors influenced by Czech Cubism. Original features, including timber parquet floors, iron railings and a sculptural staircase, remain intact throughout the property, while vintage furniture and angular silhouettes introduce a sharper contemporary contrast. References to Princess Libuše, the mythical founder of Prague, run quietly throughout the interiors, giving the property a slightly surreal atmosphere that feels distinct from the city’s more traditional luxury hotels. In...
A 44-year-old man accused of brutally raping a young woman after posing as a taxi driver is now in custody, while Prague police continue investigating whether other women may have been targeted in similar attacks. According to investigators, the suspect operated around Prague using a blue-gray Škoda Superb and allegedly approached women late at night by offering them rides home. Detectives now believe the case may extend beyond a single victim and are asking anyone with information to contact police. The assault under investigation took place during the night of April 26 in central Prague. Two women, both 21 years old, reportedly accepted a ride from the driver after a night out in the city. Police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová said the driver first took one of the women to her home. During the journey, investigators say he began touching the second woman, who was seated in the front passenger seat, against her will. She repeatedly tried to stop him, but he allegedly ignored her objections. After the first passenger left the vehicle, the second woman also attempted to get out and walk away. Detectives say the driver chased after her, shouted at her, and forced her back into the car...
Lime is making a major change in Prague this year, ending its shared scooter service and focusing only on electric bikes across the city. The company says the change reflects how people in Prague are increasingly using bikes for longer daily journeys, particularly for commuting, short business trips across the city, and connections between public transport stops. According to Lime, trips made on shared e-bikes in Prague are around 20 percent longer than those made on scooters, pushing the company to redesign its local strategy for the 2026 season. At the center of the new approach is a subscription called LimePrime. For a monthly fee of 49 CZK, riders gain access to lower minute-by-minute pricing aimed at regular city travel. Under the new model, a five-minute ride costs around 15 CZK, while a twenty-minute journey comes to roughly 30 CZK — less than the price of a standard public transport ticket in Prague. “Our goal is to be present during everyday movement around Prague — whether people are commuting to work in the morning, traveling between meetings during the day, or returning home in the evening,” said Václav Petr, who oversees Lime’s operations in the Czech Republic and Hungary. He...
Prague’s Metronome Festival will relocate to Letňany Airport this summer as it marks its tenth anniversary, bringing back returning headliners Sting and Nick Cave alongside a broader international lineup. The three-day event is scheduled for June 19 to 21, with organizers confirming the move from the city’s Exhibition Grounds to a larger open-air site in Prague 18. The change is expected to significantly increase capacity following a new partnership with Live Nation. Festival founder David Gaydečka said the return of globally recognized artists reflects the event’s growing standing beyond the Czech Republic. He added that attendance is expected to double compared to previous years, turning the anniversary edition into one of the largest music gatherings the capital has hosted. Alongside established names, the program places stronger emphasis on emerging performers and younger audiences. Friday’s schedule will focus on contemporary acts, including Tom Odell, Lykke Li, JADE and Cobrah. Several artists from the Czech scene also highlighted the lineup during the launch event, pointing to names such as Balu Brigada, KennyHoopla and Razorlight among those they are most interested in seeing. Beyond music, the festival will again include its Open Air Art exhibition, presenting contemporary visual works, as well as a...
One of Prague’s most celebrated Renaissance landmarks is getting a full restoration. The Prague Castle Administration has launched a major reconstruction of the Royal Summer Palace — widely known as the Belvedere — a project expected to run for roughly two years at a cost of approximately 100 million CZK. The building, which sits in the Royal Garden at Prague Castle, is regarded as the finest example of Italian Renaissance architecture north of the Alps. Work will cover the facade, historic interiors, columned arcades, stone and metal elements, stucco decorations, and joinery, including windows, doors and shutters. “The Summer Palace is one of the most fundamental buildings of Prague Castle,” said Pavel Vyhnánek, director of the Prague Castle Administration. “We will restore the wooden coffered ceiling in the upper hall and return it to its original appearance, following the design of Bonifác Wolmut.” New Lighting, Refurbished Chandeliers Interior upgrades are a central part of the project. According to Barbora Feret, who heads the castle’s construction preparation and implementation department, the exhibition spaces will receive new, purpose-designed lighting, while the publicly accessible areas will be fitted with wall lights. # The historic chandeliers that dominate the interior will be refurbished rather...
Three Taiwanese theatre companies are bringing dementia, Lady Macbeth, and poetic confusion to one of Prague’s most beloved festivals. Taiwan is making its Prague Fringe debut this May, with a dedicated showcase called Taiwan Week running from May 25 to 30 at Divadlo Inspirace in the city centre. The initiative is the first official collaboration between Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture — represented locally by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office — and the Prague Fringe Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. This year’s festival brings together 60 companies from 17 countries across seven venues in historic Prague. Taiwan’s contribution: nine performances from three companies, plus a side of Taiwanese tea and traditional snacks for good measure. What’s on stage The three productions are as different from each other as you’d expect from a country that clearly isn’t playing it safe: Dancing with Dementia (Bandone Productions) is a solo show by Hsuan Szu-Min, drawn from her own experience of caring for a mother living with dementia and depression. Minimal staging, expressive movement, and a lot of emotional weight. The Rodin Project: Lady Macbeth (Shinehouse Theatre) mashes up Rodin’s Gates of Hell with Shakespeare’s most ruthless female character — performed by three...
For two days at the end of May, vineyards scattered across Prague will swing open their gates — many of them sites that remain closed to visitors for most of the year. On May 30 and 31, 2026, residents and tourists alike will have the chance to walk through municipal and private vineyards, taste locally produced wines, and hear the stories behind some of the city’s oldest green spaces. Most vineyards will be open free of charge between 10:00 and 18:00 on both Saturday and Sunday. The exception is the St. Clare Vineyard (Vinice sv. Kláry), where a small entrance fee covers a guided cellar and vineyard tour plus two wine samples. Two locations — Salabka and the St. Wenceslas Vineyard — will only take part on Sunday, May 31. Where to Go Lysolajská Vineyard — Sportovců 50/4, Prague 6 – Lysolaje | Bus 160, 355 (Žákovská) | Guided tours both days, 10:00–18:00 Modřanská Vineyard — Chuchelská 1, Prague 4 – Modřany | Tram 17 / Bus 117 (Modřanská škola) | Guided tours both days, 10:00–18:00 Salabka Vineyard & Restaurant — K Bohnicím 849/2a, Prague 7 – Troja | Bus 112, 234, 235, 236 | Guided tour and wine tasting...
Passengers from the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea can now use the automated eGATE border control system at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. The gates opened to these new groups on Friday, May 15th, marking a significant broadening of a system that had previously been restricted to citizens of EU and European Economic Area countries, as well as Switzerland. To use the gates, travellers must be 15 years of age or older and carry a biometric passport. The service is available only on departures outside the Schengen area. The move follows the launch of the Entry/Exit System — known as EES — across the European Union in April. Czech authorities say an earlier rollout was technically impossible. The EES, which tracks the movement of non-EU nationals crossing external Schengen borders, required technical adjustments to the airport’s existing automated gate infrastructure before third-country nationals could be admitted to the system. Ahead of a Record-Breaking Summer Prague Airport is approaching 20 million passengers annually, a figure that grows each year. The eGATE expansion is being rolled out deliberately ahead of peak season, when passenger numbers surge and pressure on passport control intensifies. Martin Kučera, board member responsible for operations and...
Prague has added cars at a pace nearly unmatched anywhere else in the European Union, according to data from Eurostat. Over the past decade, the number of registered passenger vehicles per 1,000 residents rose from 565 to 753 — a jump of roughly 190 vehicles per 1,000 people that ranks the Czech capital among the ten most motorised regions on the continent. In absolute terms, the shift is even more striking. Prague counted just over 821,000 registered passenger cars in 2013. By 2023, that figure had climbed to 1,186,209 — a 44 percent increase in ten years. Among EU regions, only two Italian areas and parts of Romania recorded similarly steep percentage gains. Romania’s case is largely a product of arithmetic: with only 242 cars per 1,000 residents in 2013 — well below the EU average of 493 at the time — even modest absolute growth translates into outsized percentage jumps. Prague, by contrast, was already above the EU average a decade ago, making its sustained rate of growth considerably more significant. The two Italian regions — Valle d’Aosta and the autonomous province of Trento — benefit from specific local tax arrangements that make vehicle registration there particularly attractive, which...
Prague is moving to green its streets with hundreds of trees engineered — through selection, not genetics — to survive the increasingly hostile conditions of a warming city. The plan calls for planting 900 climate-resistant trees across the capital over the next ten years, alongside climbing plants on building facades, as the city braces for the accelerating effects of climate change. The warming rate in Prague has nearly doubled over the past fifteen years compared to earlier measurements, according to a city climate report. The effort is already underway. This year, the city planted 23 trees along V Cibulkách Street in Prague 5. The next target is Pod Strašnickou vinicí Street in Prague 10. Individual species will be monitored over fifteen years, after which only the hardiest performers will be replicated across the city. Officials plan to use the findings to gradually replace existing urban trees — primarily lindens, maples, and acacias — which are increasingly struggling under current conditions. A project four years in, with modest results so far. The Klimastromy project launched in 2022, but the numbers on the ground have been slow to grow. Since its start, only 29 trees — elms — have been installed, at...
Long before air travel reshaped Europe, luxury trains defined how people crossed the continent. In Prague, that era has been brought back to life through a restored dining carriage dating to 1906, offering passengers a glimpse into how travel once looked—and tasted. The historic restaurant car, originally built in Smíchov by the Ringhoffer company, has been carefully restored and now operates on special routes departing from the Czech capital. Designed for the Swiss Dining Car Company, the carriage once served passengers across the railway network of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Guests are served a multi-course menu inspired by historical recipes, paired with drinks, in an interior that closely reflects its original design. The restoration itself took two years and required extensive work. According to the team behind the project at the Museum of Old Machines and Technologies in Žamberk, much of the carriage had to be rebuilt due to missing or damaged components. Specialists focused on preserving the smallest details, including brass fixtures and original-style lighting. Where original elements could not be saved, replacements were crafted using historical references to maintain authenticity. The culinary side of the experience was developed in collaboration with JLV, a catering company linked to Czech Railways....
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