Prague Christmas Market

Prague with its striking gothic architecture, ornate squares and imposing castle is famously known as Europe’s fairytale capital city, a fantastic location for a magical Christmas market. I have visited Prague a few times before, but never over the festive season. With my love for Christmas Markets I decide that this year I would visit the Prague Christmas markets. 

Prague Christmas Markets 2018

I booked my trip to the Prague Christmas markets with three friends as a 2 night British Airways flight and hotel package. Prices started at around £150pp for flights and 2 nights accommodation. We chose a 5* hotel which was located 5 minutes from Old Town Square, at a cost of £219pp, which really isn’t bad for a two night city break in Prague over the Christmas period. 

My Hotel on my Prague Christmas Markets Break

For this trip we stayed in the President Hotel, which was located along the banks of the river Vltava, and just a short walk from Old Town Square. I booked a superior room which included breakfast. The hotel was very modern and immaculately clean with a large bar area by the lobby with stunning views over the river. There was also a restaurant and meeting rooms located just off the lobby. 

I had a superior room which was a very good size. It comprised of a large bathroom, decent sized bedroom area with two large twin beds, opening up to a lounge area behind, with a large built in bench seat along the length of the window with fantastic views out over the river. The room was also very modern, and I just loved way that the bed was used as a divide between the bedroom and the lounge areas. There were all the amenities you would expect of a 5* hotel, and there was more than enough storage space in the room, so much in fact that I didn’t even use half of them! There were complimentary bath and shower products in the bathroom, and a fully stocked mini bar which was quite reasonably priced. 

Post from RICOH THETA. – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

In the basement was a fantastic spa area with a decent size pool, as well as a sauna, steam room, relaxation room and also many treatment rooms. The spa reception will issue you with a towel and also a wristband which operates the lockers in the changing rooms. I visited the spa for a swim twice during my trip. The spa area had a very relaxing atmosphere and was also very modern and clean.

Breakfast in the hotel was absolutely fantastic, with an extensive range of hot and cold options – probably one of the biggest and best breakfast buffets I’ve had in a hotel. They also had champagne included in the buffet which is always a nice touch. 

The Prague Christmas Markets

The main market area and Christmas tree were located in Old Town Square, with smaller markets in Wenceslas Square, Republic Square and just the other side of Charles Bridge. The markets in Prague have a different theme each year and this year was fairytales, which was quite fitting for the city known as Europe’s fairytale capital city. We arrived in Prague late Friday evening and it was snowing upon our arrival, which really added to the Christmassy feel. The Prague Christmas markets 2018 opened on the Saturday 1st December, the day I visited, and were du to open from 10-10 daily until January 6, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Years day.

The markets offered an array of items from Christmas decorations and local crafts to jewellery and accessories. There were also many stalls selling mulled wine, mulled cider and Christmas punch as well as many other delicious hot and cold beverages. There were also many stalls cooking delicious local treats including a range of different hams and sausages as well as cabbage bacon and potatoes dishes and even artisan chocolates. 

All the stalls were created to look like little alpine chalet style buildings, festively decorated and complete with white roofs, which were even covered with real snow during my visit! The main market in Old Town Square was home to the main Christmas tree and which had the light turning-on ceremony at 4:30pm on the 1st December, and this ceremony was repeated every hour for the rest of the evening. The other market areas also had Christmas trees and lights, but on a much smaller scale.

Now for me no visit to Prague is complete without a visit to the Black Angels in Old Town Square for cocktails. To read more about Black Angels click here. Apologies for no pictures, but they operate a strict no photography policy in the bar, which is quite nice because it means everyone can just enjoy their evening without people taking photos and selfies at every opportunity. We enjoyed a few cocktails here on the first evening of our visit, and the cocktails cost roughly the same as the previous times that I have visited. The cocktails cost around £5-6 per drink, which is a very good price for a cocktail bar in a capital city. 

Even thought this was my 4th visit to Prague, it was my first visit during the festive season. Prague really pulled out all the stops when it came to Christmas, delivering not only fantastic Christmas markets, but also bringing an overall festive vibe to the whole city centre. I would highly recommend Prague as a Christmas market destination, and I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Prague again at Christmas.