We didn’t get to go on many food tours in the past, but after our recent one in Athens – we might go on many more in the future. We booked our tour through Alternative Athens. I’ve seen several companies offering food tours, but the length (4 hours) and number of culinary stops (8 stops) seemed an extremely worthwhile deal considering this tour’s price.
The choice turned out to be an excellent one – Our guide Andreas was charming and knowledgeable; his English was very clear and his stories were a joy to listen to. We finished the tour full and very satisfied. I think any foodie who likes to try new dishes, learning about the city and its cuisine all the while, will really enjoy this one as we did.
The food tour
We were a small group of five, along with our lovely guide Andreas. We met in the morning hours at a central location and our first stop was a local café for some traditional coffee. This was already a good start, as I didn’t have the time to get coffee beforehand. To be honest, we didn’t have breakfast either since we wanted to save room for the tour – and a lucky thing we did, as the tour definitely offers an impressive amount of food.
The tour included many food stops, but a lot of walking as well – we got to see all of Athens’ central areas. Additionally, the guide had many riveting stories to tell us about the city. We got to learn of the Greek culture and of Athens in particular through the local cuisine.
I don’t want to go into specifics when it comes to each dish we had, so as not to spoil the surprise for you – But I will mention some things and show a few pictures so you can get a feel for the culinary experience. We got to try a plethora of local foods and Greek-made products. The food was of really high-quality. And although at one point I was already tipsy and stuffed (Yes, wine was included in the tour), I couldn’t help but try every dish.
I liked that we were a small group and got to converse during the tastings. We had a couple from England with us and a guy from Sweden, who turned out to be a photographer who’s been travelling the world for the past 19 months and is planning to travel the whole globe in about 4 years. How crazy is that? Tours are a great way to meet new people from all over.
If you have an allergy or food intolerance you’re welcomed to let the organizers know ahead of time, and it will be taken into account during the tour. I recommend wearing comfortable shoes for this tour, as you do quite a bit of walking – and of course come on an empty stomach since the amount of food is staggering 🙂
The Greek food is delicious and the tour was very diverse. I felt that meticulous thought was put into the choice of dishes and the tour’s fun route. We usually take a walking tour at each new destination, but the food tour encompassed a lot of historic information about the city and took us through it’s important locations
We finished the tour satiated and extremely pleased. I think that if you’re a foodie who likes trying new things and learning about the city and the cuisine all the while, you’ll have a great time as well.
We really like drinking wine, and love learning about the wine we drink. Through wine, you can always get the feeling that you’re touring the country – which is always great fun, especially in countries known for their good wine. Before our arrival in Athens I did some research and discovered Greece has very high-quality wine.
We wanted to tour wineries, but since it was December (Early winter), I couldn’t find any tasting tours in wineries – But I did find wine tastings in a bar complete with a detailed explanation by a sommelier. It sounded to me like a great time and so I ordered them through Athens Walking Tours. Our tastings were scheduled to 18:00 and we were given the name of the bar they’ll be held at.
We arrived at a lovely bar with a modern design. We met the owner, Mike, and the sommelier, Vangelis, and both were super nice. Micky told us a bit about the bar and the wine, then we started the tastings. We sat at the bar and started off with rose wine. We followed it up with white and red wines.
At one point, we were served a plate with two kinds of cheese, sausage and breadsticks. Nothing goes better with wine than cheeses. They were really good, just the type of hard cheese I like, and the sausage was of very high quality as well.
The tastings were carried out in a calm fashion, according to our wishes. We could enjoy each served wine and I got to take many fun pictures, since we were the only ones there. Vangelis told us extensively about each wine, each one being from a different region of Greece – Vangelis even told us of the regions themselves. Mike drew us a little map of Greece, and Vangelis marked the map with each new wine served.
Vangelis’ knowledge is rich and he made us feel as if we were traveling along with him among the different wineries and tastings their wares. If you like wine, and enjoy learning more about it rather than just drinking it – This experience will suit you well.
It’s a great combination of taste and learning. We really liked the wine itself, which was of high-quality, and the staff were really charming. The combined effect of the wine tastings, the nice food plate and the explanations themselves served to turn our hangout at the bar into a fun and enriching time. Read more about the wine tastings and our experience there.
As you’ve probably gathered by now, Roman and I really like bike tours. We love the combination of physical challenge and the opportunity to see as much of our destination as possible. On a bike tour, you’ll get to see much more than by foot. Each kind of tour offers its own unique pros and cons, which is why we usually opt for both.
Before arriving in Athens, I’ve looked into interesting bike tours. Since I knew we’ll be doing a food-tour in Athens’ central areas, I focused on tours in other parts of town. That is how I came across “Athens by bike”, a company offering several bike tours, such as “Athens Riviera ride” – A tour mainly focused on the city’s shore line. A ride along the sea seemed to fit my criteria perfectly, and as it turns out, it was truly an amazing, relaxing and challenging tour.
In the morning, we arrived at the company’s bike store, which is located right next to the Acropolis metro station. As it turned out, we were the only ones to book a tour for that day, and so we got a private tour. Our guide was Dimitris, a charming and funny guy who was really patient and interesting and made the tour a huge success.
We started the ride in the city itself and Dimitris took us to a vantage point overlooking the Acropolis. It’s a lesser known spot and so without many people, yet a beautiful place to picnic with a lovely sight of the city.
We could see the opera house that’s by the beach, where Dimitris said we’ll be riding. From there we went on a bike trail leading to the opera house. I thoroughly enjoy riding long bike trails, it’s quite and calming and we could see different areas of Athens along the ride.
We stopped occasionally and Dimitris told us of the places we passed along the way. When we got to the (very impressive) opera house, we locked our bikes away and went up to a vantage point off of the building itself. There’s a free ice-skating arena there and you can even sign up online for free ice-skating lessons (A great kid’s attraction).
Additionally, there’s a yoga class on the lawn next to the building every morning, which you can sign up for online as well. There are many more free activities – Here’s a link to their site.
We also visited the library which is very elegant and pleasant. It’s only been open for a year and the books haven’t arrived yet, so it’s currently a book-less library, but has computer stands and people come to just sit and have coffee.
We continued riding along the beach. The weather was an excellent 20 degrees. We then had a coffee break by the sea, which is something I absolutely adore – enjoying the little things in life
On the way back, we stopped for traditional Greek food, a type of Bourekas (Only much tastier in my opinion) that is sweet or savory and is one of the tastiest foods there are. We tried it on the food tour as well – It’s served fresh, straight out of the oven, and is really crunchy and excellent. It’s highly addictive. It was a nice stop for recharging your batteries so you can keep riding. I liked that the tour included a stop to try local cuisine, which was unexpected.
Since we had some time to spare, Dimitris decided to take us on a short graffiti tour, as well as to several beautiful churches in the area. He does that sometimes when there’s extra time, which is really nice.
The tour was about four and a half hours long, and while you don’t spend all that time riding, a certain level of physicality and ability to ride a bike for long are required. If you’re unused to riding – this tour might prove a bit long for your taste, however the company offers many more tours that are shorter. The ride itself is quite planar and Roman didn’t feel a physical challenge, but I felt drained when we were done.
This tour is definitely recommended for those who like riding a bike and are looking for another way to explore Athens – and not just it’s central areas. Additionally, after the tour Dimitris sent us a document with recommendations for many things to do in Athens and we tried a local restaurant off the list – which was really good.
We took a Segway tour with Paphos Segway Tours company. We were a group of eight and had two super nice guides, Liam and Callum.
Segway instruction
After all the group members had arrived, we went outside for an instruction on the Segways. The guide explained how to operate it really well, after which each guide took one of the tour members personally for a test drive on the Segway, to make sure they can handle it well and to boost our confidence. When every member had gone through a personal instruction, we started the tour.
The tour itself
During the tour, we went through several interesting sites on Paphos, stopping at each one while the guide told us about the place. The stories were truly captivating. At every stop the guide also took our pictures, giving us small choreographic instructions (A few days later they uploaded the pictures to Facebook, so you can save them with no additional cost).
The tour was light, funny and the weather was great (Early November). If you take the tour during the summer, I’d suggest going on either the early or the afternoon tours. The one we took started at 11AM.
We rode along the sea a lot – it was really relaxing and I didn’t want the tour to be end. I have to mention that I went on a Segway tour before and didn’t really enjoy myself, to be honest I was quite frightened then – But this time, the two guides were really responsible and gave a feeling of security. Even if you’ve never been on a Segway tour, you have nothing to worry about and I’d even highly recommend this as your first try, that way you’ll get fun and professional instruction.
The company has longer, special tours for those already experienced with Segways. Maybe next time we’re In Paphos we’ll try one of the advanced tours.
To be sure, this is a great attraction and experience, and a wonderful way of seeing Paphos. They also have colorful Segways which are really cool 🙂
We went on a week-long trip in Athens and decided to divide our stay between two hotels in different areas, not only for variety’s sake, but so we could enjoy two different hotels as well.
The second hotel we stayed at was Athens Center Square Hotel, a central hotel in the Psiri area, adjacent to the local food market.
We arrived at the hotel with a smile on our faces, after having a lovely walk through the market and seeing the fruit and vegetables, olives, spices and more. We really like local markets and it’s one of the major reasons we picked to stay where we did.
The entrance is very pleasant, a lobby with couches and a bar area complete with a coffee machine, as well as a couple of tables with computers for the guests’ use. You can make tea and coffee for free anywhere between 10:00 and 18:00.
We got an upgraded room on the 7th floor, which was spacious and clean. It had a double bed, closet, couch and bathroom with a shower and a toilet.
The hotel has an open rooftop terrace with tanning beds and sets of tables and chairs. We went up to it at sunset with some coffee and enjoyed the view of the acropolis. While we were up there, some local photographers were taking pictures of the sunset off the terrace, since it’s very beautiful.
At night we went out for a stroll around town. The hotel is in a really central location and a two-minute walk will get you to a bustling area with bars, cafés, taverns and restaurants. The walk by the hotel itself at night is a little less pleasant since it’s quite desolate.
When morning came, we went to the dinning room for breakfast. Breakfast at Athens Center Square Hotel is served as a buffet, with a large variety of sausages, breads, pastries, desserts, fruit and more. There’s a gluten-free section with breads and crackers and a coffee machine.
The hotel is adjacent to the market’s fruit, vegetables, cheeses and sausages stalls. On the other side of the road are fish, meats and spices. A walking distance away is a metro station you can ride to anywhere in Athens in a few minutes. The flea market is also a few minutes away. The hotel’s location and reasonable price make it an attractive option for any who want to travel and explore Athens.
We went on a week-long trip in Athens and decided to divide our stay between two hotels in different areas, not only for variety’s sake, but so we could enjoy two different hotels as well. We started our trip in a really luxurious hotel, Coco Mat Hotel, located in the prestigious Kolonaki area. From there, it’s a 15-20 minute walk to Plaka (The central area).
I really liked this area. It’s full of modern coffee houses, boutique shops and high-class restaurants. The prices in these are slightly higher, but not by much, and it’s generally considered one of Athens’ most sought after and prestigious shopping streets. The atmosphere is magical and romantic and the hotel fits into it perfectly.
The hotel’s entrance is in fact a Coco Mat store, a chain selling high-quality beds and those same beds are in the hotel’s rooms.
Reception is one floor beneath the store and by our arrival at 12:00 our room had already been prepared. Reception is also located by the dining hall, which serves as the lobby. The design is very relaxing and creates a homey feeling.
The hotel room
Our luggage was immediately brought up to our rooms, and after checking in, we followed suit. As we entered the room, we instantly grew excited. The room had a clear attention to minor, unique details such as a Nespresso machine, slippers, robes and a romantic shower with transparent doors (By the way, there are rooms with showers in a separate room for you to choose).
Above all of these, is the super luxurious bed – The moment we lay down on it, we didn’t want to leave. The bed can be bought in the chain’s stores and costs 14,000 euros! So, you can imagine just how comfortable it is ?
The hotel also offers really high-quality pillows, and even includes a pillow menu, letting you switch to a different one if you’d like.
Room Service
We had so much fun in the room that we decided to have lunch there and ordered room service. After all, what could be more enjoyable than food service in a good hotel?
I ordered fish with a side of rice and Roman ordered tortellini in a dried-tomato sauce with bacon -accompanied, of course, by two glasses of white wine. Within about 20 minutes a knock on the door announced the waiter’s arrival, carrying the exciting tray. The food was really good and the wine turned the meal into a delight. That’s how we started our visit to Athens ?
Breakfast
In the morning we went down for breakfast and decided to bring the food up with us to the hotel’s beautiful balcony, which offers a view of the city. We prepared our plates along with coffee and orange juice and one of the employees carried it up to the balcony for us.
It was a sunny day and a perfect opportunity to make use of the balcony, which comes with a small, very well-maintained garden, adding to the hotel’s unique atmosphere – along with a wall of potted plants and wall-paintings brightening the room with their colors.
The next day we had breakfast downstairs and enjoyed the calming design there. The breakfast menu isn’t too varied, but that’s just how boutique hotels are – a smaller set of choices, but of a higher quality. What I liked were boxes filled with all sorts of goodies you could add to your muesli – chia seeds, goji berries, dried fruit, almonds and more.
There were also breads, fruit, sausages, cheeses, mini quiches and desserts.You may ask the waiter for an omelette and order drinks such as orange juice, coffee or tea.
If you’re looking for a romantic, boutique hotel with a perfect bed, excellent service and prestigious location, this is the one! We would definitely be happy to stay there again.
When I saw a 5-euro flight to Paphos on Ryanair’s website I thought, at first, it must be some kind of catch – No way a flight could be that cheap, but we decided to book it and it turned out to be real. The whole two-way trip cost me and Roman 86 shekels. Seeing as we had other commitments, we decided to book Tuesday through Thursday, meaning 48 hours.
At the time, we didn’t know if it was going to feel like a hassle or not, but the trip ended up being a quick and successful excursion. We got to do a lot of fun things and eat great food.
We booked a last-minute room at the Pyramos Hotel, which was 290 shekels for two nights, with a basic breakfast included. The hotel itself is quite simple but it’s got a fantastic location. It’s situated right next the port, where many of the bars, cafés, restaurants and attractions are.
We rented a vehicle, which was 132 shekels for two days, and picked it up at the airport. The hotel also had private parking.
Tips before traveling to Paphos
SIM card
I personally recommend using an ESIM, which is an electronic SIM, and recommend Airalo. I was very satisfied with their user experience (simple tutorial videos for operating the SIM card) and everything worked without any special problems. I wrote more about them in an extended post on the subject of taking a SIM card abroad and also about other options such as buying a local SIM card.
Blog followers have a 15% discount code for the Airalo company to purchase an ESIM – to redeem the discount, click on this link. The discount code is already included in the link. See it at checkout.
The biggest drawback at the moment is that some devices do not support an electronic SIM. How can you know if your device supports the electronic card? Very simple: go to this link and you can see. Link to which devices support ESIM.
Car rental in Paphos
I think this is the most convenient and fun way to travel. Car prices are low and the roads are easy to drive.
You can search for a car in the search engine Papam Papam. Personally, I really like to search through them because they save me time (instead of going to several websites) and they also have the option of filtering out non-recommended rental companies.
Attractions in Paphos
You can get ideas for other cool things you can do on the various attraction sites and even order through them (sometimes at a discounted price). The first attractions site is tiqets the second is Get your guide and Viator.
Where to stay in Paphos
You can search for places to stay in Paphos via Booking.
Day 1 – Evening flight to Paphos and dinner
We landed in the evening, picked up the vehicle we had rented and drove to the hotel – Following which we made our way to dinner.
Dinner
We went out to eat at the Pingouino restaurant, a place we’ve eaten at before and liked a lot. It’s cheap, with great food and a view of the sea. I’ve written about it in detail in the Paphos restaurants post. I ordered pitta bread with haloumi and tomato, while Roman ordered souvlaki with potato chips. The food was really good and filling.
Day 2 – Good food, wine tastings and bar overlooking Paphos and the sea
Breakfast and coffee
We had a simple breakfast at the hotel, which included bread, several cheeses and vegetables. From there we continued to a bar-café, Alea Lounge Bar, by the coastline and had coffee.
Enjoying the sun
It turned out to be a really sunny day, even more so than we anticipated, and we decided to go lounge on the chairs outside the café and enjoy the sunshine. Two tanning beds will run you 5 euros. At one point, Roman got himself a beer and me a coke zero. It was so much fun to just lie there and get a little tan.
Trip to a quaint village
After having a good time by the sea, we decided to take the car and go for a wine tasting at a winery I found online. Since it was already lunchtime, we decided to eat first and go from there. A local recommended us a tavern in Letymbou village, which is approximately a 30-minute drive from the center of Paphos, and that’s what we did.
The waitresses were really lovely and we met the owner as well. Her husband made the haloumi cheese himself, as well as several other foods. We ordered the haloumi cheese as a first course, and for mains I had a vegetarian moussaka and Roman has Sheftalia (A traditional Cypriot dish). The food was delicious. We liked the atmosphere, food and service. Furthermore, the village itself is really nice and worth dropping by if you’re in Paphos.
Wine tastings
After a short stroll around the village, we went to Tsangarides winery, which was a 10-minute drive away, for wine tasting. From the moment we arrived, we fell absolutely in love with the place.
We sat outside and the owner, Angelos, brought 4 kinds of wine for us to try – White, Rosa, red and organic. I wrote about the experience in detail in a post about what to do in Paphos.
Drink with a view
After the winery, we came back to central Paphos and went to a bar restaurant titled Muse Bar, following up on a recommendation I got from a blog reader.
The bar is up on a hill and has a lovely view over Paphos and the sea. Roman ordered a cocktail, while I had tea, and we took some time to enjoy the atmosphere and the beautiful vista. They also have a wide food menu and desserts that looked really good (At least from the glimpse we had of other people’s orders at the tables next to us 😉 )
Japanese restaurant with a couple of friends
After the bar we went for a quick rest at the hotel, then drove to King’s Avenue mall to meet a couple of friends living in Paphos. Together, we all went to Wagamama Japanese restaurant, another place we have eaten at several times over the years and know to be really good. I wrote about it in detail in the Paphos Restaurants post.
For firsts we ordered a nice, light miso soup and for mains Roman and I shared a dish of piquant rice with coconut cream and a noodle dish with meat and egg. Our friends ordered sushi and noodles. Everything was delicious as usual.
Day 3 – Tour, Segway, Boardwalk stroll and more tasty food
Breakfast
We decided to skip breakfast at the hotel and went to a nice diner called Tea for two next to the sea. We sat on the upper level and I ordered an apple crumble with vanilla ice-cream and coffee, while Roman had English breakfast. My cake turned out to be a huge portion and after finishing half of it I couldn’t go on – but it was home-made and extremely delicious. Roman was pleased with his meal as well. This is a great place to have breakfast, especially if you’re looking for something cheap, quick, tasty and filling.
Fun Segway tour
After breakfast we arrived at Paphos Segway Tour’s Segway store for a pre-ordered tour. We were a group of eight and had two super nice guides, Liam and Callum.
After all the group members had arrived, we went outside for an instruction on the Segways.
During the tour, we went through several interesting sites on Paphos, stopping at each one while the guide told us about the place.
We rode along the sea a lot – it was really relaxing and I didn’t want the tour to be end.
The company has longer, special tours for those already experienced with Segways. Maybe next time we’re In Paphos we’ll try one of the advanced tours.
I wrote about the tour in detail in a post about the segway tour.
Lunch at a tavern
When the tour was over, we went for lunch at St. Paul’s Tavern restaurant (See map), which seemed good to us when we passed it by on the tour.
For firsts, I ordered a salad and Roman had clams (He claims it’s one of the best clam dishes he’s ever had) and for mains I ordered a pan-fried fish with garlic sauce and potatoes (I was accidently served chips at first, but then given potatoes on the side as well) and Roman had meat and potatoes. Since the food was really good, Roman wanted to try their dessert as well and ordered cheesecake topped with strawberries.
To be sure, this is a great attraction and experience, and a wonderful way of seeing Paphos. They also have colorful Segways which are really cool 🙂 I wrote about the tour in detail in a post about what to do in Paphos.
Boardwalk stroll and wonderful sunset
After the meal we went for a walk in the boardwalk area, as well as the port area – Then opted for another lie down on the tanning beds. Although the sun was nearly gone at this point, we did get to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Getting work done at Café and end of vacation
After enjoying the sunset, we had a few hours left over before we needed to head out to the airport. We decided to take advantage of it, and get some work done at the moorings café. I worked on the blog, while Roman worked on his project and we ordered coffee. At some point, Roman ordered a personal pizza for the both of us, to serve as an early dinner. While it wasn’t a thin-crust pizza like we prefer, the haloumi cheese topping was really tasty.
We really liked this café, and if you’re looking for a place to work on your laptop or get some food, it’s a great choice. Despite the fact that it’s located in a touristy area, the prices are relatively cheap and the service is excellent.
Flight home
From the café we headed to the car and went about returning it to the leasing company, then we continued to our flight. The airport in Paphos is small, and getting there even an hour before your flight is enough.
Who said you can’t get anything done in 48 hours? 🙂
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We arrived in Prague for a short weekend after our trip to Ireland. Prague has a ton of restaurant and coffeehouse options. Seeing as we didn’t have long to explore the city, we tried to have as many different cuisines as we could – so we could have varied suggestions regarding food in Prague.
Restaurants in Prague
Local Czech restaurant with the largest beer selection in the country
We found Pivovarsky restaurant following a tip from the guide of a free tour we took. He said they had great local food and the largest selection of beers in the Czech Republic. It definitely sounded to us like a place worth checking out.
The restaurant isn’t in the center of town but is easily reachable by metro. We went there for dinner on our second night in Prague. From the moment you walk in, the huge range of beers on offer becomes apparent.
We sat down for a meal on the lower floor of the restaurant and had been given two separate menus: One for food and one for beers. The beer menu was far larger than the food one and deciding which we should have was virtually impossible – So we asked the waitress what she recommends.
As for food, Roan had pork with mashed potatoes and I had a salad and sausages. The food was really good and the atmosphere was very pleasant as well.
One of the best Pizzas we had
We arrived in Prague at 10:30PM and were really hungry. There weren’t many options around our Airbnb apartment so we decided to ride a retro to Johnny Pizza, which we saw was open. As we got there, the cook was pulling a fresh pizza out of the oven and we got two slices of it, each.
The crust was really thin, just the way we like it, with tasty cheese and great toppings. The pizza was so good Roman asked for 3 more slices and couldn’t stop eating it. It’s really addictive – consider yourself warned. This is definitely a great option for fast, delicious food on the cheap.
A bit of everything – Restaurant with ready food, quiches, cakes, pastries and more
We came upon this place by accident while looking for something light to eat after our bike tour (In the center of town). After 3 hours of riding up slopes, we felt like we needed to eat some more.
By the bike store, there was the Bake Shop restaurant with lots of options. There were ready salads and stews you could order from by weight and eat on the spot. I had a pasta salad and a bulgur and squash salad, while Roman had the pasta and roast beef salad. The price was reasonable and the dishes good. I topped it off with coffee with a chocolate ice-cream scoop.
This restaurant is great if you’re a group of several people and everyone wants to have something different. They have a large variety of food, as well as desserts.
Great bakery with large variety of pastries
Antoninovo bakery was right next to our Airbnb apartment. They have several branches, so it’s worth checking if there’s one around you.
They have a large variety of fresh and delicious pastries. We had breakfast there on our first morning in Prague – I had a yeast cheese cake and a croissant and Roman had bread with egg salad and a poppy cake. Everything was really good. The prices were low, and so you might have to wait in line as the place is very popular.
Cheap and fast – Vietnamese and Chinese food stalls next to the mall
After our retro vehicle tour, we went for a stroll around the mall. As we were exiting it we noticed some nice food stalls, with Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine and Czech desserts. We decided to go for a snack from the stalls, Roman ordered Pho soup from the Vietnamese stall, which was very subtly flavored and would be a great option on cold days.
I had a fresh spring roll with rice noodles and vegetables, which was a really nice snack and from the Chinese stall we ordered two Gyozas. If you’re looking for cheap, fast food this is a good option. You can eat there, standing at the tables or take-away. At the Vietnamese stall they also have Vietnamese sandwiches in a baguette.
Address
Revoluční 655/1, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
A bit of variety – Thai restaurant
On our last evening in Prague, we decided to shake things up a bit and have Thai food. We visited Mesy Thai Restaurant, which was both intimate and pleasant. We had Dim Sum for our first course, and for mains I ordered a shrimp and veg vermicelli stir-fry while Roman had stir-fried egg noodles with meat.
The portions were large, and the food itself was tasty and filling. I asked to have half my dish to take-away, as I couldn’t finish it.
Address
Bělehradská 12/98, 120 00 Praha 2, Czechia
Next to Johnny Pizza
Cheap and quick breakfast
Prior to our bike tour, we went out for breakfast so we could have the energy needed for the tour. We found Piknik, a simple restaurant with an assortment of nice, cheap food. Roman had a veggie wrap and a croissant and I had fruit salad and chia pudding. They have a variety of sandwiches, salads, wraps and options for vegetarians and vegans.
We arrived at Prague on a low-cost flight from Dublin following our Ireland trip. We found a lavish Airbnb apartment at a good price, 10 minutes from the city center by metro. The apartment had a really cool design and we had a hot tub and fully furnished kitchen. The bed room was charming and pleasant. Update: this apartment is no longer available on airbnb.
Search for other accommodations.
Prague had a ton of great things to do, but seeing as we only had two and half days at our disposal, we elected to go with the attractions that seemed coolest to us. We decided on four types of tours, each one letting us see the city from a different angle. We went for a cocktail in the tallest tower in the Czech Republic, to the market and had local cuisine.
Attractions in Prague
Tour in a retro vehicle
Before arriving in Prague, I’ve done extensive research into special tours available. When I came across a stunning retro vehicle tour with Prague old car company and immediately knew it was going to be something we’ll want to do.
We pre-ordered the tour and had no clue what vehicle we were going to get, so every time a retro vehicle drove by we were left wondering if it was going to be ours. Lucky for us, we ended up getting the coolest and most unique vehicle and had a really charming driver as well. Click here to read more about our old car tour experience.
Panoramic bike and castle tour
One of our favorite ways of exploring new places is through bike tours. Having done a tour of the major landmarks with the retro vehicle, we wanted to check out a different area. We found a panoramic tour, which sounded really beautiful, through Praha Bike. Their tour sounded quite special – A combination of vantage points and a castle, with some physical challenge thrown into the mix. Click here to read more about our bike tour experience.
Ghost stories and legends tour
I have to admit the whole ghost thing scares me a bit, but when I came across the ghost story tour in the evening hours in Prague, it sounded like something worth trying – even if I don’t get any sleep afterwards.
We preordered the tour through Mysterium tours company.
Click here to read more about our spooky ghosts tour experience.
Television tower vantage point
Zizkov television tower is the highest tower in the Czech Republic, rated the 2nd ugliest in the world. As soon as you see it, you’ll understand why. It may be ugly on the outside, but don’t judge a book by its cover – Its interior design is super cool and there are several things to do there. You can go up to the head of the tower and see the city in 360 degrees.
You can sit on the fun swing couches and look over the city at the same time. Afterwards, you can go down a floor and sit at the bar, where you can get drinks (and food) and enjoy the amazing view.
I’d recommend getting there in time for sunset or during the late morning hours, not while the sun is directly above and glaring. We ordered two cocktails and enjoyed the view. The price to go up the tower isn’t too high at about 6 euros and the drink prices are reasonable as well. I would definitely recommend visiting it while in Prague.
Food market and souvenirs
Havelské tržiště Market – To be honest, we came across the market accidently while wandering around the old town, but we really like local markets and so were glad to run into it. There are lots of souvenir, jewelry, fruit and food stalls. All the different berries looked really good. We were there during lunch hours, so we decided to have a hot dog for lunch. We found a really nice stall called Ceske Uzeniny.
We both chose a spicy sausage in a bun along with some hot wine (One of the must tries in Prague, especially on cold days). I liked the sausage a lot and the bun was really good because he toasted it before serving. The market is open every day from 06:00 to 19:00, and on Sundays from 07:00 to 18:30.
Free tour in the city
Whenever we arrive at a new city, we always do the free tour (tip based), so we can get to know it better and hear of its history. We took the tour through Sandemans, who’s tours we had enjoyed in Dublin, Berlin and Jerusalem. The tour was around three and a half hours and was very thorough.
Our guide was really nice and told of Prague’s history in an interesting manner. I definitely recommend doing this tour on one of your first days in town, as the guide gives suggestions for recommended locations such as restaurants, bars and attractions. We followed his suggestion to a bar with the largest variety of beers in the Czech Republic. During the tour, there is a break of approximately half an hour during which you can get some food and drink and get some tips from the guide. It’s a light and interesting tour.
One of our favorite ways of exploring new places is through bike tours. We searched for a bike tour in Prague and found a panoramic tour, which sounded really beautiful, through Praha Bike. Their tour sounded quite special – A combination of vantage points and a castle, with some physical challenge thrown into the mix.
Our tour stated at 10:00, the meeting point being one of the company’s stores. Turns out only Roman and I were on the tour that day – so we got a private tour with the excellent guide, Jim.
We picked out our bikes, and Jim tuned the seats to fit our heights – then we started.
About the bike tour
At first, we rode through the city, then across the bridge and up through a beautiful park. We stopped at some really gorgeous vantage points and Jim was patient while I took a ton of photos, and he even photographed Roman and I together. The ride up the slope wasn’t too hard, but did require a certain physical effort, at least on my part, as Roman wasn’t particularly phased.
The park also had a bar Jim recommended we visit after sunset and have a beer to the city’s beautiful view. This sounded like a great suggestion, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to put it to good use. The place is easily reachable by metro.
The tour is supposed to include entry to a castle, but we had to forfeit the notion due to the amount of people waiting in line to get in. So, if you really want to visit the castle, I’d recommend going alone, as early as possible, and not count on seeing it during a tour.
From the castle area we continued to another great vantage point, which required riding up a slope some more – There we stopped to take pictures. From that point we started a pretty scary descent, it was very steep and felt like a Luna park. After the initial fear it got pretty fun.
At every stop Jim told us about the place, and at sometimes we spoke while riding. The tour was really cool and with stunning views of the city.
If you like riding a bike and are in relatively good shape this tour is a must in Prague.
