Prague: ARTĚL Style

This January marks ARTĚL’s 38th consecutive participation in the globally renowned Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris. Held from 20-24 January 2017, this biannual exhibition dedicated to lifestyle, decoration, and design will feature a wide range of top luxury brands from around the world.

This spring a 4,500-sq-meter branch of the oldest toy store in the world (est. 1760 in London and supplying British royals with toys ever since) opened on Na Přikopě street in Prague. It is considered the largest toy store in Central Europe, the second largest on the entire Continent.

The Czech Republic has never been known for quality spirits, though fans of Becherovka and slivovice will surely disagree. But the country actually produces an award-winning whisky which, when it debuted a number of years ago, was a pleasant surprise to many.

Prague's seasonally held design markets are a lot of fun and typically take place in cool historic spaces (see my post about one here); they really give visitors a great chance to get a feel local designers with plenty of local eats, great coffee, and stuff for kids to do.

The Hotel Praha in Dejvice, a Prague neighborhood known for its historic diplomatic residences, was built in 1981 to serve the Communist party and VIP delegations from abroad. It was considered the ultimate in high-end accommodation for the time. The building's legacy, however, lies not in its political associations but its architectural grandeur.