Municipal House: The best of Art Nouveau in Prague

The Municipal House is a must-see Art Nouveau-style building, which was designed by Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka in 1912. Inside, you’ll find a grand concert hall, a chic café, a top-notch French restaurant, an exhibition space, a gift shop and more.

When I recently visited Municipal House I couldn’t believe how amazingly decorated each room was. Every room is beautifully designed in a slightly different style and the paintings by Alfons Mucha made the rooms look very fairy tale-like.

How to visit Municipal House

When you walk into the Municipal House it can be a bit daunting at first, because there are so many different areas, so it’s difficult to know where to go and what to do. Essentially, if you want to see the most beautifully decorated rooms on the first floor you have to join the paid guided tour (see below).

But, if you are travelling to Prague on a budget or don’t have the time for a proper tour, you can look around a little bit and peek into places that are accessible without paying. You can have a coffee and a cake in the lovely cafe on the street level or even walk in to the French Restaurant on the other side to have lunch or dinner, but be prepared to pay about twice as much for the privilege as in a regular restaurant outside the centre.

My favourite thing to do is to walk downstairs where you find the stylish American Bar and then have a look at the Beer Pub at the lower ground floor. And this time, you don’t need to just look, you can actually eat here as well without re-mortgaging your house back at home!

The lunch menu is especially good value and the food is pretty decent too – it’s mainly traditional Czech food and they also don’t mind if you just want to have a beer. As you can see from my photos, it’s probably the poshest art deco pub to have a Pilsen beer in!

My local tip

Several times a year and always on the 28 October the Municipal House is open for everyone and you can have a look at the beautiful rooms on the first floor for free. The 28 October is a Czech Public Holiday celebrating the Czech independence in 1918.

There are no paid guided tours on that day and you can’t book in advance, so you will need to join the queue outside and wait. In my experience, the queue actually goes quite quickly – every 10-15 minutes the staff take a large group of about 25-30 people in and first give a short introduction talk in the Smetana Hall. The talk was in Czech, but then the guide added a shorter version in English. After that, you are free to walk through the rooms on the first floor at your own own leisure.

Municipal House Tours

Guided tours of the Municipal House are done in English and Czech language. If you’d prefer a different language, you can also get a printed guide in other nine languages, such as German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian.

The tour lasts approximately one hour and the tour includes the following rooms: Smetana Hall, Confectionery Cafe Room, Slovácký Salon, Božena Němcová Salon, Oriental Salon, Grégr Hall, Palacký Hall, Mayor’s Hall, Rieger Hall and the Sladkovský Hall.

For organized groups, special tours can be booked in advance in Czech, German, English, French, and possibly other languages. The minimum price for a special tour is 2500 CZK.

The individual tour tickets are 320 CZK for adults and 240 CZK for students and seniors. Children under 10 years old can join the tour for free.

Smetana Hall of the Municipal House

The largest space in the Municipal House is the central Smetana Hall on the first floor. It’s named after the creator of Czech modern music, Bedřich Smetana. The hall is beautifully decorated, including stucco decor of Vyšehrad and Slavonic Dances on the sides of the stage by Ladislav Šaloun.

Smetana Hall is used for classical concerts and has a capacity of 1,200 people. You can also attend traditional ball room dancing balls, gala dinners and the festival Prague Spring usually starts and finishes here each year.

Mayor’s Hall with Decorations by Alfons Mucha

Alfons Mucha expressed interest in contributing to the decoration of the Municipal House as early as 1902 during a visit by Prague’s mayor Vladimír Srb in Paris, where Mucha lived at the time.

I was quite taken aback, to find out that from the beginning, he wanted to create the paintings and decorations without payment, except for the costs of materials, such as paints, canvas, and scaffolding. So, in 1909, Much started to decorate the Mayor’s Hall, which is one of the most prestigious spaces in the building.

Mucha didn’t just decorate the room with paintings, he also created and designed stained glass, lights, furniture, beautifully embroidered curtain drapes, and even metal fittings. If you’ve seen Mucha paintings before, you’d be surprised at how different this room feels. You can still definitely tell it’s Much’s style, but it feels very modern and more realistic than the pretty ladies’ posters that we usually associate Mucha with.

This balcony of the Mayor’s Hall leads to the front of the house and it was from here the newly formed Czechoslovakia in 1918 was announced. As I visited on the anniversary (28 October), I took a photo of my great grandfather, who was a Legionnaire soldier directly involved in establishing the new republic. It was quite poignant, especially as the new president TG Massaryk also honored him with several medals for his bravery on the Italian war front.

Restaurant Municipal House with First Republic Food Menu

This is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau restaurants in Europe and eating here is a very special experience indeed! Here, you can enjoy a First Republic menu with a Czech Pilsner beer or local wine. The lunch menu changes every day and it includes soup of the day and a choice of five main dishes. The set lunch menu is also the best value option from the menu, so it’s definitely worth planning your visit around 12 noon – 2 pm.

Municipal House Pub

If you prefer to eat somewhere a little more laid back, head down to the lower basement of the Pilsner Pub, which originally opened in 1912. Again, the food is mainly traditional Czech cuisine, prepared using fresh local ingredients.

Municipal House Café

The cafe is on the ground floor of the Municipal House and it’s beautifully decorated in art decor style. You can have breakfast here, light lunch or afternoon cake. In the summer months, there are also tables outside and you can watch the busy Republic Square whilst drinking your coffee there.

For breakfast, enjoy options like a warm butter croissant with jam or Nutella for 80 CZK, or a hearty English breakfast, including bacon, beans, tomatoes, a fried egg, hash browns, mini sausages, and roasted mushrooms for 289 CZK. My favourite is the Eggs Benedict with Prague ham and hollandaise sauce for 259 CZK or the Eggs Royal with smoked salmon and bearnaise sauce for 279 CZK. The menu is slightly pricier than my favourite breakfast places in Prague, but it’s great for a special occassion.

Lunch and dinner options include traditional Czech dishes like beef goulash with dumplings for 430 CZK, as well as international favourites such as ravioli with ricotta and spinach, basil pesto, parmesan, and cherry tomatoes for 340 CZK.

Freshly brewed coffee starts at 79 CZK and beers, including Pilsner Urquell at 125 CZK.

The American Bar

Another cool place in the Municipal House is the American Bar in the basement of the building. This place is a complete gem with a history dating back to 1912, making it the second oldest bar in Europe!

The walls are decorated with black Rako tiles, contrasted by folk paintings in brass frames, and the vaulted room is lit by a gorgeous chandelier with a heron motif. You can enjoy a cocktail at the black marble bar or sit in the comfy leather armchairs.

Practical information for visiting the Municipal House

Location: Náměstí Republiky 5, 111 21 Prague 1

Ticket Prices: Ticket prices for tours are 320 CZK with concessions available. Concert tickets are from 200 CZK – 2000 CZK depending on the type of concert. Exhibitions cost 260 CZK with concessions available. Entrance to the Restaurant, Beer Restaurant, Cafe and American bar is free with prices starting from 80-100 CZK for coffee or 125 CZK for beer

My tip for slightly different way of experiencing the Municipal House: One summer evening I was visiting the Powder Tower next to the Municipal House and once I climbed the step to the top, I had the most amazing views of the Municipal House roofs. There was also a live classical music in the cafe and as the windows were open I had a lovely time watching Prague from top of the tower and listening to the music.

How to get to Municipal House

The nearest public transport stop is Náměstí Republiky, where you can find the underground – Metro Line B (Yellow Line) and trams – lines 6, 8, 15, and 26. The Municipal House is about 3 minutes walk from the Namesti Republiky Square.

It’s also an easy walk from the Old Town Square (about 10 minutes through Celetna Street) or about 10 minutes walk through Na Porici Street from the lower part of Wenceslas Square.

This blog post was originally written on 13 October 2024 and last updated on 13 October 2024

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