MAPPED: Take Prague's historic animal-themed pub walking tour

A tiger, a lion, an ostrich, a snake, or a pike: not animals in a city park, but the quirky old house signs that once identified Prague’s historic buildings. Today, they lend their names and character to a different kind of “zoo”: a five-hour, beer-fuelled walking tour through some of the city’s most storied pubs.

For Ambiente, the restaurant group that offers the Beer Zoo tour, the walk around Prague's pub "wild" was rediscovered by bartender and Tap School founder Lukáš Svoboda.

“I was first told about the Prague Beer Zoo walk by regulars in the pubs U Pinkasů and Konvikt, where I used to be a bartender,” Svoboda says. He decided to try it with a visiting cousin whose girlfriend feared the trip would mean hours in the pub with no time for sightseeing.

Svoboda suggested a compromise: “Promise her she’ll see Hradčany, Prague Castle, Nerudova Street, the Lesser Town, Charles Bridge, Old Town, New Town, and the National Theatre,” he told his cousin. They took the route together, stopping in traditional pubs off the main tourist trail. She was won over.

“A couple of years later, I read Lukáš Berný’s book Where the Muses Drink. It described the cartoonist Jan Vyčítal’s own ‘beer zoo’ experiences, and I remembered that story,” says Svoboda, who knew it was time to bring the Prague Beer Zoo to life.

Svoboda has shared with us a sneak peek of the classic pubs you’ll encounter along the way, plus a few bonus picks. For those who want to brave the zoo on their own, see the map below:

This venerable pub has been part of Prague’s hospitality scene for centuries. The building itself dates to 1492, the year Columbus set sail for the Americas, though it’s likely a pub existed here even earlier. In its cellars, you can still spot remnants of the old fortification walls. In the 19th and 20th centuries, U Černého vola was a favorite haunt for First Republic politicians, painters, writers, and other local luminaries. Order the dark Kozel here, they’re famous for pouring it perfectly.

From the outside, U Hrocha might look like just another old pub, but its story is relatively recent. Open since 1994, it quickly became a refuge for Lesser Town locals as other classic pubs gave way to tourist-focused venues in the 1990s. Inside, the atmosphere is timeless: worn wooden tables, walls lined with memorabilia, and a mix of lifelong regulars and curious newcomers. “History makes the genius loci,” says Berný, “but here it’s also about the people.”

Few pubs in Prague are as steeped in cultural lore as U Zlatého tygra. This was the regular spot of legendary Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, who found inspiration here for his last books, The Pink Cavalier and Evening Stories for Cassio, both vivid chronicles of the 1990s pub scene. The beer hall dates back to the 1930s, when František Skořepa was behind the bar, and it has hosted its share of famous guests, including Václav Havel and Bill Clinton in 1994.

The penultimate stop, U Zlatého slona (At the Golden Elephant), is one of the newer additions to the route, having opened in 2011. Known for its excellent Pilsner, it also boasts a rare year-round garden, where you can sip beer outdoors even in December. Inside, golden elephant murals lend the space a whimsical charm. There’s even a pub “passport”: every beer earns you a stamped elephant, and 100 stamps will get your name and your very own golden elephant painted on the wall.

If you want to keep the beer adventure going beyond the official Beer Zoo route, Prague has no shortage of pubs near storied attractions that are worth your time.