Evening life

A few tips how to spend an evening time in Budweis and how to continue at night in restaurants or clubs.

Cafes

Most good cafes are situated right on Přemysl Otakar II Square. There are a few of them I'd like to mention.

Café Au Chat Noir

Cafe in a French style situated on Přemysl Otakar II Square (you must go through the map centre to the first floor, it's quite hidden but in case you're not sure, follow the arrows which lead from the map centre) belongs to my favourite cafes in the town. There are interesting paintings on the wall and are changed every month.

Of course, if this is a French cafe, you can have a French breakfast – croissante, bagette, omelette etc. And if you sit at the window, you'll have a nice view of Samson Fountain on the square.

Cinemas

Budweis can offer three cinemas. In summer, there are four of them – summer cinema takes place by the river close to E-On building (F. A. Gerstnera street).

Cinestar Cinema

Although it's far away from the centre in housing estate Máj, this multiplex is impressive. You will find Cinestar multiplex also in IGY centre which is closer to the centre. Before you get to the cash desk, you will pass a few cafes, shops or fast food, that you can go to. Cinestar multiplex plays always the newest films with the highest quality of sound and comfort. In my opinion, the seats in Cinestar are the most comfortable cinema seats in Budweis. There are usually discounts on particular days of week.

>> Cinestar website (CZ)

Kotva Cinema

There are two chief differences between Cinestar Cinema and Kotva Cinema – firstly, Kotva is much smaller than Cinestar, so smaller amount of films, secondly, in Kotva there are played independent films in addition to popular movies.

A cafe and a small pub are parts of the Kotva complex. I personally rank Kotva among very cosy and nice places for spending free time.

>> Kotva (CZ)

Summer Cinema Háječek

Almost all films from Kotva are removed to Háječek during summer. All the performances take place outside, near the small park next to Malše river (4 minutes from Přemysl Otakar II Square, F. A. Gerstnera street). Movies in summer start usually from 9 pm.

Restaurants

After visiting cinema, you may be a little bit hungry. I've got several tips, where to spend pleasant evening with good food.

Alchymista Restaurant

This restaurant has a unique atmosphere. The interior comes from the king Rudolf's era – he was known for his interest in alchemy. Alchymista is decorated by historical artefacts from Rudolf's era (16th and 17th century). There's an alchemist oven too, where the food is being prepared.

The food (mostly Czech cuisine) is served here on big plates, I could barely eat it all, but the food was delicious. You would feel sorry if you didn't eat the whole portion.

Alchymista Restaurant is located 15 minutes from the centre.

>> Alchymista Restaurant (CZ)

Pollo

Pizzeria 5 minutes from Přemysl Otakar II Square. It's a good place to have lunch or dinner here in summer, because you can sit outside. They serve fine salads and pasta as well. Fair prices.

Citro Bar Restaurant

Citro is the best Italian restaurant in Budweis. Although the prices are little bit higher, steaks and pizzas are worth that prices. It's located near the main railway station.

>> Citro (CZ)

Pubs

The pubs, which I'm going to write about, are often also restaurants, but more used as pubs.

Modrý Dveře

Only a few steps from Přemysl Otakar II Square you'll find this jazz & blues pub. The special thing in Modrý Dveře is, that you can borrow or take any book you want from the shelves, which are there. So, It's kind of intellectual pub, but you can also spend some time there without any intellectual purposes… :-)

Modrý Dveře has a real charm because it works as a restaurant during the day (you can eat there like in a normal restaurant and you will not regret, food is great) and it works as a pub in the evenings (people come there for a drink and fun).

>> Modrý Dveře (CZ)

Potrefená Husa

Every summer there is a terrace opened upstairs. I can tell you, there is a magical atmosphere on the terrace, because you have a nice view of Malše river. I'm sure you'll have a great time in Husa in winter, too. The service has been brilliant for all year. This pub is situated in Česká Street, near the pub Modrý Dveře.

Singer Pub

Favourite Irish pub also located in Česká Street. In comparison to Modrý Dveře and Potrefená Husa, Singer has much less space, but it's more cosy. You have to order at the bar, because this place is run in Irish style.

This place is an important centre of evening life, because Singer closes after midnight apart from other pubs which close mostly till midnight.

Meat Shops

Historically well-known pub in Krajinská street.It's mainly a Budvar alehouse. You find the historical background and more information in Town tour – Main sights.

Hladový Vokno

I had a real difficulty where to put Hladový Vokno because it's nor exactly a pub nor a restaurant or anything else. This special place is simply a window where you can buy some food in the evenings (afternoons, too) and mainly at night. The food is very similar to hamburgers but even more delicious especially if you're really hungry in late hours. Food offer ranges from bagettes to big fancy hamburgers filled with meat (pork, chicken, beef whatever you like), ketchup, vegetable.. basically made for big hunger :-)

It's opened from 10:30 to 23:00 on week days and on Saturday from 17:00 to 00:30.

Clubs

We have a few clubs, some of them are worth visiting. Let's have a look at the prominent ones.

K2

A small club situated on Sokolský Island near Malše river. People from the student's hostels visit this club most frequently. K2 is opened usually on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Old music from 1970s or 1980s is played in K2 only on Wednesdays and it's really crowded here in these days.

On most of the days, a mixture of popular and rock music from the present is played, and some old stuff on Fridays and Saturdays. In my opinion, most people coming there are friendly, maybe the best club-society in Budweis.

>> K2 (CZ)

Velbloud

It's a mixture of a club and cafe, but it is basically a music club. The concerts of ska music are usual here. You'll find quite a closed society in Velbloud, everyone knows everyone. Velbloud is close to mentioned Alchymista restaurant.

>> Velbloud (CZ)

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