Duplex sits on the seventh-floor roof of a Wenceslas Square tower, with a glass-cube club and an outdoor terrace that runs through summer and a heated dome through winter. Programming runs house and electronic on the main floor with pop and dance on the rooftop bar.
Tip: The terrace is the draw; arrive before midnight for the city-view bar before the floor packs. Heated dome stays open in winter.
Address: Václavské náměstí 21, 110 00 Praha 1, Prague
Lucerna Music Bar opened in 1995 in the basement of the Lucerna Palace arcade between Vodičkova and Štěpánská, booking touring indie, rock, hip-hop and electronic acts plus the long-running 80s and 90s video party that fills the room every Friday and Saturday until five.
Tip: Enter through the arcade off Vodičkova; the 80s-90s video party is the easiest weekend ticket. Cloakroom moves fast.
Reduta has run on Národní since 1957 as Prague's oldest jazz room, with a small stage that Bill Clinton famously played saxophone on during a 1994 state visit. Programming covers swing, mainstream jazz and blues across nightly sets.
Tip: Concert at 21:30 nightly; arrive by 21:00 for seats. Cash door plus card; small cover.
Lucerna Music Bar opened in 1995 in the basement of the Lucerna Palace arcade between Vodičkova and Štěpánská, booking touring indie, rock, hip-hop and electronic acts plus the long-running 80s and 90s video party that fills the room every Friday and Saturday until five.
Tip: Enter through the arcade off Vodičkova; the 80s-90s video party is the easiest weekend ticket. Cloakroom moves fast.
Jazz Dock runs on stilts above the Vltava under the Janáčkovo riverbank, with floor-to-ceiling glass facing the water and two sets nightly across postmodern jazz, soul and acoustic singer-songwriter bookings. The room has run since 2009 and is among Europe's most prolific jazz programmers.
Tip: Two sets nightly, usually 19:00 and 22:00; the late set on Friday and Saturday runs cheaper. Book ahead for named acts.
Reduta has run on Národní since 1957 as Prague's oldest jazz room, with a small stage that Bill Clinton famously played saxophone on during a 1994 state visit. Programming covers swing, mainstream jazz and blues across nightly sets.
Tip: Concert at 21:30 nightly; arrive by 21:00 for seats. Cash door plus card; small cover.
AghaRTA runs an Old Town basement off Železná with vaulted ceilings and a low stage that puts the band a metre from the front row. The programme has booked Czech and international jazz, fusion and world acts every night since 1991 and runs its own record label.
Tip: Sets start at 21:00; arrive by 20:30 for seats. The phone line takes bookings evenings only.
Jazz Republic has run nightly sets since 1997 in a vaulted cellar off Jilská near the Old Town Square, programming Czech and international jazz, blues, fusion and Latin acts in a 50-seat room. Capacity is small enough that the front row sits at the band's feet.
Tip: Reservations cap group bookings at 10; cash door. The Tuesday slot opens later than the rest of the week.
Cloud 9 sits on the ninth-floor roof of the Hilton Prague at the edge of Karlín, with a 360-degree view across the Vltava to the Castle, Old Town and Žižkov tower. The cocktail list runs gin-and-tonic builds plus classic spirits, paired with small sharing plates from the hotel kitchen.
Tip: Hotel-guest priority; book a window seat via SevenRooms. Closing at 23:00 means arrive before 21:00 for a long sit.