Kavárna — Czechia's café tradition

Kavárna is the Czech word for café, and the tradition is closely tied to the historic coffee-house culture of Prague and other Czech cities, in a similar vein to Vienna's kaffeehaus tradition given the historical links between Central European coffee-house cultures. Older, grand kavárny in Prague are often housed in ornate, historic buildings and retain a formal, sit-and-linger atmosphere.

Alongside these historic cafés, Czech cities have seen substantial growth in specialty coffee shops in recent years, offering a more contemporary counterpart to the traditional kavárna. Coffee is typically served alongside Czech pastries or cakes, and, as with the wider Central European tradition, a kavárna is generally treated as a place to sit for a while rather than a quick stop.

As with Vienna's kaffeehaus culture, the Czech kavárna tradition has historically served as a social and intellectual gathering space as much as a place simply to drink coffee, with cafés in Prague in particular historically associated with writers and artists.