Glass Blowing in Prague: A Totally Fun Family Experience
I love finding fun and unique things to do when we’re in different cities. So when I heard about a family-friendly experience where you can do glass blowing in Prague, I couldn’t wait to sign us up.
Full disclosure:
We were partially gifted this glass-blowing experience in Prague at Pragl in exchange for a review.
Every single opinion and thought below is my own.
My favorite ways to hear about activities in other cities are by word of mouth, which is how I heard about Pragl in Prague.
Glass blowing is an art and a hard skill to master and at this glass boutique in the heart of the city, they teach you about glass making and let you get hands-on with the process.
Not only that, but you get to bring a souvenir home with you—your very own glass creation.
Our family of five booked the “Hot Shop” Glass Blowing experience for 20 minutes a person (1.5 hours roughly). The cost would have been roughly €200 (about €40/per person) for the five of us to each make our own glass creation.
QUICK TIPS For Glass Blowing in Prague:
Before I get into the nitty-gritty, aka fun stuff about this experience, here are some quick tips to keep in mind for when your glass-blowing experience in Prague.
- Book your glass-blowing time slot during your first day in Prague. The glass needs time to cool, so you can’t collect it until the second day.
- If you have a larger family, shoot them an email (found on their reservation page) to book a longer time slot.
- There isn’t an age minimum on the site, but I’d recommend this for kids ages 5 and older. Any younger and you would need absolute constant adult supervision. (yes, we were there watching every single minute, but I trusted my 5-year-old to do what he was doing without me literally holding his hand, which is what I’d be doing if we had younger kids.)
- You are playing with fire. I mean, not touching it, but it’ll be near you. Use your discretion when signing up for this—you know your kids and how they may react to fire and heat. While I was impressed with our visit and felt like safety was a priority, the instructor is not a babysitter so keep an eye on those kiddos!
- Wear sleeves. Yes, it does get ridiculously hot near the furnace (don’t worry; you won’t be close enough for it to burn), but you still need to be protected. My daughter took her sweater off, leaving her with just a tank top on, and within seconds Dave—you’ll “meet” him in a minute—was handing her a lab-coat-looking jacket to put on. I appreciated his swift awareness of the situation; he didn’t make a big deal about it but was on top of safety first and foremost.
- This isn’t as necessary, but have a plan in mind for what you’d like to make. An ornament, a beer mug, a glass (with or without a handle), a paperweight, a flower, a candy dish, etc. You’ll see examples of everything when you get there, but my kids had a hard time deciding what they wanted, which left me feeling impatient with them; I didn’t want to waste our/their time!
Our Experience with Glass Blowing in Prague
First of all, I loved the location of Pragl a glass art gallery and boutique in the heart of Prague. Literally, it’s just around the corner from the Astronomical Clock and next to the Hard Rock Cafe (just for a point of reference).
I will say, though, at first glance I was a little worried about taking three young kids into a glass art gallery/shop—it sounded like a recipe made for disaster especially once I saw all the beautiful pieces for sale.
Just before we walked inside we gave them a very stern chat about standing close to us and not being rambunctious in there.
Thankfully, we were led to a room just off to the side where all the action would take place.
After graciously accepting some (unlimited) delicious cold beer and water for the kids, we got right to the point: it was time to learn and make some glass baubles!
Meeting Dave and Chuck
Ask anyone who’s been to Pragl and they’ll likely tell you about Dave, the super chill, really cool, and incredibly patient Australian glass guru who led every minute of our experience.
He was really informative and taught us about some Czech glass history, plus he was funny, excellent with kids, and his English—in case you were curious—was perfect. It made the whole process smooth since there wasn’t any type of language barrier.
Dave commanded his stage* and made us feel comfortable despite the fact that there was a ridiculously hot oven and instruments going back and forth around all of us.
Speaking of the hot oven, that’s who we referred to as Chuck. My kids got a kick out of an inanimate object having a name.
*The room we were in was kind of divided by a step up. Dave, Chuck, and everything needed for glass blowing was the workplace; if you were off the step it was assumed that you were in the “watching” area.
Let’s Blow some Glass!
We let the kids go first, and boy did they have fun.
Before each kid started they told Dave what they wanted to make and what color(s) they wanted for each item.
Maddie picked a purple flower dish, Logan made an orange and blue Christmas ornament, and Julia made a teal mug.
Dave really let the kids get hands-on with as much as he could safely let them handle.
He was so encouraging with them, telling them that they were pros and really making them feel more mature and capable of doing something cool like glass-blowing.
Whether they were sorting colors through the glass fragments or using a blow torch on their glass (yes…my 7-year-old used a blow torch and it was probably the highlight of her life), they were truly making their own item.
The actual “glass-blowing” part was just a small part of this experience—they did blow the glass, but they also got to twist and turn molten glass, and help shape it into its final design.
It was really fun watching them up there putting the hard work into making their own creation while we sat back and drank beer.
Just kidding. Kind of. (I really like Czech beer, if I haven’t mentioned that already.)
We (my husband and I) also got in on the action. The kids made it look super easy so I was pretty nervous when it was my turn.
Dave was just so gosh-darn helpful and patient that it went really well.
There was a slight miscommunication about what I wanted, and as soon as we realized the blunder he was quick to take action and turn what we were accidentally making into what I actually wanted.
The Final Results
not pictured is my son’s ornament. It’s already packed away with our Christmas stuff.
Honestly, I love everything we made. Like, love them. I want to find a place to show them off in our house because I don’t want them to break.
Are they perfect? Not even close.
The glass has imperfections and bubbles all around, and my daughter isn’t thrilled with a last-minute design change she made (she twisted the handle on her mug).
But just looking at them makes me remember making them and how much fun we had doing it.
And the best part is that if you are short on time or want to save some money, every person in the family doesn’t have to make something. You could make a family piece, or just have the kids make something. I like that it isn’t a hard and set rule for who has to make what.
I truly love everything we made and if you have the extra time and money to spare I’d make sure a Pragl glass-blowing experience is on your list when you visit Prague.
Where We Stayed in Prague
Our family of five stayed at the Old Prague House, and I highly recommend it for larger families. Our place was HUGE and the city-center location was perfect for walking around Old Town. Two things to note: there is not a 24-hour reception and there is no lift to the top floor where the huge family room/apartment is.
If you need a place to stay in Lesser Town (the other side of the river by the castle), I have many friends who recommend Dům u Velké Boty, aka The House at the Big Boot.
