Shops & Services

Shops

Shops and services are mostly open from Mon to Fri from 8 or 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., bakeries from early morning (6 a.m.).
Food store chains (Billa, Albert, Lidl, Kaufland, Penny etc.) are open every day incl. weekends from 7 or 8 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m.

Favourite supermarkets are Globus with their own meat butchery and bakery and Lidl with their thematic weeks, e.g. Spanish, Italian, Greek or Asian week.

If you love cooking and you need fresh and affordable herbs such as cilantro, parsley, or mint, I recommend a small veggie and fruit shop near the main square Zelenina ve Stejskalce.

Slunečnice is probably the best health food store in the town. Of course, you can get better prices while shopping online. Grizly is an online shop where you can buy healthy food at a great price. You can get a good deal on nuts and seeds especially. The only issue for some could be, that the shop is not available in English language.

Trvalé pytliště is the most recommended package free shop. It has a wide product rage and reasonable prices that compare to the ones in bigger supermarkets. They support local farmers and suppliers. Another package free option is BuďBez close to the main square. Their prices are a little bit up there since they sell a lot of organic products, but their cleaning products offer is very good. Krámek Rozmarýnka is the third option. It is small but cute. With this one be aware of the limited opening hours.

How to shop zerowaste? Bring your own containers, boxes, jars, bottles, and backs. Right at the entrance you weigh your containers, write down their weight and then just fill them with goodies.

If you are a fan of farmer´s markets, you should not miss the one in Piaristické náměstí. It takes places every Thursday and Saturday morning throughout the whole year. You can buy local farmers´ products, pastries, flowers or even artisanal products and decorations (e.g. Christmas wreath). Remember to bring your own bags or a basket and enjoy. Just a friendly warning, it could happen that some of the sellers are not farmers and they just resell fruits and vegetables from another place (a supermarket). So be aware and if you have doubts, ask them.
Another quite new farmer´s market is Trhy v Žižkárně. It is smaller than the one in Piaristické náměstí but it has a potential. Usually it takes place every Sunday morning. Once a month there is a Street Food Market on Friday evenings too.
Relatively new is also market called Májové trhy which takes place on the border between Máj and Šumava housing estates once a month and is focused on support of neighbourhood relationships and local community. This event offers quality products and food from Czech farmers, hand-made products, home-made cosmetics and textile etc. There is always an interesting side event for children (workshops or theatre).

Apart for the farmer´s markets you can buy farmers´ products in a small store close to the square called Obchod U Dobráka or e-shop scuk. There you register and choose a group based on your address. You choose the products (from vegetables to meat, milk, eggs etc.) online from various local farmers and then you pick your goodies in a pick-up point.

Concerning food and groceries delivery, I recommend iTesco or Košík for grocery online shopping and delivery and Dáme jídlo, Wolt and Sváča z kola for food delivery from restaurants, cafés, bistros or flower shops.

Large shopping centres are open all week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (for a list of local shopping centres, see section Leisure).
Czechia has several national holidays; on some of them stores can be open as usual, on some holidays they must restrict the opening hours or close entirely.

If you hold an internationally recognized credit card (Visa, Mastercard), you should have no problem with using it in shops and banks. The Czech Republic in general has dense network of ATMs and most shops (even small ones), restaurants and other various services are equipped with a payment terminal.

Handy fact: You do not need to buy bottled water because the tap water in the Czech Republic is drinkable. The tap water is periodically tested for nitrates and heavy metals. Moreover, tap water of majority of the regions is suitable even for babies. Just beware of dirty plumbing mainly in very old houses which can destroy the original water quality.

ISIC Benefits

ISIC is the only globally recognized proof of student status for high schools, colleges and universities and selected one-year post-secondary fields of study. If you hold a valid ISIC card, you may use many benefits and discounts on various services (food, books, clothes, electronics, travelling, leisure time activities and events, transport and more). Visit www.isic.cz/en/ to see what can you do with your card.

Bike Shops & Repairs

BIKE SHOP (check in advance when the English speaking employee will be available)
CYKLOEXTRA (check in advance when the English speaking employee will be available)
Dajsport (check in advance when the English speaking employee will be available)
Spectrumbike (repair only of bikes bought at their shop)
Žižkolárna (specialized on repairs)
Cykloservis Staněk (communication in English with difficulties)

The bike shops usually offer also bike equipment and accessories.

Car Sales & Services

DM SERVIS CB (repairs and service; Spanish and English)
Auto ESA (sale, buyout)
Autocentrum DAN a SYN (sale, service, insurance, ownership transfer, car equipment, consulting etc.; fluent in English, German, Serbian, advanced in Spanish and French, basic in Arabic)
AAA Auto (sale, buyout; fluent in English and German)
CB Auto (sale of new and used cars, renting, service; English and German)

If you are not sure how to proceed when buying a vehicle, the car shops usually tell you what you need to do and what is ahead (what to submit, MOT test etc.). Car shops in the CR are not more crooked than in other states, however certain caution is never misplaced. When buying a used car, do a little research on the internet to find out what signs to beware of and what to check during viewing a car before purchase.

Domestic Services

Locksmithery (keys locked inside your flat or car): Emergency Key Service for South Bohemia Region (24/7)
Moving service: Michal Kellnhofer
Handyman (minor domestic repairs, room painter, electrician etc.): Váš Služebníček (English with difficulties)

Handymen in CB typically do not speak English. We recommend you to ask Czech speaking mentor or colleague for assistance at least with phone arrangement of the repairman's visit.

Do you have any useful tip, recommendation or experience, which you'd like to share to help others? Or any comment on information on this page? Let us know.