How to Be Eco-friendly in Pilsen

Without a doubt one of the hot topics of today is how we can sustain and maintain a healthy relationship with the environment. All of us are capable of travelling with respect toward nature and local cultures, it’s actually quite easy to do. Check out our tips of where to go for local, bio food, how to find ecologically-minded shopping areas that offer package-free products and where you can try the best fair-trade coffee. Take a trip to a slightly more ecologically minimalistic lifestyle and experience a greener side of the world. Pilsen definitely has something to offer in this department!



Bio shopping and package-free food

You can immediately find a number of shops in the centre of Pilsen, where you can purchase locally grown, bio-quality food. A few of these stores even offer package-free shopping. At Bioplaneta (Bezručova 11) you can get your hands on food options of all kinds, and right across the street you’ll find the shop’s eco-friendly sister grocery store.

HerBio (V Šipce 8) offers a wide assortment of Czech fair-trade food choices, similar what you’ll find at The Farmer’s Shop (Farmářský obchod) (Šafaříkovy sady 3) and Liduška (Na Roudné 1), which provide local products such as fruit, vegetables and also meat. In addition, the small grocery of Zelovoce (Sady Pětatřicátníků 4) is a great place to find primarily fruits and vegetables from Czech suppliers. However, here you may also come across various juices, jams and fresh eggs.

The shop Kardamom (Kollárova 6) has gone completely package-free, and it’s here you won’t only find fresh ingredients, but also a eco-friendly bottling plant with a vast range of products. Bring your own bags and fill them to the brim, or purchase the store’s environmentally mindful ones to stuff with treats, for only a few Czech crowns.

DEPO2015 Marketplace

A short walk from the heart of the city, located in the DEPO2015 cultural centre, is the modern Marketplace, where you’ll find everything you need in one location – a grocery store and bottler at NON TOXIC LIFE, fair-trade fashion at NASEBE store, the shop UMU, which offers consumer goods from Czech designers and Venkovský dům, where you can buy only the most interesting products Pilsen’s countryside has to offer.

Farmer’s markets

From the end of March until Christmas, Pilsen’s Republic Square (the area between City Hall and the cathedral) acts as the backdrop for farmer’s markets, held here every Saturday morning. Local farmers and foodstuff producers from the entire region flock to the city centre. Not only can you purchase seasonal fruit and vegetables here, you’ll also find quality meat, smoked meat, home-made cheese, milk products, crispy baked goods and other treats.

Second-hand shops and antique stores

Don’t shy away from purchasing lightly-used clothing or goods. Finding the right stuff can take a bit of skill, but the joy you feel of hunting down the perfect item yourself will be twice as powerful. You can find several second-hand shops right in the centre of the city. You can start with London Fashion (Klatovská třídě 3), Textile House (Smetanovy Sady 13) . You’ll find the available options to be a bit different in each store. Books, vinyl records, photos, graphics and other antique treasures can be found at Antikvariát Beneš (Divadelní 2), which keeps its list of items up-to-date online. You should also try out Antikvariát Černý pes (Sedláčkova 2) as well as Antikvariát U soudu (Veleslavínova 25).

Flea markets and bazaars

Pilsen’s weekend flea markets are often held at the Lokomotiva Sporting Grounds, and clothing/accessories bazaars can be found at Nazdar Bazar, located inside the Paper Mill (Papírna), which you can take part in as both a buyer and a seller. We can’t leave out, however, the regularly held clothing swap, appropriately named SWAP, at DEPO2015, where you can bring in well-preserved, yet no-longer-worn clothing, and leave with something new.

Eco-friendly cafés and businesses

By “eco-friendly” we mean businesses that minimalize the use of plastics, provide compostable dishes, recycle leftovers, utilize local and bio products and try to benefit the environment as much as they can. For example, in Pilsen you can get your hands on some excellent, fair-trade coffee by going to Pappa Coffee (Veleslavínova 8), Café Regner (Bezručova 7), Schovaná kavárna (Zbrojnická 6) and Družba (Sedláčkova 19). It’s also worth mentioning that by leaving the heart of the city centre for Pilsen’s Slovany neighbourhood, you can find the both bio and package-free shop of Biologico, which includes a café. Plus, the returnable cup program “Otoč kelímek” is in full swing in Pilsen. Check out the map of cafés where you can take your coffee to-go in a returnable cup.

Where to eat in Pilsen as a vegan/vegetarian

Both the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles fall in perfectly with Pilsen’s easy accessibility to its surrounding nature. Take a look at our list of bistros and restaurants, where you can go for high-quality, inventive veggie meals.

To transport around Pilsen you can use red bike-sharing bikes of Kolemplzně.

Go on foot, take public transportation or use bike share

Decrease your carbon footprint and reduce the number of cars in the city centre. Everything’s within reach in Pilsen, and you can comfortably get anywhere you’re going by walking. There certainly isn’t any need to go by car. If you are, however, planning to travel outside the city centre, make use of the well-connected public transportation system. It’s even worth purchasing a tourist ticket if you’re planning on staying in Pilsen for some time.

No need to bring your bike with you, borrow one of the city’s shared bikes. Pilsen’s bike-sharing system, “Kolem Plzně” (Around Pilsen) functions online with the help of SMS messages. You will need to register online before your first use, and then you can borrow anytime you like. You will find more detailed information by visiting the bike-sharing website: www.kolemplzne.cz. You can also rent a bike at the city’s main train station.

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