The Holešovice neighborhood in Prague is one of the 23 trendiest neighborhoods in Europe

If you ask Prague residents what is the best residential neighborhood in Prague you will no doubt receive a wide variety of answers. However, the discount travel site and two leading tourism blogs who had surveyed the question have arrived at an unambiguous conclusion that has even been published in the British Independent.

The neighborhood ranking is performed according to a complex and unique ranking system that examined 3 parameters: culture, creativity and benefit. Furthermore, a positive grade calibrating the number of coffee houses, art galleries and vintage stores relative to the number of residents has also been added. The score was reduced if the neighborhood contained global distribution chains such as Starbucks.

The survey and the blogs all determined that the Holešovice neighborhood in Prague was ranked 15th out of 23 European neighborhoods in the coolness parameter. The first place, by the way, is the Kreuzberg neighborhood in Berlin, the Capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. Subsequently, the Prague municipality Facebook profile has begun promoting the ranking of the neighborhood with the emoji “feeling happy” and in the post written there it has been claimed that “the neighborhood is changing even as we watch:. The Municipality signed the post with the Holesovicedistrict# hashtag.

The ranking mentions that the neighborhood has a wide variety of modern bars and restaurants that serve trendy European fare. Nonetheless, the neighborhood also has a number of disadvantages such as the absence of a real center and the fact that it is divided by railway lines and motorways. The neighborhood also has unused industrial areas and is considered a low - no nightlife neighborhood. Nonetheless, the neighborhood contains a number of art galleries such as the Veletržní palác, that are part of the national gallery. The private display center DOX Center for Contemporary Art is in this neighborhood.

The ranking of the neighborhood seems to be based on the repurposing of some of the industrial areas in the neighborhood to prestigious residential areas. This repurposing creates a difference between the original residents of the neighborhood to its new residents. Nonetheless, some see the neighborhood as already being a Hipster locale: “I love the neighborhood” said one of the residents, “the neighborhood is really cool and has a many cultural sites, restaurants, trendy bars and coffee houses. The neighborhood is surrounded by the Stromovka & Letná Parks and yet maintains a communal atmosphere – what more can one ask for”?

A long time Prague resident since the early 90s has another opinion: “A nice neighborhood? One of the 23 coolest neighborhoods in Europe? At best, this is one the 23 coolest neighborhoods in Prague”. In contrast, an American tourist who often visits Prague notices a change for the better in the past few years: “This neighborhood has improved dramatically in many senses. It still has defects but I am surprised with the changes it has undergone in the past 5 years”. He says.

A long time resident of the neighborhood encourages the debate itself: “Keep talking and that might help keep the neighborhood just the way it is- inexpensive, minor and even neglected. This way it will not be conquered by the hipsters and become too expensive to live in” he says and compares it to catch 22. He is not impressed by the changes the neighborhood has undergone: “I moved to this neighborhood from Hradčany – nine years ago and the neighborhood as far as I was concerned had not changed one bit. It is KFC that has shut down and instead a Borito restraint has opened up. That, as far as I am concerned, are major changed”.

The neighborhood has undergone major changes in the recent past. In 2015 the old slaughterhouses have been transformed into art galleries and industrial purposes have been repurposed into galleries as well. For example, in 2016, a factory called Továrna Holešovice had begun to display exhibitions and to become a work place for artists. The neighborhood faces additional changes: there are plans to build a mall on the site, to construct a building at the abandoned yard of the railway station (a plan whose execution has been postponed several times already), and to connect the separate road systems in the neighborhood that are currently split up by the railway line and thereby unify the two parts of the neighborhood. Additional targets are the renovation of the decrepit fair center Výstaviště, and even provide public access to the riverbank.

The hippest place in Europe? Perhaps not yet, but you should look the neighborhood up in a few years and in the meantime we strongly recommend investing in the neighborhood. Contact us and we will help you find an apartment or a building to purchase for investment purposes.