Open by an astute Frenchwoman in 1991 when Prague was a gastronomic desert, Fruits de France is still an oasis of mouth-watering fruit, vegetables, olives, cheese, chocolate, oil and wine. Deliveries from France arrive once a week, but storage is good and everything remains fresh. The shop is quite expensive: a block of mozzarella may cost 300 Kc. There are a couple of stand-up-and-eat tables at the back of the shop for quick deli snacks with wine.

Ugly but well stocked. Lots of cosmetics, stationery, bed linen, fashion, sports gear, car accessories, furniture etyc. There’s a reservation service, bureau de change and shoe repairs in the basement, next to a glossy, modern supermarket. Good for gourmet chocolates and French wines - less so for fruits and vegetables.

As well as having top quality French champagnes, cognacs and Bordeaux, this snack bar also sells delicious pastries. Get there early before they were snapped up by French shoppers on their way to Fruit de France.

More of a shrine than a teashop, this place sells a daunting array of oriental teas that can be sampled in the dark womb-like cafe. It also stocks all you need for a tea ceremony: tiny ceramic teapots and cups, joss sticks and Japanese tea strainers.

The smell of dark, roasted African coffee beans hits you as you step through the doors. If you can’t make up your mind the 30 or so coffee beans from different African countries on offer, you can always sit at the one and only table available and try a cup. Beans can be ground before packaging on request.

Previously Tesco was owned by the American chain K-mart, which spent a lot of money revamping the store only to sell it on to Tesco in 1996. Currently Tesco is a good mix of Czech and Western products and a popular supermarket that stocks American peanut butter, decent baked beans and British biscuits.