Reduta Prague tickets: standard or VIP

Standard or VIP: the short version

Reduta sells one concert in two seat categories. A standard ticket reserves a place in the hall, and the club's manager assigns your exact seat. A VIP ticket reserves the best seats in the club and adds a welcome drink. Both open the same performance on the same night, so the music is identical and only your view and the drink change. If it is your first visit and you are happy to take the seat you are given, standard is enough. If you care about the view or you are celebrating something, VIP is the safer pick.

• Standard: a seat chosen by the manager, no drink included
• VIP: the best seats in the club, with a welcome drink
• Both: live jazz in the hall at Národní 20, with the cloakroom and bar on site

What both tickets cover

Both tickets are seat reservations for a live concert, and nothing more. The club does not serve meals, though the bar sells snacks, so dinner is your own plan. Any drink beyond the VIP welcome drink is bought at the bar. Coats, jackets and bags stay in the free cloakroom, because the house rules keep them out of the hall. Children under five come in free, and the club has no age limit for jazz fans. Pets, backpacks, large bags and oversize luggage are not allowed in.

Where you will sit

Standard seats are placed by the manager, so you cannot pick a table when you book. The VIP seats are the best the club has, and its own site names the presidents Václav Havel and Bill Clinton as past guests in them. Guests describe the hall as small and intimate, with a good sound. Some say the seats could face the stage better or be more comfortable, and that is the main reason people upgrade. For a larger party, the club's contact page lists a reservation address you can write to before you book.

Booking here or from the club

You can also buy from the club itself. Its programme page has a Get Ticket button for each night and a separate reservation form, and it warns that a reservation without a purchased ticket does not guarantee a seat. Booking through a travel marketplace adds free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start and a pay-later option, and you can read and book in your own language. Visitors with a Prague Visitor Pass can claim 20% off the club's own ticket prices through the box office, by email or by phone. Check the cancellation terms before you pay either way.

Picking a night

The programme changes most evenings, and the club's site lists the acts ahead of time. Its styles include swing, Dixieland, mainstream and modern jazz, big band, blues, funk, bossa nova and jazz pop, with tribute nights built around famous singers. Friday and Saturday often add a second, late show. If you have a favourite style, check the programme before you choose a date. If you do not, any night offers a working band in a small hall. The booking calendar shows the start time and the length for your date.

Read next: What to listen for at a jazz club

How the booking works

Pick a date on the booking page, then choose your seat category and the number of guests. A standard seat and a VIP seat are separate options for the same night, so compare both before you confirm. You can reserve now and pay later, which suits plans that are still moving, and you can cancel up to 24 hours before the start for a full refund. Your confirmation shows the start time. If you have a question about seating for a bigger party, the club's contact page lists a reservation address and phone number.

Arriving and the cloakroom

Plan to arrive about 45 minutes before an early-evening show and about 15 minutes before a late one. That leaves time to hand your coat and bag to the cloakroom, which is free and which the rules require, and to stop at the Saxophone Bar. Your confirmation shows your start time. Once the music begins the hall goes dark, so late arrivals can miss the opening numbers. If the cloakroom is busy when you arrive, that is the part of the evening where a few spare minutes pay off.

Food and drink around the show

Reduta is a music club, not a restaurant. The bar sells snacks, wine, cocktails and beer, including beer tapped from a golden saxophone. For dinner, eat before the show in the streets around Národní, or save it for after a late set. If you want a meal during the music, the Jazz Boat cruise is the alternative: its own site describes a 2.5-hour river cruise with live jazz, three sets and a choice of four set menus. Reduta suits people who want the music first and the meal somewhere else, and the cruise suits people who want both on one booking.

Read next: Jazz club or jazz boat in Prague

What you are buying a seat in

Reduta says it opened in 1957, and Wikipedia calls it the oldest jazz club in Prague. It promoted jazz through the 1950s, when the Communist regime condemned the music. In January 1994 President Václav Havel brought President Bill Clinton here and gave him a saxophone. None of that changes what a ticket gets you, but it explains why the club is a standard stop for visiting jazz fans. The full story is in the club's short history.

Families, groups and access

There is no age limit for jazz fans, and children under five enter free, though the hall is dark and a late show finishes late in the evening. A few steps lead up to the jazz hall, so the venue is not wheelchair accessible, and the staff will help where they can. The club's contact page lists a separate phone number for private events and cooperation. Pets are not allowed in the club. If anyone in your party is unsure about the steps, the dark hall or a late finish, settle that before you pay, because the cancellation window closes 24 hours before the start.

Who this isn't for

Skip Reduta if you need step-free access, want dinner at your table, or like to talk through the music. The hall is dark and the sets are for listening. It is also the wrong pick if you want to choose your exact seat on a standard ticket, because the manager does that. And if a cruise with dinner sounds better than a club, read the comparison with the Jazz Boat before you book. People who want a quiet table, a long conversation or a lit room will be happier elsewhere, since that is not what a jazz club hall is designed for.