Antique Shopping in Munich, Prague, Lake Como, Milan

Good luck -- personally, unless you are an expert, I would not trust an street sale of an "antique." The opportunity for a rip off is too great.

My experience at flea markets and antique markets in Frankfurt is that the sellers are honest. They tell you if your item is a reproduction.

If you have plenty time to spend, board a train from Munich to Salzburg and head to the local branch of Dorotheum, the Vienna based pawnshop and action house. The Salzburg branch has a fairly extensive antique section, but my favorite section are the pre-owned jewels - basically, only high price items from the pawnshop are actioned, while low price items (say, under eur 5000) are sold directly in their jewelry shop (under the title "Einzelstücke aus Privatbesitz"). You can often find interesting items from late 19th century or early 20th Viennese designs at reasonable prices.

I found a couple of interesting antique shops in Prague when I visited in 2015, one in particular might have something to your taste, Antik Mucha at Liliova 12, this was near the main square and in the direction of the Charles Bridge. I collect vintage pottery from the 1920s-40s and found two charming Czech pieces at very good prices; a Scottie dog match holder and a toothpick holder shaped like a raven. Very nice staff, didn't speak a word of English but we sorted it out--I left with just one piece, and after fretting about the second one all afternoon I returned and the clerk gave me a discount without me even attempting to haggle. There was another shop nearby but it was quite a hectic jumble of things, still worth a look.

I wish I had more time for a better search. As it is, I'll be lucky to get to do some shopping as I will be with my husband and several of his friends.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I am hoping to find either an original antique print/map or antique book. Some type of art deco piece would be fun from Prague.

I love this forum! You guys are the best!

One of the first things I search for when planning my trips is a good flea market (as in, one with vintage to antique items, not tatty clothes and new things) and also any antique shops, even better if there's a collective or cluster of them. My favorite souvenir is always something vintage, and I've been very lucky in London, Tallinn, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Paris and Amsterdam. Antik Mucha was a quality shop with a range of high end to more affordably priced things ($20-40 US), including books and prints, jewelry, lamps and a variety of smaller decorative things from the 1800s to early 1900s. Good luck!

Looks like Antik Mucha is on the list as I saw that on my search of the net. I have a pretty good background in art and decorative history, so im hoping I can find something good!

The Kolbenova flea market in Prague is well worth visiting. You can easily cover it in an hour or two depending on how fast you move. It's a mish-mash of stuff from laundry soap, clothes, junk, and people cleaning out their sheds and attics. One of these days I'm going to go specifically to buy in order to bring back and sell - there are interesting things left over from the various wars and the communist days as well as older clocks and decorative items from 50 - 60+ years ago that I've never seen anywhere else.
Some of the smaller towns and villages are also gold mines - I went to a shop on a back street in Terezin that was amazing - piled high with all manner of things that I wanted to throw into a crate and bring home. I came across shops in other towns as well that are packed with treasures galore...I think people in the CR are jettisoning the old in favor of the new and shiny. Bargains to be had everywhere.