August travel plans - Paris, Amsterdam, Prague

My friend and I are thinking of travelling to Paris, Amsterdam and Prague in August. Is this a good time to go there? I heard that in August a lot of shops/places close down for a month because everyone goes on a holiday. Is that true? any tips/advice?

Been to all three several times over. August is a great time to go... As a matter of fact these cities are buzzing 365 days a year. It is a little less busy between Nov - Feb for tourists, but these cities are tourist hotspots and its always a good time to go. The peak tourist periods are between April - July, but August is just as good. The weather will be great.

Thanks Benga! Any advice on must eat places that are more local and not touristy?

I don't recall any eatery names, but beware of the spacecakes in Amsterdam, I underestimated them and got walloped. Otherwise you will have a blast, Prague is my favorite of the three, and Budapest over Prague if I was to throw in another one.

If you want to get off the beaten path a little, my strong suggestion is sign up for couch surfing, post in the city pages, and find yourself a guide. I've done it all over Europe and it COMPLETELY changes your experience... you will meet very kind, intelligent, interesting people that are excited to show a foreigner around. Paris has an incredibly active couch surfing group, and Prague and Amsterdam are pretty active too. They also have mixers and social stuff like picnics, parties, pub crawls, etc