Like many people, I have had Prague on my travel list for quite some time. I know there’s more to Czech Republic travel than just this one city, though. I was quite happy when Kami of My Wanderlust offered to do a post for us about this beautiful country. I hope you enjoy it and maybe get inspired.
Prague, one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, cities in Europe is a must-visit place during everyone’s European journey. The city of 100 spires can easily impress with its unquestioned beauty of narrow streets, baroque churches, huge castle on the hill, mediaeval Charles Bridge and the overall bohemian atmosphere. People come to Prague, fall in love with it, and leave the Czech Republic assuring themselves they’ll come back as soon as possible. No one can resist the magic of Prague, but the Czech Republic is so much more than its capital city! It’s definitely worth staying in the country for a couple of extra days to explore other cities, too.
Kutna Hora
Located 70 km east of Prague, it makes a perfect day trip from the capital. This charming town used to be an important mining center back in medieval times. Now it’s well worth a visit to see the historical town center with the stunning Saint Barbara Church, which is on the UNESCO World’s Heritage list. Kutna Hora also hides a unique spot—the ossuary in Sedlec, the suburb of the town. The chapel, as it is now, was made in the year 1870, and the bones of about 40,000 people were used to built it.
Pardubice
This pleasant city lies 115 km east from Prague. It’s especially famous for the annual horse race—Velka pardubicka—that has taken place every second Sunday of October since 1874. But Pardubice also has a nice old town with cobbled streets, a recently restored castle, and picturesque market place with a new Renaissance-style town hall that are perfect for a slow walk around.
Olomouc
This beautiful, important city even further east is rich in monuments dating back to the beginning of the 11th century. There are lots of churches, fountains, and streets with old houses to admire, but its most important monuments are the Holy Trinity Column that is on UNESCO World Heritage List and the gothic town hall with its Socialist realism astronomical clock that is big competition for Prague’s Orloj.
Ceske Budejovice
Less than 3 hours by train south from Prague, this city is famous for the Budweiser brewery, but it’s worth visiting not only to drink a pint or two. The city has a beautiful old town with a main square that is the biggest one in the Czech Republic, buildings with interesting architecture dating back to the 12th century, and the Golden Bridge, which is is actually…blue.
Cheb
Located right at the German border, this city is full of colorful, beautiful mercantile houses and the type of picturesque old town that Central Europe is famous for. There’s also a well-preserved castle worth a visit. It is said that the one of the most narrow streets in Europe can be found in Cheb (between the houses on the main square).
The triangle of spa towns is located not far from Cheb. The most famous of these cities is Karlovy Vary, which holds the famous annual movie festival. It lies in a picturesque valley surrounded by medium-sized mountains, and 79 hot springs can be found here. Karlovy Vary was especially visited by Polish, Russian and Czech aristocracy, and you can still feel the fancy atmosphere in the city.
Marianske Lazne
This is another spa town in west Czechoslovakia, and I personally liked it much more than Karlovy Vary. While it’s incredibly beautiful, the atmosphere is more relaxed and laid-back. The city reached its peak of popularity in the 19th century. It was the favorite spa place of the English king Edward VII. Many other important people of Europe in that time visited Marianske Lazne. In the heart of the town center, an interesting singing fountain can be found.
Liberec
First impressions of this city aren’t very good. It looks very industrial with lots of factories and blocks of Soviet-era flats. But there’s a very pleasant old town, a bus stop designed by David Cerny (most of his work can be found in Prague), a zoo famous for its white tiger, and Jested, a mountain with a hotel on the top that can be reached by cable car. It offers breathtaking views of the northwest Czech Republic.
Have you been to any of these cities? Be sure to include some of them in your next Czech Republic travel itinerary!
–Kami is a Polish girl who tries to balance full-time work with a love of travel. She spends every free moment exploring new places or returning to old ones. She’s already visited 44 countries (mostly in Europe), but new adventures are still ahead. She always has new plans where to go next!
You can follow her travels on Facebook and Twitter.
June 26, 2013
Ah, Kami has a gift of pointing out the great places in a country 🙂 her blog is great, and finding her writing here is good. What a great community the travel bloggers have made…
March 29, 2013
I took my son to the Czech Republic and Germany as a “roots” type trip before his senior year in high school. We visited Kutna Hora and loved that city. It’s one of the few places you can find people who speak English. Otherwise, outside of Prague, German was my best bet 🙂 I would also like to suggest Terezin. Some may consider it morbid, because it was a holding place for the death camps during World War II. It was the “show place” that the Nazis showed the Red Cross to prove the concentration camps weren’t really bad. It was a very solemn visit, but it definitely gave us memories to last a life time!
March 29, 2013
Wow. That’s sounds quite interesting.
March 29, 2013
We went to Kutna Hora last week as a day-trip fom Prague last week and loved it! It’s well worth going.
March 29, 2013
It seems like a really wonderful place.
March 28, 2013
You shouldn’t miss this area…the real heart of the country…Where the wine and Slivovice comes from, all the traditional songs and costumes, some great festivals of music and wine. World heritage areas, some lovely towns and friendly people http://www.slovacko.cz/
March 28, 2013
Cool. Thanks for the tips!
March 28, 2013
If you’re going to Cesky Budejovice, it’s definitely worth making a side trip to Cesky Krumlov, about 30 minutes south by road. In fact, I would say skip Budejovice all together (unless you really want to see all the beer stuff) and go to Krumlov instead. It’s a much smaller, beautiful, medieval town on a bend in the Vltava river. It has a castle with a moat guarded by two brown bears, a main square that would make you believe you’ve travelled back in time, some great tea houses and cute cafes, and surprisingly for such a small town in Czech Republic, some wonderful vegetarian food. Oh, and stay at Krumlov House, possibly the nicest hostel I’ve stayed at anywhere. Small, comfortable, welcoming, quiet and not a bunk bed in sight!
March 28, 2013
Superb advice! Thanks!