Prague
Built over a time span of almost 600 years, St Vitus is one of the most richly endowed cathedrals in central Europe. It is pivotal to the religious and…
Must-see attractions in Czechia
Malá Strana
Strolling across Charles Bridge is everybody’s favourite Prague activity. However, by 9am it’s a 500m-long fairground, with an army of tourists squeezing…
Prague
Prague’s most popular attraction. Looming above the Vltava's left bank, its serried ranks of spires, towers and palaces dominate the city centre like a…
-
Brno
Brno had a reputation in the 1920s as a centre for modern architecture in the Bauhaus style. Arguably the finest example is this family villa, designed by…
Staré Město
This museum consists of six Jewish monuments clustered together in Josefov: the Maisel Synagogue; the Pinkas Synagogue; the Spanish Synagogue; the Klaus…
Prague
Strahov Library is the largest monastic library in the country, with two magnificent baroque halls dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can peek…
-
Staré Město
Prague’s most exuberantly art-nouveau building is a labour of love, with every detail of its design and decoration carefully considered, and every…
Prague
While this monument's massive functionalist structure has all the elegance of a nuclear power station, the interior is a spectacular extravaganza of…
Prague
More a broad boulevard than a typical European city square, Wenceslas Square has witnessed a great deal of Czech history – a giant Mass was held here…
Staré Město
Every hour, on the hour, crowds gather beneath the Old Town Hall Tower to watch the Astronomical Clock in action. Despite a slightly underwhelming…
Malá Strana
Malá Strana is dominated by the huge green cupola of St Nicholas Church, one of Central Europe’s finest baroque buildings. (Don’t confuse it with the…
-
Staré Město
Its distinctive twin Gothic spires make the Týn Church an unmistakable Old Town landmark. Like something out of a 15th-century – and probably slightly…
-
Staré Město
Prague’s Old Town Hall, founded in 1338, is a hotchpotch of medieval buildings acquired piecemeal over the centuries, presided over by a tall Gothic tower…
-
Prague
The Loreta is a baroque place of pilgrimage founded by Benigna Kateřina Lobkowicz in 1626, designed as a replica of the supposed Santa Casa (Sacred House;…
Staré Město
One of Europe’s most beautiful and busiest urban spaces, the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí, or Staromák for short) has been Prague’s principal…
Prague
The National Gallery's collection of 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century art is spread over four floors and is a strong contender for Prague's best museum. It…
-
Bohemia
Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is famous for being dead – it was his assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 that sparked…
Kutná Hora
When the Schwarzenbergs purchased Sedlec monastery (2.5km northeast of the town centre) in 1870 they allowed local woodcarver František Rint to get…
Český Krumlov
Český Krumlov's striking Renaissance castle, occupying a promontory high above the town, began life in the 13th century. It acquired its present…
-
Bohemia
Karlštejn Castle, 30km southwest of Prague, started life in 1348 as a hideaway for the crown jewels of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. After falling into…
-
Malá Strana
This 318m-high hill is one of Prague’s largest green spaces. It’s great for quiet, tree-shaded walks and fine views over the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’…
Prague
The Vyšehrad Citadel refers to the complex of buildings and structures atop Vyšehrad Hill that have played an important role in Czech history for over…
Prague
Just west of Výstaviště, Stromovka is central Prague’s largest park. In the Middle Ages it was a royal hunting preserve, which is why it’s sometimes…
Plzeň
Plzeň's most popular attraction is the tour of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, in operation since 1842 and arguably home to the world's best beer. Entry is…
-
Prague
This excellent, oft-overlooked museum, opened in 1898, is devoted to the history of Prague from prehistoric times to the 20th century (labels are in…
Prague
Vyšehrad Cemetery is a major attraction for many visitors, being the final resting place for dozens of Czech luminaries, including Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich…
-
National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror
Prague
The Church of Sts Cyril & Methodius houses a moving memorial to the seven Czech paratroopers who were involved in the assassination of Reichsprotektor…
-
Staré Město
The great Gothic mass of the Church of St James began in the 14th century as a Minorite monastery church, and was given a beautiful baroque facelift in…
-
Museum of the Infant Jesus of Prague
Malá Strana
The rather plain-looking Church of Our Lady Victorious (kostel Panny Marie Vítězné), built in 1613, has on its central altar a 47cm-tall waxwork figure of…
-
Bohemia
Hluboká Chateau was built by Přemysl rulers in the 13th century and the building changed ownership several times until it landed in the hands of the…
-
Moravia
Lednice’s massive neo-Gothic chateau, owned by the Liechtenstein family from 1582 to 1945, is one of the country’s most popular weekend destinations. The…
-
Plzeň
Kids will have a ball at this high-tech, interactive science centre where they can play with infrared cameras, magnets and many other instructive and fun…
-
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora’s greatest monument is the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara. Rivalling Prague’s St Vitus in size and magnificence, its soaring nave culminates in…
-
Staré Město
The Old Jewish Cemetery is Europe’s oldest surviving Jewish graveyard. Founded in the early 15th century, it has a palpable atmosphere of mourning even…
-
Prague
Looming above Wenceslas Square is the neo-Renaissance bulk of the National Museum, designed in the 1880s by Josef Schulz as an architectural symbol of the…
-
Karlovy Vary
The Hot Spring Colonnade is in an incongruous concrete-and-glass functionalist structure built in 1975 and once dedicated to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin…
-
Labyrinth under the Cabbage Market
Brno
In recent years, the city has opened several sections of extensive underground tunnels to the general public. This tour takes around 60 minutes to explore…
-
Karlovy Vary
The most impressive piece of architecture in Karlovy Vary is the neo-Renaissance Mill Colonnade (built 1871–81), with five different springs, rooftop…
-
Staré Město
The Old Town Hall’s best feature is the view across the Old Town Square from its 60m-tall clock tower. It's well worth the climb up the modern,…
-
Staré Město
In the northeastern corner of Staré Město is the former Convent of St Agnes, Prague’s oldest surviving Gothic building. The 1st-floor rooms hold the…
