Sightseeing outside the Capital City

The Czech Republic is an important tourist destination. From the moment visitors cross the borders they enter a varied natural environment with changing landscape and many historic cities and towns, distinctive villages with beautiful folk architecture, numerous recently reconstructed chateaux, old castles and churches. They can also visit the impenetrable virgin forest in the Šumava Mountains, or the harsh Giant Mountains (Krkonoše) and Ore Mountains (Krušné hory). Rock climbers will enjoy the popular Prachovské skály and Bohemian Switzerland (České Švýcarsko) with their sandstone cities and numerous karst areas and caves. The south Bohemian landscape with hundreds of lakes and the south Moravian region renowned for cultivating excellent wines are also popular.

The country has long been known for its renowned spas and mineral springs. In recent years, agro-tourism, theme holidays (e.g. brewery, gastronomy, viniculture), sports holidays, and recreation for families with small children or for seniors, have become common as well. The Czech Republic and its Capital offer many protected cultural monuments, cities and villages.

More information
www.praguewelcome.cz - About Czech Republic
www.czechtourism.com

Interesting tips for sightseeing

Karlštejn
Location: 45-minute drive to the south-west of Prague
http://www.hradkarlstejn.cz/en/

Karlštejn is the most remarkable Czech castle and one of the symbols of the Czech Kingdom. Charles IV, the Czech King and the Roman Emperor founded the castle in 1348 on three floor levels. On the lowest floor, there were situated secular residential rooms housed by the Emperor, his wife and his company. On the second floor, the Church of Our Lady was built and together with the private chapel of Charles IV. The chapel was devoted to St. Kateřina, his patroness. The highest place was the prismatic tower with the biggest sacral space of the castle – the Chapel of the Holy Rood symbolizing “Heavenly Jerusalem”, which is generously decorated.


Kutná Hora
Location: 1-hour drive to the east of Prague
http://www.kutnahora.cz

During the Middle Ages, profits from the Kutná Hora silver mines brought fame to the lands of the Czech Crown, and Kutná Hora became the richest and most powerful town in the Czech lands and also the seat of King Václav IV at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Kutná Hora is worth visiting because of its history and monuments – eg. the Gothic St. James’s Church (1330) and the St. Barbara’s Cathedral (1388), devoted to the patroness of miners, the former mint the Vlašský dvůr (Italian Court) from the 13th century and the museum of mining with its tour to a former medieval mine. Other worthwhile monuments are the former Latin school and the cloister church in a suburb called Sedlec, which houses a curious ossuary with an interior composed exclusively of human bones, dating mostly from the Thirty Years' War.


Český Krumlov
Location: 2-hour drive to the south of Prague
http://www.ckrumlov.info

Český Krumlov is a unique architectural jewel included in the UNESCO List of the World Cultural Heritage since 1992. Above the meanders of the Vltava River, a unique complex of municipal housing developed, mainly in the 16th century, along with an extensive castle and chateau complex, the second largest in the country after the Prague Castle.
The historical seat of the Rosenberg family includes a variety of chateau buildings, the famous Hall of Masks, the unique Baroque theatre, the chateau garden with a Rococo fountain and the summer residence Bellaria with revolving auditorium, where seasonal theatre performances take place. The Cathedral of St. Vitus, a valuable architectural work of the Czech Gothic style, is a significant dominant of the town.