Czech Republic Travel Guide

Sitting in the centre of Europe, with Germany to the west, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria in the south, the Czech Republic has one foot in Western Europe, and one in the Slavic East.

“Prague never lets you go”, said Franz Kafka, “this dear little mother has claws”. Prague gets her golden claws into tourists too, and few ever make it outside the capital. But those who tear themselves away won’t be sorry; the honey-coloured spa towns in the Sudeten Mountains, Bohemia’s Renaissance breweries and hilltop ruins, and the tumbling vineyards and underground bars of Moravia are well worth exploring.

Where to go in the Czech Republic

Before the fall of Communism, a staggering ninety percent of foreign tourists visiting the country never strayed from the environs of the capital, Prague. While that no longer holds true, Prague is still the main focus of most people’s trips to the Czech Republic, certainly English-speaking tourists. Although the country is small, the variety in landscape and architecture is enormous, encompassing the forests and rolling countryside of Bohemia, peaceful spa towns like Karlovy Vary, Moravia’s spectacular karst region and historic towns like Olomouc and Český Krumlov.