Events & Festivals in Czechia

Pre-Lenten carnivals explode across the Hlinsko region and villages like Vortová. Elaborate handmade masks parade through streets, each figure drawn from deep tradition. Folk music and dancing fill the day. A straw figure meets symbolic butchering. UNESCO recognizes these living customs. The community owns every moment.

Museums, galleries, and libraries across Prague unlock their doors for one free evening. Special exhibitions, workshops, and guided tours run late into the night. Visitors roam between venues in a city-wide cultural crawl. The curious get rare behind-the-scenes access.

Prague stages its own carnival season with masked balls and historical parades through the Old Town. Street performers animate the streets. The grand procession brings fantastical costumes and music to life. This version feels theatrical, more formal than rural masopust.

The international motorbike season opens at Brno's Masaryk Circuit. Multiple categories race at speed. Central European fans converge. The crowd knows its motorsport.

Zlín hosts an international film festival for children and youth. Hundreds of films screen from across the globe. Competitions, workshops, and filmmaker meetings fill the schedule. Cinemas and public spaces become gathering points for young enthusiasts and families.

One of Europe's most respected classical music festivals opens with Smetana's 'My Country' at the Municipal House. Excellent orchestras, conductors, and soloists perform across Prague's historic venues for over three weeks. A dedicated international audience follows every note.

This major run threads past Prague's signature sights: Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle. Elite runners compete. Thousands of amateurs join them. The course rewards the effort.

Classical and early music concerts develop across Český Krumlov Castle, its gardens, and historic churches. Chamber music and solo performances dominate. Renaissance and Baroque halls glow under atmospheric lighting.

Central and Eastern Europe's premier film festival takes over the spa town of Karlovy Vary. Competition sections, retrospectives, and new global films fill the program. Professionals, critics, and fans transform the town.

This river-spanning festival sets stages across Prague's islands and Vltava banks. Rock, pop, electronic, and world music share the bill. Established names play. Emerging Czech and international acts play. Many stages cost nothing.

A major multi-genre music festival colonizes the post-industrial Dolní Vítkovice ironworks in Ostrava. Rock, world music, electronic, and alternative acts play multiple stages. Discussions and film screenings run alongside. The setting rivals the lineup.

Mikulov's castle courtyard and other atmospheric venues host this established jazz festival in South Moravia's wine country. Czech and international musicians play intimate sets. The town itself is a draw.

One of Czechia's longest-running alternative festivals develops in a forested valley near Trutnov. A strong DIY ethos shapes everything. Rock, folk, and world music dominate, with Czech and Central European acts at the center. The mood stays relaxed, community-driven.

Czech and Moravian brewing takes over Olomouc's historic Upper Square. Dozens of small and regional breweries pour their products. Brewery talks, live music, and traditional pub food accompany the tasting.

This festival honors composer Leoš Janáček in his native region. Concerts happen in the romantic ruins of Hukvaldy Castle and other venues. Leading Czech musicians perform. The open-air setting shapes the music.

A festival devoted to Antonín Dvořák and his contemporaries brings leading international artists to Prague's most beautiful venues. The Rudolfinum and Municipal House host focused, exceptionally high-quality programming.

This indie festival brings together theatre, comedy, and physical performance from across the globe. It runs in Malá Strana's intimate venues. Artists and audiences connect directly here. The setting feels personal. The programming takes risks.

These festivals kick off the wine harvest with burčák, the young, partially fermented wine. Moravian towns throw open their cellars, stage folk music, and let visitors stomp grapes. Wine villages buzz with energy. Producers pour their newest vintage straight from the barrel.

Litoměřice, the garden town, marks harvest with this traditional celebration. The main square fills with produce, honey, and crafts. Cooking demos run. Folk music plays. A historical procession honors the land's fertility.

Zlín hosts this annual survey of contemporary Czech and international design. The program spans product, fashion, and graphic design through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and a market. Professionals attend. Students attend. Anyone curious about applied arts attends.

Europe's toughest cross-country horse race runs at Pardubice. The course includes the notorious Taxis ditch. Crowds come dressed to impress. Racing fans fill the stands.

Light art and new technologies take over Prague's streets, squares, and historic buildings. International artists build site-specific installations and video mappings. The architecture reads differently under their work.

Wineries and restaurants across Czechia, Moravia, open their doors around November 11th for the first tasting of the new vintage. Menus center on roast goose or duck with red cabbage and dumplings. The young Saint Martin's wine flows freely.

International and Czech authors gather for readings, discussions, and debates on contemporary literature and ideas. Various venues host the event. Deep engagement with writers and their work happens in a literary city.

Historic Prague churches, St. Vitus Cathedral and St. Nicholas among them, host these Advent concerts. Choirs and orchestras perform medieval carols through Handel's Messiah. The settings are sublime. The music matches them.

Prague, Brno, Český Krumlov, and other towns fill their main squares with wooden stalls. Crafts, decorations, trdelník, and sausages line the rows. Nativity scenes, live music, and ice rinks complete the scene.