Fourteen Days Across Bohemia and Moravia
From Prague's Spires to Moravian Wine Cellars
Trip Overview
Fourteen days in Czechia develops as a journey through a country where Gothic spires pierce morning fog, thermal springs steam against forested hillsides, and medieval town squares echo with the clatter of footsteps on worn cobblestones. This itinerary begins with four days in Prague, spending unhurried mornings wandering the capital's layered neighborhoods before venturing to the bone-adorned chapels of Kutna Hora. The route then swings west to the colonnaded spa promenades of Karlovy Vary, dips into Plzen for its cool, hop-scented cellars, and curves south to the fairy-tale riverside of Cesky Krumlov. From there, the trail crosses into Moravia through the pastel Renaissance square of Telc, the confident energy of Brno, the vine-draped chateaux of the Lednice-Valtice landscape, and the quiet Baroque grandeur of Olomouc. The pace stays moderate, balancing long exploratory mornings with restful afternoons, and the distances between stops rarely exceed three hours by rail. Czechia rewards those who slow down, linger over a plate of svickova, and let the damp stone corridors speak for themselves.
Pace
Moderate
Daily Budget
Czechia remains one of Central Europe's most affordable destinations, with daily costs well below Western European capitals. Budget travelers thrive here. Your koruna stretches far.
Best Seasons
Ideal For
First-time visitors to Central Europe, History and architecture enthusiasts, Beer and food lovers, Couples seeking a romantic route, Solo travelers comfortable with trains and buses
Day-by-Day Itinerary
A complete plan for every day of your trip
1
Arrival and the New Town Promenade
Prague, Nove Mesto
Touch down in Prague and orient yourself along the grand boulevards and riverbanks of Nove Mesto, where Art Nouveau facades glow amber in the late-afternoon sun.
Morning
Arrive and settle into your accommodation near Wenceslas Square
After dropping your bags, step out onto Vaclavske namesti and walk the full length of Wenceslas Square, which works less like a square and more like a gently sloping boulevard lined with ornate hotel fronts and department stores. The National Museum anchors the top end, its neo-Renaissance dome catching whatever light the sky offers. Stand at the base. Feel the city's scale settle around you: the tram wires overhead, the smell of roasting klobasa from a corner stand, pigeons wheeling above the equestrian statue.
Lunch
Cafe Louvre on Narodni trida. A restored fin-de-siecle cafe where Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein once sat. Order kulajda, a creamy dill-and-potato soup with a poached egg sinking into its center.
Afternoon
Walk Narodni trida to the Vltava embankment and the Dancing House
Follow Narodni trida westward, passing the Velvet Revolution memorial plaque near the arcade, until you reach the river. Turn south along the embankment where the Vltava slides gray-green beneath a row of bridges. The Dancing House, Gehry and Milunic's deconstructivist duet of glass and concrete, leans at the bend. From there, cross to Strelecky ostrov, a narrow island where willows trail their fingers in the current and the castle silhouette rises across the water.
Evening
First Czech dinner and local beer
Seek out Lokál Dlouhááá (if you walk north into Stare Mesto) or U Fleku if you prefer staying in Nove Mesto. U Fleku has brewed its own dark lager since 1499; the room smells of malt and aged wood, and the beer arrives unrequested until you place a coaster over your glass.
Where to Stay Tonight
Nove Mesto (New Town) (Mid-range hotel or guesthouse)
Central to tram lines and walking distance from Old Town. But noticeably quieter and less tourist-saturated than Stare Mesto. Wenceslas Square and the main train station sit within a ten-minute walk.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Buy a multi-day transit pass from a yellow ticket machine at any metro station as soon as you arrive. Prague's tram network is superb and runs through the night. The pass pays for itself within a few rides and saves fumbling for coins at every stop.
Day 1 Budget: A light day, mostly walking, one cafe meal, dinner with beer
2
The Old Town Labyrinth and the Jewish Quarter
Prague, Stare Mesto and Josefov
Spend the morning lost in the tangled lanes around Old Town Square, then cross into the Jewish Quarter for one of Europe's most concentrated and sobering historical enclaves.
Morning
Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, and the lanes of Stare Mesto
Arrive at Staromestske namesti before the tour groups thicken. The Astronomical Clock performs its apostle procession on the hour. The real reward is studying the painted calendar dial and the skeleton pulling its bell rope. Walk the square's perimeter: the twin Gothic spires of Tyn Church, the creamy Baroque of St. Nicholas, the Kinsky Palace's rococo facade. Then vanish into the side streets south of the square, where flagstone passages open into courtyards hung with trailing ivy and smelling faintly of ground coffee from hidden roasteries.
The Old Town Hall tower opens early. Arrive right at opening. Avoid the midday queue entirely.
Lunch
Mistral Cafe on Valentinska, tucked into a quiet lane between Old Town Square and Josefov. Simple open sandwiches with Czech cheeses, pickled vegetables, and fresh herbs on thick sourdough.
Afternoon
The Jewish Quarter, Josefov synagogues, Old Jewish Cemetery, Spanish Synagogue
Josefov sits a few steps north of Old Town Square but occupies an entirely different emotional register. The Old Jewish Cemetery stacks twelve layers of graves into a cramped parcel, headstones tilting at every angle beneath elder trees, their inscriptions worn to whispers by four centuries of rain. Inside the Spanish Synagogue, Moorish-patterned gilt catches whatever light filters through the stained glass, and the interior seems to hum with color. A combined ticket covers all six sites. Leave the Pinkas Synagogue for last. Its walls bear the hand-written names of over seventy-seven thousand Czech Holocaust victims. You need the quiet to absorb it.
Buy the combined Jewish Museum ticket online. Skip the queue at the first synagogue entrance.
Evening
Cross Charles Bridge at dusk, then dinner in Mala Strana
Walk Charles Bridge as the lanterns flicker on and the castle glows gold above the rooftops. The bridge empties considerably after sunset. Eat at Lokál U Bile kuzelky in Mala Strana for honest Czech cooking: roast duck with red cabbage and bread dumplings so pillowy they absorb gravy like a sponge.
Where to Stay Tonight
Stare Mesto or Nove Mesto (Same hotel as night one, or a guesthouse in Stare Mesto)
Staying central for these first Prague days eliminates unnecessary transport and lets you walk everywhere, returning to your room for a midday rest if needed.
See all Czechia accommodation options →The Astronomical Clock's hourly show is brief and frankly modest. The real spectacle is the clock face itself. Study the four flanking figures instead. Vanity holds a mirror. Greed clutches a purse. Skip the apostle windows.
Day 2 Budget: Moderate, synagogue tickets and two sit-down meals
3
The Castle Heights and Petrin's Green Slopes
Prague, Hradcany and Mala Strana
Climb to Prague Castle for the morning. Descend through Mala Strana's garden terraces. End the day on Petrin Hill. The city spreads below in a carpet of terra-cotta roofs.
Morning
Prague Castle complex, St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Golden Lane
Enter through the Hradcany gate. The honor guard stands motionless in blue uniforms. St. Vitus Cathedral fills the courtyard with its blackened Gothic mass. Step inside. The Mucha stained-glass window ignites in violet and emerald when the sun finds it. Walk through the Old Royal Palace's Vladislav Hall. Its vaulted ceiling ribs fan like the skeleton of some enormous stone creature. Finish at Golden Lane. Franz Kafka once wrote in number twenty-two, one of the tiny painted cottages built into the castle fortifications.
Buy the Circuit B ticket online in advance. It covers the key interiors. It skips the longest queue at St. Vitus.
Lunch
U Zavesenyho kafe sits on Uvoz street, a narrow sloping lane below the castle. The space is tiny. Wooden benches line the walls. The daily soup, often thick garlic or lentil, comes with crusty bread and butter.
Afternoon
Mala Strana gardens, Petrin Hill, and the observation tower
Descend through the terraced Baroque gardens of Mala Strana. Gravel paths wind between sculpted hedges and stone balustrades draped in climbing roses. Cross Mala Strana's sleepy squares to the Petrin funicular. It hauls you up through chestnut canopy to the hilltop. The Petrin Observation Tower, a miniature echo of the Eiffel Tower, rewards the spiral staircase climb. The panorama stretches from the castle to the industrial eastern suburbs. On clear afternoons, the air carries the faint sweetness of linden blossom from the orchard below.
Evening
Dinner with a river view, evening stroll
Eat at Hergetova Cihelna on Cihelna street in Mala Strana. It sits right on the Vltava with Charles Bridge lit up to your left. After dinner, walk along Kampa Island. The giant bronze babies by David Cerny crawl up a wall. The mill wheel creaks in the Certovka canal.
Where to Stay Tonight
Mala Strana (Boutique hotel or pension)
Mala Strana at night is Prague at its most atmospheric. Gaslit lanes. Almost no traffic. The castle glows directly overhead. You trade convenience for mood. The trade is worth it.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Visit St. Vitus Cathedral within the first hour of opening. Tour groups arrive by mid-morning. The interior shifts from contemplative silence to a shuffling crowd. Early light angles through the rose window in a way the afternoon misses entirely.
Day 3 Budget: Moderate, castle admission, funicular, sit-down dinner
4
Prague Beyond the Postcards
Prague, Vysehrad, Vinohrady, Zizkov
Trade the tourist center for the neighborhoods Prague locals inhabit. Try the clifftop fortress of Vysehrad. Try the leafy avenues of Vinohrady. Try the rough-edged pubs of Zizkov.
Morning
Vysehrad fortress, cemetery, and ramparts
Take the metro to Vysehrad. Walk through the brick gate into the fortress grounds. The cemetery holds Czechia's cultural pantheon. Dvorak, Smetana, Mucha, Capek lie beneath elaborate tombstones half-hidden by ivy. The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, rebuilt in spiky neo-Gothic, anchors the promontory. Walk the ramparts for an upriver view most visitors never see. The Vltava bends south through wooded banks. Barges slide beneath the railway bridge. The hum of the city softens with distance.
Lunch
Walk east from Vysehrad into Vinohrady. Cafe Sladkovsky on Sevcikowo namesti is a neighborhood institution. Try smoked meat with horseradish and dark bread. Try the daily Czech plate. Wash it down with an unpasteurized tank beer.
Afternoon
Vinohrady and Zizkov neighborhood walk, Zizkov Television Tower
Vinohrady's tree-lined streets feel like a quieter, more residential Prague. Art Nouveau apartment facades in mint and cream line the blocks. Small squares anchor themselves with churches. Independent bookshops and wine bars fill every block. Walk north into Zizkov. It is grittier and more idiosyncratic. The Television Tower rises like a concrete rocket ship. Cerny's sculpted babies crawl up its pillars. The observation deck has a different panorama than Petrin. Here you look west toward the castle and south toward the green belt. The tower's own bizarre silhouette casts a shadow behind you.
Evening
Zizkov pub crawl, the real one
Zizkov has the densest concentration of pubs per capita of any Prague neighborhood. Start at U Slovanské lípy for a quiet half-liter of Kozel. Move to Bukowski's Bar for cocktails in a dim room that smells of old leather and candle wax. Keep it to three stops. Walk the quiet streets back to Vinohrady.
Where to Stay Tonight
Vinohrady (Apartment rental or boutique hotel)
Vinohrady gives you a taste of Prague residential life. Excellent local restaurants. Quieter nights. A metro stop that puts you back in the center within minutes.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Vinohrady means 'vineyards'. The neighborhood sits on the south-facing slopes where grapes once grew for the Bohemian kings. The Havlickovy Sady park at its eastern edge still has a functioning vineyard. A tiny wine pavilion opens in summer afternoons.
Day 4 Budget: An inexpensive day, free sights, pub meals, one tower entry
5
Bones and Silver in Kutna Hora
Kutna Hora (day trip from Prague)
A morning train carries you to Kutna Hora, the medieval silver-mining town. A chandelier of human bones hangs in a subterranean chapel. One of Czechia's finest Gothic cathedrals crowns the hillside.
Morning
Sedlec Ossuary, the Bone Church
The train from Prague's main station reaches Kutna Hora-Sedlec in about an hour. From the small station, walk ten minutes to the Sedlec Ossuary. It sits beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints. Inside, the remains of an estimated forty thousand people have been arranged into garlands, a coat of arms, and a central chandelier that reportedly contains every bone in the human body. The air is cool and faintly mineral. The scale oscillates between macabre and oddly reverent. A half-blind Cistercian monk placed the bones here in the nineteenth century as a memento mori. The result is more meditative than grotesque.
Buy a combined ticket online. It covers both the Ossuary and the Cathedral of St. Barbara. It saves time at both entrances.
Lunch
Dačický restaurant sits on Rakova street in central Kutna Hora, named for a local Renaissance chronicler. The svíčková here, beef sirloin in creamy root-vegetable sauce over bread dumplings with tart cranberry garnish, rivals anything in Prague.
Afternoon
Cathedral of St. Barbara and the old town walk
Walk south through Kutna Hora's sloping streets to the Cathedral of St. Barbara, a UNESCO-listed Late Gothic marvel whose flying buttresses reach like fingers over the valley. Inside, vaulted ceilings soar into nets of stone ribs. Medieval frescoes in side chapels show silver miners at work. This town's wealth came from the earth beneath it. The Jesuit terrace leads from the cathedral along the ridge, lined with Baroque saint statues and overlooking the Vrchlice valley, where old smelting works once filled the air with acrid smoke.
Evening
Return to Prague, casual dinner
Take the late-afternoon train back to Prague. For dinner, try Kantyna on Politickych veznu. Pick your cut from a glass counter. They grill it to order. The smell of seared beef hits you at the door.
Where to Stay Tonight
Prague, Nove Mesto (Same hotel or guesthouse as previous Prague nights)
Last night in Prague before heading west. Stay near the train station. It simplifies tomorrow's departure to Karlovy Vary.
See all Czechia accommodation options →The walk between the Ossuary in Sedlec and Kutna Hora's old town center runs about two kilometers through residential streets. A local shuttle bus connects them. The walk passes massive Sedlec Cathedral, a separate Baroque-Gothic structure worth a quick look inside for its gravity-defying staircase and restored ceiling.
Day 5 Budget: Moderate, train tickets, admissions, restaurant lunch and dinner
6
Hot Springs and Colonnade Promenades
Board a morning train west to Czechia's most famous spa town. Thermal water steams from ornate fountains. The forested valley smells of sulfur and fresh waffle cones.
Morning
Travel to Karlovy Vary and first thermal promenade
The direct train from Prague covers the route in about three hours through rolling Bohemian countryside. You pass fields of rapeseed, birch copses, red-roofed villages. Arriving in Karlovy Vary, you descend into a narrow valley where pastel-colored spa hotels climb the hillsides in tiers. Walk to the Hot Spring Colonnade first. A geyser erupts through the floor of a modernist glass pavilion, sending steam toward the ceiling. Buy a traditional porcelain spa cup from a vendor near the Mill Colonnade. Fill it from any public spring. The water tastes of warm minerals, faintly metallic. An acquired sip.
Book train tickets on the Czech Railways website a few days ahead. You'll get the best fare.
Lunch
Hospoda U Svejka sits near the Grandhotel Pupp end of the promenade. A Czech pub dropped into spa-town elegance. Order goulash with dumplings. Pair it with Krusovice lager, cold and slightly bitter.
Afternoon
Mill Colonnade walk, Becherka Museum, and hillside viewpoints
Walk the full colonnade circuit. The Mill Colonnade shows a neo-Renaissance row of Corinthian columns. The Market Colonnade displays white wooden fretwork like a carved jewelry box. The Park Colonnade sits among old chestnuts. Detour to the Jan Becher Museum for the story of Becherovka, the herbal digestif distilled here since 1807. The tasting room lets you try the original alongside seasonal variants, each carrying different waves of clove and cinnamon. Take the Diana funicular if your legs allow it. The hilltop lookout shrinks the town to a ribbon of colored facades threading along the Tepla River.
Evening
Evening spa-town stroll and dinner
Walk the promenade at dusk. The spa buildings glow from below. Cool air meets mineral warmth still radiating from the springs. Eat at Embassy Restaurant for an elevated Czech-Austrian menu. The wiener schnitzel comes hammered thin, with potato salad dressed in vinegar and mustard. End the night with Becherovka at a riverside terrace.
Where to Stay Tonight
Central Karlovy Vary, along the Tepla River (Spa hotel or pension)
Many spa hotels include thermal pools and saunas in their room rate. Sleep in the valley. Step out your door and directly onto the promenade.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Karlovy Vary oplatky, thin round spa wafers filled with sugar, hazelnut, or chocolate, bake fresh at several stands along the colonnade. Buy them warm. They crisp as they cool and lose their best texture within an hour. The wafers at Kolonada stand near the Mill Colonnade come straight from a rotating iron press.
Day 6 Budget: Moderate, train fare, museum entry, spa-town meals
7
Loket's Stone Fortress and the Road to Plzen
Loket and Plzen
A short morning bus ride delivers you to Loket, a medieval stronghold perched on a granite bend in the Ohre River. An afternoon train carries you south to the beer capital of Czechia.
Morning
Loket Castle and the Ohre River loop
The bus from Karlovy Vary reaches Loket in about twenty minutes. The town reveals itself as the road drops into the valley. A tight cluster of stone and stucco houses encircles almost entirely by the Ohre River, with the castle rising from bare rock above them. Loket Castle's interior includes a torture museum in basement vaults. The rooms themselves, with low ceilings and damp walls, prove more unsettling than the exhibits. An upper gallery has a view down the river gorge. Goethe visited repeatedly and called it one of Europe's most beautiful spots. Stand on the bridge with the castle reflected in green water. The claim holds.
Lunch
Hotel & Restaurant Loket faces the main square. Sit outside if weather permits. The square stays compact and quiet. The lunch menu usually includes Czech classics like pork knee roasted until skin crackles and fat renders to amber.
Afternoon
Travel to Plzen and evening arrival
Return to Karlovy Vary by bus, then board an afternoon train to Plzen. The journey takes about ninety minutes through gentle Bohemian hills. Arriving in Czechia's fourth-largest city, you step into a place defined by beer like no other Czech city. Walk from the station to Republic Square, the largest in Bohemia. The Gothic Cathedral of St. Bartholomew dominates it, its single spire, the tallest in the country, jabbing upward like an exclamation point. Evening light turns the Renaissance and Baroque facades around the edges warm gold.
Evening
First night in Plzen, brewery pubs and local cooking
Eat at Na Parkanu, the pub attached to the Pilsner Urquell brewery grounds. The unfiltered, unpasteurized tank Pilsner served here has never left the brewery premises. It tastes rounder than the bottled version, with a fresh grassy bitterness that lingers. Pair it with utopenec, pickled sausage swimming in onion and pepper vinegar.
Where to Stay Tonight
Plzen city center, near Republic Square (Mid-range hotel or pension)
Everything in central Plzen sits within walking distance. The brewery, the cathedral, the underground tunnels, and the best pubs all cluster around the main square. No transport needed. Just walk.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Loket hosts a small opera festival in summer and occasional medieval fairs. The town's real draw is its emptiness. Weekday mornings, you might have the castle courtyard to yourself. You hear only the river below and swifts circling the tower.
Day 7 Budget: Moderate, two bus fares, one train, castle entry, pub dinner
8
The Birthplace of Pilsner and the Road South
Plzen and Ceske Budejovice
Descend into the cellars where the first golden lager was brewed in 1842. Explore Plzen's medieval underground. Then travel south through the Bohemian heartland toward Cesky Krumlov.
Morning
Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour
The brewery tour begins in the old maltings, a copper-roofed industrial cathedral. It moves through the modern bottling line before descending into sandstone cellars where wooden barrels still age unfiltered Pilsner the old way. The cellars are cold. Your breath condenses in the torchlight. The beer drawn straight from an oak cask at the tour's end is the freshest pilsner you will ever taste. It pours hazy, pale gold, with soft carbonation and a bitter snap that fades into breadcrust sweetness.
Book the English-language tour on the Pilsner Urquell website at least a day in advance. Group sizes are capped. The popular morning slot fills fast.
Lunch
Restaurace Srdcovka on Preslovska, a short walk from the brewery. Czech-Moravian menu with a strong meat focus. Try the roast pork belly with caraway and sauerkraut, the fat crisped to a thin shell.
Afternoon
Travel south to Ceske Budejovice, explore, then continue to Cesky Krumlov
Catch a midday train south toward Ceske Budejovice, about ninety minutes through patchwork farmland and pine forests. Ceske Budejovice's Premysl Otakar II Square is one of the largest in Central Europe, arcaded on all four sides, with a Baroque fountain in the center. Walk the square. Duck into the Black Tower for a view over the terracotta grid of the old town. Then board a short bus to Cesky Krumlov. The thirty-minute ride drops you at the edge of a town that seems designed to make you question whether you have stumbled into a film set.
Evening
First evening in Cesky Krumlov
Walk the old town's narrow lanes to the Vltava bend below the castle. Eat at Krcma v Satlavske, a medieval-style cellar restaurant where meat roasts on a spit over open flame. Smoke drifts through stone-vaulted rooms lit by candles. The atmosphere borders on theatrical. The grilled trout is excellent.
Where to Stay Tonight
Cesky Krumlov old town (Pension or small hotel within the old town walls)
Staying inside the old town means you experience Cesky Krumlov after the day-trippers leave. By eight in the evening the lanes empty. The town belongs to whoever is sleeping there.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Ceske Budejovice is the home of the original Budweiser, Budejovicky Budvar, brewed here long before the American brand existed. If you have thirty spare minutes at the station, the brewery offers short tasting visits. The fresh lager has a cleaner, crisper bite than anything in a bottle.
Day 8 Budget: Moderate, brewery tour, transit fares, two restaurant meals
9
The Vltava Bend and a Painted Castle
A full day in one of Czechia's most photographed towns. From the castle tower's panorama to a canoe on the Vltava's gentle curves.
Morning
Cesky Krumlov Castle complex, tower, courtyards, Baroque theatre
Cross the bridge to the castle entrance and climb the round painted tower for the view that sells this town. The red rooftops below curve with the river. The castle's sgraffito facades create the illusion of carved stone on flat plaster. Walk through the five courtyards, each stepping higher up the ridge, to the Baroque Theatre. It is one of the few in Europe with original stage machinery, wooden rollers and painted backdrops still functional after two and a half centuries. The castle gardens beyond, formal and geometric, end at a covered bridge over the moat. Look back at the tower framed by lime trees.
The Baroque Theatre is only accessible by guided tour with limited daily departures. Check the castle website for the current schedule. Buy tickets early in the day.
Lunch
Laibon on Parkan street, overlooking the Vltava right at the water's edge. A vegetarian-leaning menu unusual for Czechia. The halloumi with roasted vegetables and the creamy pumpkin soup are standouts. The terrace feels like sitting in someone's riverside garden.
Afternoon
Canoe the Vltava or explore the Egon Schiele Art Centrum
Rent a canoe or inflatable raft from one of the outfitters near the Vltava loop. Paddle the gentle stretch south of town. The current does most of the work. The castle slides past overhead. You pass beneath stone bridges where swallows nest in the arches. Non-paddlers should visit the Egon Schiele Art Centrum in the old brewery. It hosts rotating modern-art exhibitions alongside a permanent collection of the Austrian expressionist's work. Schiele lived here briefly. His angular, anxious figures feel startlingly at home in these thick-walled rooms.
Canoe rentals operate seasonally, roughly May through September. No advance booking needed. Walk up, pick your vessel, and they shuttle you to the put-in point.
Evening
Riverside dinner and live music
Eat at Papa's Living Restaurant for well-prepared Czech dishes in a setting that balances comfort and style. After dinner, check whether Cesky Krumlov's revolving open-air theatre in the castle garden has a performance. Summer programming includes opera, ballet, and drama against the backdrop of the illuminated castle. Otherwise, the cellar bars along Siroka street host local musicians most weekends.
Where to Stay Tonight
Cesky Krumlov old town (Same pension as previous night)
Two nights lets you absorb the town without rushing. The morning light on the castle tower is different from the afternoon light. Both are worth seeing.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Walk to the castle garden's Cloak Bridge at twilight. The view north over the lit town from this elevated covered bridge, with nobody else around, is the single best vantage point in Cesky Krumlov. Almost nobody finds it. They assume the gardens close with the castle interiors. The gardens stay open later.
Day 9 Budget: Moderate, castle tickets, canoe or gallery, two meals out
10
Renaissance Perfection in Telc
Travel east into the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands to Telc, where a UNESCO-listed square of painted Renaissance facades reflects in fishponds that ring the old town like a moat.
Morning
Travel from Cesky Krumlov to Telc
The journey east takes roughly two and a half hours by bus, crossing the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. This is a landscape of rolling pastures, dark spruce plantations, and granite outcrops. Arriving in Telc feels like entering a town preserved under glass. The main square, Namesti Zachariase z Hradce, stretches long and narrow between two rows of gabled houses. Each is painted in a different pastel shade. Sage green, butter yellow, dusty rose. Sgraffito patterns were scratched into wet plaster centuries ago. The square is cobbled, lined with low arcades, and on a still morning reflects in the fishpond at its southern end with uncanny symmetry.
Lunch
Restaurace U Marese sits right on the main square, under the arcades. Simple Moravian cooking. Potato pancakes crisp at the edges and soft in the center, served with sour cream and a scattering of chives.
Afternoon
Telc Castle, underground tour, and fishpond walk
Telc Castle anchors the northern end of the square and blends Renaissance and Baroque interiors. The coffered ceilings in the Renaissance halls are painted with allegorical scenes in faded ochre and blue. The Baroque chapel drips with gold stucco. After the castle, take the underground tour that winds through the medieval cellars and passages beneath the square. Then walk the footpath that circles the town along the fishponds. Reeds whisper against the bank. The entire skyline of Telc, spires, gables, castle tower, spreads before you across the water.
English tours of the castle run on a fixed schedule. Check locally for times, as they vary by season.
Evening
Quiet dinner in Telc
Telc slows to near-silence by evening. Eat at Svet Podle Abbe on or near the square, then walk the lamplit arcades alone. The facades glow in warm yellow light. The fishpond mirrors the sky. The town feels like it belongs to you and whatever century you care to imagine.
Where to Stay Tonight
Telc old town, on or near the main square (Small pension or family-run guesthouse)
Telc has very few visitors who stay overnight. This means you experience the square empty at dawn and dusk. These are the two hours when it is most beautiful. Pensions here are simple and warmly run.
See all Czechia accommodation options →The painted facades on the main square were not always this colorful. Many were restored and recolored during a twentieth-century renovation. The original sgraffito is best preserved on the houses nearest the castle. There you can see the original Renaissance scratch technique in unretouched condition.
Day 10 Budget: An inexpensive day. Telc is small, admissions are low, and meals are among the cheapest in Czechia.
11
Moravia's Confident Second City
Brno
A two-hour morning journey deposits you in Brno, where a functionalist masterpiece, a medieval ossuary, and a spirited local food scene compete for your afternoon.
Morning
Travel from Telc to Brno, explore the Cabbage Market and Spilberk
The bus from Telc reaches Brno in roughly two hours, dropping you into a city that wears its second-city status with more swagger than resentment. Walk from the station up Masarykova to the Zelny trh, the Cabbage Market, where vendors sell vegetables, flowers, and local cheeses from wooden stalls under the Baroque Parnassus Fountain. Climb the steep path to Spilberk Castle, the hilltop fortress that once served as a Habsburg prison. The ramparts offer a view over Brno's rooftops. A mix of red tile, industrial-era brick, and sleek glass where the city keeps rebuilding itself.
Lunch
Lokál U Caipla on Kozí street. The Brno branch of the Prague Lokál mini-chain serves the same philosophy. Honest Czech cooking, unpasteurized tank Starobrno beer, and plates that arrive fast and hot. The beef tartare, hand-chopped and served with garlic toast, is a specialty.
Afternoon
Ossuary beneath St. James Church, Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul
Descend into the ossuary beneath the Church of St. James. This is the second largest in Europe after the Paris Catacombs, discovered only in 2001 during a renovation. Over fifty thousand skeletons arranged in geometric patterns fill the vaulted chambers, lit by a restrained modern installation that makes the bone walls flicker between shadow and pale amber. Afterward, walk uphill to the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, whose twin spires serve as Brno's landmark. The cathedral's noon bell rings at eleven. This is a relic of a seventeenth-century siege ruse when the town's defenders tricked the besieging army into thinking midday had already passed.
Evening
Brno wine bars and dinner
Brno sits at the edge of Moravia's wine country, and the city drinks accordingly. Start at Bar Ktery Neexistuje (The Bar That Does Not Exist) for Czech natural wines, then move to Koishi for surprisingly excellent Japanese-Czech fusion. Brno's food scene punches well above what most visitors expect.
Where to Stay Tonight
Brno center, near the Cabbage Market or Namesti Svobody (Mid-range hotel or design hotel)
Brno's center is compact and walkable. Staying near Namesti Svobody puts you equidistant from the cathedral, the station, and the bar streets around Jakubske namesti.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Brno locals are fiercely proud of not being Prague. The rivalry is real and good-natured. Lean into it. Ask anyone what Brno does better than the capital and you will get an earful about cheaper rent, better wine, less pretension, and a bar scene that does not close at midnight.
Day 11 Budget: Moderate, bus fare, two modest admissions, meals and wine
12
Functionalism and Mendel's Garden
Brno
A full day exploring Brno's deeper layers. The glass-and-steel Villa Tugendhat, the monastery where genetics was born, and the underground passages beneath the old town.
Morning
Villa Tugendhat, Mies van der Rohe's functionalist masterpiece
Villa Tugendhat hides in a residential neighborhood on the Cerna Pole hillside. You enter at roof level. Descend the staircase. The main living space opens suddenly: floor-to-ceiling glass, an onyx wall that glows like frozen honey in morning light, chrome columns reflecting the garden outside. Built in 1930 for the Tugendhat family, this building defines modern architecture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The guide walks you through rooms where every surface, the ebony, the travertine, the hand-stitched leather, was chosen with obsessive precision.
Villa Tugendhat tours sell out weeks in advance. The guided option goes fastest. Book online as soon as your travel dates firm up. This is Czechia's hardest reservation.
Lunch
Soul Bistro sits near the bus from Cerna Pole. It is a modern Czech-Mediterranean lunch spot with seasonal menus. Try the roasted root vegetables with whipped curd. The slow-cooked pork cheeks satisfy. Salads here use produce from regional farms.
Afternoon
Mendel Museum, Old Town Hall, and Brno Underground
Walk to the Augustinian Monastery on Mendlovo namesti. Gregor Mendel crossbred his pea plants here in the 1860s and founded genetics. The small museum traces his experiments with satisfying clarity. The reconstructed greenhouse garden behind the monastery still grows the same pea varieties. Return to the old town. Visit the Old Town Hall's Gothic portal. Note the crooked pinnacle above the door, left deliberately unfinished by a disgruntled stonemason according to local legend. Then descend into Brno Underground, the labyrinth of medieval cellars, crypts, and water tunnels beneath the city center. The air below runs cool and damp, with a faint tang of old mortar.
Evening
Final Brno dinner and evening walk
Eat at Pavillon near Luzanky Park for an upscale Moravian dinner. Order the venison with juniper sauce. Drink South Moravian Gruner Veltliner. After dinner, walk through Luzanky, the oldest public park in Czechia. The chestnut canopy closes overhead. The evening air carries the green smell of cut grass.
Where to Stay Tonight
Brno center (Same hotel as previous night)
Two nights in Brno lets you experience the city at a humane pace. Rushing would miss the point. Brno reveals itself slowly.
See all Czechia accommodation options →The crooked pinnacle on the Old Town Hall is Brno's most beloved quirk. Every local knows the legend. The historical truth is less dramatic. It was likely a structural settling issue. Ask anyway. You will get the stonemason version every time, told with relish.
Day 12 Budget: Moderate to slightly higher, Villa Tugendhat, museum entries, upscale dinner
13
Chateaux and Vineyards of Lednice-Valtice
Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (day trip from Brno)
A short train ride south delivers you to one of Europe's largest designed landscapes. This UNESCO complex spreads chateaux, temples, colonnades, and vineyards across the Moravian lowlands.
Morning
Train to Breclav, then bus to Lednice. Explore Lednice Castle and gardens
The journey from Brno takes about an hour, changing at Breclav. Lednice Castle appears first as a forest of neo-Gothic turrets rising above flat parkland. Closer, the detail overwhelms: carved stone tracery, a towering minaret visible across the lake, formal gardens stretching to the horizon. Inside, carved wooden ceilings and Liechtenstein family portraits fill room after room. The real draw is the palm house greenhouse. This soaring iron-and-glass structure from the 1840s holds humid, fragrant tropical air. Ferns unfurl from every surface. Light filters green through the canopy.
Guided tours of the castle interior run on scheduled departures. Arrive early. Join the first English tour of the day. This leaves time for the afternoon.
Lunch
Zamecka Restaurace sits at Lednice Castle, in the renovated stables. The kitchen leans into Moravian traditions. Try the duck with lokse, thin potato pancakes. The pork schnitzel comes with homemade potato salad dressed in mustard vinaigrette.
Afternoon
Bike or walk the Lednice-Valtice landscape to Valtice. Wine tasting
Rent a bicycle from a stand near the castle. Ride the flat paths connecting Lednice to Valtice. The route covers roughly seven kilometers through allees of ancient linden trees. Pass the Moorish-style Temple of Apollo. Pass the Neoclassical Temple of the Three Graces. Pass fishponds where herons stand motionless in the shallows. Valtice Castle, more restrained and Baroque than its Lednice counterpart, houses the National Wine Salon in its cellars. This curated selection offers the top wines from across Czechia for self-guided tasting. The Moravian whites, the Palava and Riesling, carry a floral minerality that reflects the chalky soil.
The National Wine Salon allows walk-ins. Weekend afternoons can fill. Arrive by mid-afternoon. This ensures entry.
Evening
Return to Brno, light farewell supper
Bus from Valtice back to Breclav, train to Brno. The evening is free for a light meal. Try Skøg on Dominikanske namesti for natural wine and small plates. Or revisit a favorite from the previous two nights.
Where to Stay Tonight
Brno center (Same hotel as previous nights)
Third and final night in Brno. Tomorrow you leave Moravia. The familiarity of a known room after a day of cycling and wine tasting is welcome.
See all Czechia accommodation options →The Lednice-Valtice landscape was designed by the Liechtenstein family as a pleasure ground. They placed follies, temples, and artificial ruins at calculated intervals. Every vista had a scenic focal point. The minaret near Lednice is the tallest structure in the entire complex. It has a spiral staircase to its gallery. The climb is narrow. Not for the claustrophobic.
Day 13 Budget: Moderate, transit, castle entry, bike rental, wine tasting, meals
The final day belongs to Olomouc, a Baroque university city wrapped around the tallest plague column in Czechia. The evening train returns you to Prague for departure.
Morning
Train to Olomouc, explore Horni namesti and the Holy Trinity Column
A ninety-minute train from Brno delivers you to Olomouc. Most travelers to Czechia inexplicably skip this city. The Upper Square, Horni namesti, centers on the Holy Trinity Column. This UNESCO-listed Baroque sculpture group rises eighteen meters in a stack of saints, cherubs, gilded sunbursts, with a copper chapel at its base. The square's surrounding facades mix Gothic and Baroque. The astronomical clock on the old town hall, rebuilt in socialist-realist style after wartime damage, replaces saints with workers and cosmonauts. This is one of the strangest horological objects in Europe.
Lunch
Moritz Brewery on Neshverova sits in a restored medieval cellar. Copper tanks gleam behind glass walls. Order the tvaruzky. Olomouc's infamously pungent ripened cheese arrives fried in breadcrumbs. The smell hits hard. Sharp, almost ammoniac. Dip it in tartar sauce with the house lager. The taste is savory. Addictive.
Afternoon
St. Wenceslas Cathedral, Archdiocesan Museum, riverside parks
Walk to St. Wenceslas Cathedral. Its triple spires dominate the skyline from Vaclavske namesti. The Romanesque crypt beneath the nave predates the Gothic superstructure by centuries. Barrel-vaulted ceilings press low and cool overhead. Nearby, the Archdiocesan Museum occupies the Premyslid Palace. One of the oldest stone structures in Czechia. Its medieval collection includes an extraordinary golden monstrance set with gemstones. End with the riverside parks along the Morava. Water flows shallow over gravel beds. Willows trail branches like curtains.
Evening
Evening train to Prague, arrival, final night or departure
Board the late-afternoon or early-evening train to Prague. About two and a half hours of Moravian and then Bohemian countryside unspools past the window in the last light. Arrive at Praha hlavni nadrazi. Fourteen days behind you. Czechia mapped in your memory through its tastes, stones, echoes, and the specific quality of steam rising from a thermal spring at dusk.
Where to Stay Tonight
Prague, near the main station or airport, depending on departure plans (Airport hotel or city-center hotel)
Departing the next morning? Stay near the airport or station. Removes the stress of early transit. Have an extra night? Return to Nove Mesto or Vinohrady. Close the loop where it started.
See all Czechia accommodation options →Olomouc tvaruzky sells at outdoor market stalls near the Lower Square. Ask for the aged variety. It has a deeper, more complex flavor than the young version. Locals eat it on rye bread with raw onion. The fried version at Moritz is gentler for first-timers.
Day 14 Budget: Moderate, two train fares, museum entry, brewery lunch
Practical Information
Everything you need to know before you go
Getting Around
Czech Railways (Ceske drahy) and RegioJet connect all major stops. Clean, punctual trains. Prague to Karlovy Vary, Karlovy Vary to Plzen, Plzen to Ceske Budejovice, Brno to Olomouc. All rail. Shorter hops work best by FlixBus or regional bus. Cesky Krumlov to Telc. Telc to Brno. Lednice-Valtice loop. Buy rail tickets on the CD app or RegioJet site a few days ahead. Best fares. Within cities, trams and buses run frequently. Prague's transit pass covers metro, tram, and bus. Taxis are affordable. Rarely necessary in these walkable centers.
Book Ahead
Villa Tugendhat in Brno. Book weeks ahead. for the complete tour. Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour in Plzen. Book one to two days before. Cesky Krumlov Baroque Theatre. Limited daily tours. Check the castle website. Jewish Museum combined ticket in Prague. Buy online. Skip queues. Everything else is walkable or available on the day.
Packing Essentials
Pack comfortable walking shoes with grip for cobblestones. Every town in Czechia is paved with them. Bring a light rain jacket regardless of season. Pack layers. Spring and autumn mornings are cool, afternoons warm. Carry a small daypack for water and snacks on travel days. Bring a universal power adapter if coming from outside Europe. Carry a reusable water bottle. Tap water across Czechia is safe and excellent.
Total Budget
Two weeks of moderate-comfort travel in Czechia costs considerably less than an equivalent trip in Western Europe. This includes transit, accommodation, meals, and admissions. Czechia uses the Czech koruna, not the euro. The exchange rate favors visitors from most Western countries. Brno, Olomouc, and the smaller towns are noticeably less expensive than Prague.
Customize Your Trip
Adapt this itinerary to your travel style
Budget Version
Stay in hostels or private rooms in all cities. Eat lunch at potraviny. Small grocery shops. Cook in hostel kitchens when available. Replace sit-down dinners with takeaway klobasa and beer from street stands. Travel by RegioJet and FlixBus rather than Czech Railways. Both are cheaper and often faster. Skip the Baroque Theatre tour in Cesky Krumlov. Skip the Villa Tugendhat interior in Brno. See their free exteriors and grounds instead. Drink tank beer at local pivnice. Avoid tourist-facing restaurants.
Luxury Upgrade
Upgrade to five-star hotels in Prague. The Augustine, a converted monastery in Mala Strana. In Karlovy Vary, the Grandhotel Pupp. In Brno, the Barcelo. Book private guides for Prague Castle, Kutna Hora, and Lednice. Arrange a private wine-tasting day in the Palava hills south of Brno. Sommelier-led cellar tour. Travel between cities by private car. Gain flexibility. Reach places like Loket and Telc on your own schedule.
Family-Friendly
Shorten the Prague stay by one day. Add a day at Prague Zoo in Troja. excellent. Set above the Vltava. In Cesky Krumlov, replace the art gallery with the Marionette Museum. See the bear moat at the castle entrance. Brown bears have lived there since the sixteenth century. In Brno, visit the Techmania-style science center (VIDA) near the exhibition grounds. Swap the Lednice wine tasting for the castle boat ride on the ornamental lake. Keep travel days short. Build in afternoon rest stops. Czech towns are compact. Half-days work well.
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