Location
Karlovy Vary is located in the west of Bohemia. It is the largest and most famous spa town. However, the exact date of the town's founding is not known. Modern architecture in Karlovy Vary is represented by the Hot Spring Colonnade. Other buildings constructed in the spa town over the past thirty years include the ice stadium and the youth home in Drahovice. Most of the Karlovy Vary industrial companies underwent extensive modernization - Moser glassworks, porcelain factories, Becherovka, Sedlec kaolin, etc. After 1990, many significant historical and spa buildings were expensively renovated and reconstructed. The year 1989 became the beginning of a new hopeful era of free development in spa business, culture, tourism, and entrepreneurial activities. Today, Karlovy Vary is, as in the past, a popular meeting place for both sick and healthy people from all over the world, continuing the tradition started centuries ago under the rule of the wise king and emperor Charles IV.
TOP 5 from Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary Colonnades
The symbol of Karlovy Vary and a popular destination for tourists are the world-famous Karlovy Vary colonnades. Each of them features springs with healing water, which you can calmly drink while strolling along the colonnades. Moreover, these are architecturally interesting buildings, each with its own unique character. A walk along the colonnades should not be missed by any visitor to Karlovy Vary. It is also interesting to compare the individual springs. Their temperatures range from 30 °C to 72 °C, they contain varying amounts of minerals and CO₂. The colonnades are located just a few steps from the SPA Hotel IRIS****.
Diana Lookout Tower
During your visit to Karlovy Vary, you should not miss visiting the Diana Observation Tower. The brick quadrangular tower stands on the Friendship Heights and offers a beautiful view of the town and its surroundings. You can look down on the very center of Karlovy Vary and the panorama of the Ore Mountains. You can climb to Diana on foot or take the cable car, which has its lower station in Mariánská Street next to the Grandhotel Pupp. You can reach the observation tower itself by elevator or climb 150 steps. The gallery is located at a height of 35 meters. Under the observation tower, you can visit the butterfly house – a tropical garden with live butterflies and a mini zoo. There you can see ponies, Cameroon goats, Chinese pigs, and peacocks. You can learn more about the Diana Observation Tower on its official website.
Imperial Spa
Visit the most magnificent spa building in Karlovy Vary. The Imperial Spa was built in the 1890s and upon its opening operated as a luxury spa house with the most modern equipment in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A gem is the Zander Hall, originally equipped with exercise machines, later used as a representative space. The interiors of the entire spa are decorated with impressive sculptures, paintings, and woodcarvings. The Imperial Spa fell into disrepair for many years after ceasing operation. Fortunately, in 2010 it was declared a National Cultural Monument and restoration began. Currently, the Imperial Spa houses a museum and hosts exhibitions related to the Karlovy Vary region and spa culture.
Underground of the Hot Spring Colonnade
The Hot Spring Colonnade definitely arouses interest. The primary reason is the building itself, which was constructed in the 1970s in a functionalist style and stands out from the architecture of Karlovy Vary. The structure made of Cuban marble and reinforced concrete, from which hot spring water jets up to a height of 12 meters, is worth a visit. After touring the colonnade, we recommend continuing to its underground section. During a guided tour, you will see places where Karlovy Vary souvenirs are encrusted with hot spring deposits, outlets of thermo-mineral waters, pipes from the last century clogged with hot spring deposits, and rare organisms living in places washed by mineral water. Information about opening hours is available on the official website of the Administration of Natural Healing Resources and Colonnades Karlovy Vary
Three Crosses Viewpoint
Northwest of Karlovy Vary, on the top of a hill, stand three crosses as a symbol of the city's re-Catholicization in 1680. During World War II, a concrete observation post was built in their immediate vicinity, and on its roof today there is a wooden gazebo offering a view of the center of Karlovy Vary in the valley of the Teplá river. You can reach the lookout either directly from the center of Karlovy Vary or from Drahovice. A yellow hiking trail leads to the summit. An interesting fact is the unfinished cable car, which was supposed to lead to the summit, but its construction was interrupted by World War I.
Attractive places outside Karlovy Vary
Trips outside Karlovy Vary offer countless extraordinary views of the surrounding landscape. Discover historical monuments, scenic routes, and lookout towers located around the town.
Loket Castle
A few kilometers beyond Karlovy Vary, you will find Loket Castle in a meander of the Ohře River. The castle is open year-round, and you can explore a variety of interesting interiors and exhibits. You will find a porcelain exhibition, a hall with Gothic frescoes, a tour of the jail with a torture chamber, and at the end of the tour, you can climb the tower and view the winding Ohře River. The castle also houses the smallest rotunda in Bohemia and the ghost Štrakakala. Guided tours are available in Czech, Russian, English, and German. Another option is to take a tour with a text guide, which is available in a wide range of languages (Czech, Russian, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Hungarian, and Spanish). Loket also offers a castle restaurant where you can relax after the tour and enjoy traditional Czech cuisine. Opening hours, exact address, and more information can be found on the official castle website
Soos - Nature Reserve
The Soos Nature Reserve covers an area of 221 hectares west of Karlovy Vary. Soos is a natural peat bog and mineral marsh with bubbling mud volcanoes. During your visit to the reserve, you can walk along a 1.2 km long educational trail where you will learn a lot about the local geological activity, and if the weather is rainy during your visit, you will see the bubbling mud volcanoes. The reserve also includes a museum focused on the local nature and surroundings. You will also find a pavilion where you can see life-sized dinosaurs. Additionally, there is a rescue station for handicapped animals and a fallow deer enclosure. Information about events, tickets, and opening hours can be found on the Soos website.
Ostrov Chateau Park
Ten minutes' drive from Karlovy Vary, you will find the town of Ostrov nad Ohří. It is known for its castle and especially its castle park. Originally a Renaissance park from the early 17th century, it was gradually rebuilt over the years and its current form is Baroque with fountains, ponds, gazebos, and mazes. During its peak period, the Ostrov park was famous and highly valued. In the middle of the garden, you will find a pavilion, which is part of the Karlovy Vary Art Gallery and hosts exhibitions and concerts. The pavilion still houses, for example, collections of Czech graphic art, Czech drawings, and regional art. Other castle buildings adjacent to the park are also worth a visit. On the castle's website, you can find more information about the Ostrov castle park
Bečov nad Teplou Chateau
Bečov nad Teplou Castle is located only about 20 minutes by car from Karlovy Vary, and your journey will be rewarded with a choice of four tour circuits. You can choose a classic tour of the castle interiors or visit the national cultural monument - the Reliquary of Saint Maur. It is one of the most valuable goldsmith monuments in the Czech Republic. Bečov is also friendly to young visitors, for whom special tour circuits are prepared. Detailed information can be found on the official castle website
Teplá Premonstratensian Monastery
If you travel upstream the Teplá River, which flows directly through Karlovy Vary, you will reach the Premonstratensian Monastery in Teplá. The monastery offers guided tours from February to December. You will visit the monastic library and view exhibits from the monastery museum. In addition, the monastery is often a venue for exhibitions and displays. Concerts and performances take place in the monastery church of the Annunciation of the Lord, in the prelature spaces, or in the courtyard. There is a restaurant inside the monastery and a golf course in the adjacent garden. Information about the history of the Premonstratensians and the monastery building can be found directly on the Premonstratensian Monastery Teplá website.