Channel 08

Weekend Trips

Trains out on Friday, back for Monday: castles, spa towns and capitals within reach.

70 guides4 min average read

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  1. Kutná Hora from Prague: bone chandeliers, silver money, one easy train4 min read
  2. Český Krumlov from Prague: one long day or one better night?4 min read
  3. Vienna from Prague by train: a weekend of palaces, cafés and cake4 min read

Every guide

All Weekend Trips guides

  1. 4 min readAdršpach-Teplice Rocks: a guide to Czechia's sandstone labyrinthWalk between sandstone towers taller than a church, on paths barely wide enough for two, in one of the largest rock towns in Central Europe.
  2. 6 min readBerlin airport to Prague: the BER transfer, step by stepLanding at Berlin Brandenburg with Prague in mind? The airport has its own station, but the Prague train leaves from the city. How to link the two.
  3. 4 min readBerlin from Prague by train: a long-weekend guide, not a day tripFour and a half hours on a direct train, with Dresden on the way. How to book, which districts to pick and why trying to see everything is the mistake.
  4. 4 min readBohemian Switzerland from Prague: sandstone arches, gorges and trailsEurope's largest natural sandstone arch, gorge boats and Elbe cliffs, all a day trip from Prague, though the wildfire changed some trails. How to plan it.
  5. 4 min readBratislava from Prague: trains, buses and a neighbour worth a nightCzechs and Slovaks shared a country until 1992. Bratislava is the calmer neighbour on the Danube, with a castle, an old town and an easy way home.
  6. 4 min readBrno weekend guide: functionalism, wine and Czechia's second cityBrno does not shout, which is why it rewards you. A Mies van der Rohe villa, a clock that fires a glass bullet and wine country on the doorstep.
  7. 6 min readBudapest airport to Prague: the airport bus, Keleti and a seven-hour rideA flight into Budapest and a train home is a classic way to see two capitals. How to get from the airport to the Prague train.
  8. 4 min readBudapest from Prague by train: a long ride to a worthwhile cityA full day on the rails buys you a river city of castles, thermal baths and ruin bars. How the direct train works, what to book and what to do with the forint.
  9. 3 min readČeské Budějovice day trip from Prague: Budvar, a grand square and a towerThe original Budweiser town has one of Central Europe's biggest squares, a black tower with a view and a brewery that has spent decades arguing over its name.
  10. 4 min readČeský Krumlov from Prague: one long day or one better night?The Vltava loops round a medieval town under a castle tower. It is gorgeous, but a long way for a day trip. Here is how to decide, and how to get there.
  11. 4 min readČeský ráj (Bohemian Paradise): rocks, castles and trailsSandstone towers, basalt castle ruins and waymarked paths through pine forest, roughly two hours from Prague. A gentle introduction to Czech hiking.
  12. 3 min readCheb, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně: a spa triangle weekendTwo UNESCO-listed spa towns and a medieval border town sit a short train ride apart in the far west of Bohemia. Bring a drinking cup.
  13. 4 min readDresden from Prague by train: a rebuilt baroque city, 2.5 hours awayA direct train follows the Elbe to a city that was bombed flat in 1945 and rebuilt stone by stone. One day covers the highlights, a night adds the Neustadt.
  14. 3 min readHradec Králové: the 'Salon of the Republic' and its interwar architectureA medieval river town was rebuilt in the 1920s by two of Czechoslovakia's best architects. The result is a city of white towers, red brick and wide squares.
  15. 4 min readKarlovy Vary from Prague: colonnades, hot springs and wafers by busA pastel spa town built round hot springs, easy by bus from Prague. How to taste the water, what to eat and why Becherovka is a digestif.
  16. 4 min readKarlštejn Castle from Prague: the train, the climb and the chapelThe castle every child draws is 40 minutes from Prague by train. How to get there, how the tours work and why the famous chapel needs separate planning.
  17. 3 min readKonopiště Castle day trip from Prague: the Archduke's hunting seatAntlers on every wall, a rose garden and the home of the man whose assassination in 1914 set off a war. A half-day trip by train from Prague.
  18. 4 min readKraków from Prague: the long ride to Poland's royal old townA vast medieval square, a hilltop castle and Kazimierz, all reached by a long but rewarding train ride. How to plan the journey and the Auschwitz question.
  19. 2 min readKřivoklát Castle and forest: a royal hunting seat an hour from PragueKings hunted here, an English alchemist was locked up here and today the forest around it is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The castle is a train ride from Prague.
  20. 3 min readKroměříž: UNESCO gardens and a bishop's castle in MoraviaA Titian in a provincial town, a baroque garden with a long colonnade and a parliament that once met here. Moravia's quiet UNESCO town is easy to miss.
  21. 4 min readKutná Hora from Prague: bone chandeliers, silver money, one easy trainA chapel decorated with human bones, a cathedral built on mining money and a UNESCO old town, all an hour from Prague by train. How to do it in a day.
  22. 3 min readLednice-Valtice: a UNESCO landscape of palaces, parks and wineA noble family spent centuries turning the Moravian plain into one giant garden, with a minaret, follies and wine cellars. You can cycle through it.
  23. 4 min readLeipzig from Prague: Bach, trade fairs and the 1989 Monday marchesFour hours away is a city where Bach worked, where goods have been traded for centuries and where 1989 gathered momentum on Monday evenings.
  24. 3 min readLiberec and the Ještěd tower: a mountain with a landmark on topA 1970s hotel and transmitter shaped like a hyperboloid crowns the ridge above Liberec. Take the cable car up, then come down for a very Germanic town hall.