Czechia Tourist tips
Czechia, home of over 10 million people, is a major European tourist center, replete with well-preserved medieval towns, splendid palaces, and impressive castles, but what is more important—with people willing to receive and pay attention to foreigners. Prague, our capital, and major city is considered one of the most beautiful European cities and has been an important cultural center for over thousands of years. European and increasingly North and South American and Asian tourists are discovering every single day our country with its history, which predates the birth of the European civilization.
Czech is the official language of the country, English is widely spoken and because of us being a strong contributor to the European arts and sciences—many speak French as well. 81 percent of the people are Czechs, 13.2 percent are Moravians, and there are small minorities of Slovaks, Germans, Poles, Gypsies, and Hungarians. From 28 October 1918 to 31 December 1992 Czechia together with Slovakia were the two federal states forming Czechoslovakia. After the Velvet Divorce, the Czech lands comprise the former provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. It borders Slovakia in the east, Austria in the south, Germany in the west, and Poland in the north. Prague being the capital and the largest city, other major cities are Brno, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, Plzeň (Pilsen) and Ostrava.
By now, everyone has heard about the wonders of Prague, our marvelous capital city. Every day of the year thousands of tourists stroll from the Charles Bridge, Prague's most famous tourist attraction, to the thousand-year-old Prague Castle (the largest castle complex in the world) through the fairy-tale streets of Malá Strana (Lesser Town) and the Old Town (Staré Město). Prague is an emotional and artistic inspiration to both admirers of its beauty and the amazingly well-preserved Baroque facades and all those people so much curious about the underlying history of its neighborhoods.
Prague, the international gateway of Czechia, is just one of the highlights of a proper tour of our exciting country, little by territory, huge by human dimensions. The tourist map lists more than 500 independent sites throughout Czechia, including spas, protected historical towns, open-air museums, folk architecture, castles, palaces, monasteries, pilgrimage sites, and historic ruins. Czechia is also known for its museums, puppetry and marionette exhibitions, and different. Czech musicians, composers, architects, artists, and writers have made enduring contributions to their fields and many places of interest which have to do with their names or work.
The architectural heritage is presented by spectacular Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Pre-Romanesque and other historical epochs buildings, many castles and chateaux, e.g. the Karlštejn Castle, summer seat of Czech kings, the Zvíkov, Křivoklát, Bezděz, Loket, Bouzov castles, the UNESCO World heritege sites as the Český Krumlov castle and town, the Litomyšl castle, Kroměříž castle and gardens and Lednice–Valtice Cultural Area, well preserved middle age towns Kutná Hora, Telč, and Třebíč. The religious heritage is presented by 12 cathedrals and 15 churches elevated to the Basilica rank by the Pope, well-preserved monasteries, and many modern and ancient churches with the Church of Virgin Mary being the oldest stone building in Prague (882 – 884). In the UNESCO World Heritage List are included the the church of St. John Nepomuk at Zelená Hora and the church of the Assumption of Holy Virgin Mary and St. John Baptist in unique baroque gothic style of the famous architect Jan Blažej Santini in Sedlec, the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, the Basilica of St. Procopius in the unique romanesque-gothic style in Třebíč, the St. Barbara's Church in Kutná Hora.
For the outdoor activity and photography lovers, apart from the romantic countryside around Prague, there are nature reserves and protected areas offering regeneration, relaxation, and cures such as the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj), Šumava mountains, and the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše), the plentiful nature of Moravia and Czech Silesia (Moravian Tuscany, Jeseníky mountains, Beskydy mountains), spa towns Karlovy Vary(Carlsbad),Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad), Jáchymov,
Františkovy Lázně, Jeseník, and many others.
There are also beautiful wine-growing areas (wine villages) which offer sampling products and to visit those has become a kind of a tourist ritual for they also have a spectacular architectural style—distinctive small household wine cellars (vinné sklipky), some partially underground, others with hut-like construction.
What do foreigner tourists say about Czechia?
Best beers in the world
Magnificent castles and old towns
Excellent hiking and cycling paths
Affordable spas
Interesting folklore
Excellent food, beers, and good wines.
What is international media saying about Czechia?
One of the world's premier tourist destinations. Unspoilt medieval city centers of Prague, Telč, Český Krumlov and Kutná Hora are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, as is the Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk in Ždár nad Sázavou.
There are many lager beers available, including the original Pilsen (Pilsner) beer and Budweiser/Budweis.
Interesting folklore, excellent food, and beers, good wines.
One of the most popular travel destinations in Europe.
The country possesses an immense number of fascinating castles, churches and other architectural gems. It has always been known for its musicians, and there are all types of concerts and festivals to choose from. Best of all, the Czechs are an extremely hospitable people, eager to make one's visit as enjoyable as possible.
Czechia is rich in ancient towns, magnificent castles, and churches. Centuries-old cities with gorgeous Renaissance and Baroque houses and palaces, and outstanding.
A charming country with beautiful landscape. Hilly, picturesque country with wooded, rolling hills.
World famous spas.
Thousands of miles of hiking and cycling paths.
The jewels of ancient architecture in cities of Czechia remain in their original, pristine condition. The most important of these is the golden city of Prague, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Czechia is a tourist paradise in its own right and offers lovely towns, gorgeous castles and picturesque wooded hills and mountains.
The town Kutná Hora is a treasure of old houses and a cathedral, but the real reason for the visit is to see the unusual "Bone Church". In it, many of the decorative features are made of human bones, including a massive chandelier.
This is a country where, in the twentieth century, it was possible to be born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, enter grammar school in Czechoslovakia, go to high school in Germany, work in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, then retire in Czechoslovakia and die in the Czechia - all without ever leaving.
One of the most prosperous and democratically free countries in Europe during the period between the world wars.
The Czech economy gets a substantial income from tourism. Prague is the fifth most visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul, and Rome. In 2001, the total earnings from tourism reached 118 billion CZK, making up 5.5% of the GNP and 9% of the overall export earnings. The industry employs more than 110,000 people. The country's reputation has suffered from guidebooks and tourists who have reported taxi drivers and exchange houses overcharging their rates and also pickpocketing problems underlying that this “happens mainly in Prague” when this happens all over the world and it is always good to take reasonable precautions. Since 2005, Prague's mayors, have been working to improve good reputation by cracking down on petty crime and maintain Prague as safe as possible. Czechia has a low crime rate and for tourists, it is considered a safe destination to visit. The low crime rate and the hospitality of the people make most cities and towns very safe to walk around.
Detailed TRAVEL INFORMATION
© Mares PW
