Day Trips from Prague: Kutná Hora, Karlštejn and More

Bohemia's railways fan out from Prague's main station, Praha hlavní nádraží, so most day trips need nothing more than a train ticket bought online or at the station. Pick one trip per day; combining two means spending the day in transit.

Kutná Hora: bones and silver

About an hour east by train. In the Middle Ages, silver mines made Kutná Hora one of the richest towns in Bohemia, and the money shows. The train arrives in the suburb of Sedlec, ten minutes' walk from the ossuary, a small chapel decorated with the bones of tens of thousands of people, including a chandelier and a coat of arms. Entry uses timed online tickets; arrive on time, and note that photography is banned inside. From there, a local train or a 40-minute walk takes you to the old centre for St Barbara's Cathedral, with its forest of flying buttresses, and the Italian Court, the former royal mint. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Karlštejn: Charles IV's treasure house

Trains from the main station or Smíchov reach Karlštejn in under an hour, followed by a 20 to 30 minute uphill walk through the village. Charles IV built the castle from 1348 to guard the crown jewels and his collection of holy relics. Interiors are seen on guided tours only; the tour of the Chapel of the Holy Cross takes small groups and should be booked ahead on the official castle site. A relaxed half day.

Český Krumlov: the long day

Direct buses from Na Knížecí, beside Anděl station on metro line B, take about three hours; trains need a change at České Budějovice. The reward is a medieval town wrapped in a loop of the Vltava, below a castle complex second in size only to Prague Castle, with a rare surviving Baroque theatre. Book buses ahead in summer. We would stay the night rather than rush back.

Terezín: a day of remembrance

About an hour north by bus. The Nazis turned this 18th-century fortress town into a ghetto through which around 150,000 Jews passed, most of them on the way to death camps. Visit the Ghetto Museum in the former school and the Small Fortress, used as a Gestapo prison. Some of the children's drawings made here are displayed in the Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. A guided visit helps make sense of a difficult place.

Plzeň: where pale lager began

Around an hour and a half west by train. The Pilsner Urquell brewery tour leads through the old cellars and ends with unfiltered beer poured from oak barrels. The town's St Bartholomew's Cathedral has the tallest church tower in the country, at over 100 metres. Read our food and beer guide first to know what you are tasting.