Experience the best of Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary lies in west Bohemia, a couple of hours' drive west of Prague, where the Teplá river runs through a narrow forested valley. Hot mineral springs rise through the town, and the Vřídlo, a geyser-like spring, sends a jet of water high into the air inside a modern glass colonnade. Visitors walk the long Mill Colonnade and sip the water from small porcelain cups with a built-in spout.

Above the town, the Diana lookout tower is reached by a funicular railway, and pastel-painted spa hotels and the baroque Church of St Mary Magdalene fill the lower streets. The gilded domes of the Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul stand on a slope above. Nearby Loket has a medieval castle on a rock above the Ohře river, and with Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně, Karlovy Vary is part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Becherovka, a herbal liqueur made in the town since the early nineteenth century, and thin round spa wafers are the local specialities, alongside Czech classics such as roast pork with dumplings and cabbage. The film festival fills the town each summer, and the spa tradition runs all year, with autumn colours in the surrounding forests especially fine.