Karlovy Vary

City Break – SPA town like no other

For me, visiting Karlovy Vary was a dream come true. Just look at the picture and tell me that this is not also one of your dreams.

Located in western Bohemia – Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary or Carlsbad, is a spa town founded in 1370 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia.

Actually you don’t know why are you going to Karlovy Vary, because of the famous thermal hot springs or because of the impressive 19th century still living architecture?!

I think that the combinations of those two is what makes this place so different. Plus the international feeling, all over the place you will see expensive shops, hotels and restaurants.

Accommodation – We visited Karlovy Vary in March 2017 (a lovely spring time). For the accommodation we didn’t looked to much, we simply found a good offer on Booking.com. For two nights at this fancy hotel with breakfast and spa we paid 100 euro. The hotel is outside the city in a lovely quiet area.

Tip! Choose an accommodation outside the city if you are a nature or golf lover. But for this you will need a car.

Food – For this you have a lot of option in the city center. Good restaurants and cafes, just pick one, it is gonna be great for sure. But a bit expensive.

Transportation – Because it was near for us, we choose to go there by car. If you are staying outside the city, like us, you will need your car to go into the city, but if you are staying in the city area, you don’t need transportation to visit it.

Tip! Just walk around the city center, with no map or GPS, simply enjoying the air and the view.

First thing that we wanted to do after checking-in, was to go and visit the city. But our plans have changed after we arrived here.

A bit tired after one working week and two and a half hour of driving, also fascinated by the hotel’s SPA, we both agreed that the BEST for us is to spend our evening at the SPA area.

We started our second day (after taking our breakfast at the hotel of course) with a visit at Moser Factory and Museum. This visit took us approximately 2 hours.

Tip! Go on a working day if it is possible, so you can visit the factory also. Here you are gonna see live how the glasses are produced. On the link bellow you can find infos about ticket prices, visiting hours and very useful, how to get there if you don’t go with a car. Don’t forget to drink a coffee at Moser Cafe. After our visit at Moser Glass Factory we started to explore the city.

Tip! If you are with the car, you are gonna find a big parking space -approx. 1 euro/hour- right in front of Grandhotel Pupp. (Which is the hotel that hosts the annual Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and appears in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale). 

To visit Karlovy Vary you don’t actually need a map, but if you want to be sure that you don’t miss anything, you are gonna find a free one at the tourist info center, that is located right here or here Address 1: T. G. Masaryka 883/53, 360 01 Karlovy Vary, Czechia Address 2: Lázeňská 2075/14, 360 01 Karlovy Vary, Czechia

Visiting Karlovy Vary is quite simple and relaxing, you don’t have to make an effort every time that you want to find a touristic attraction or to be too careful at the traffic. You can simply walk, enjoy and take pictures.

We think is a must:

• to try the hot thermal water. But pay attention not to be too hot.
• to take a picture at Mill Colonnade and at Market Colonnade
• to send a postcard to you beloved one, as it used to be done before social media
• to try a Karlovy Vary wafer. More info here.
• to try the Becherovka Herbal Liqueur More info here.

In the afternoon we returned to our hotel to enjoy the rest of the day at the SPA.

We woke up a bit too late and after a delicious breakfast at the hotel we decided to leave, but not without a little break on the road to admire one more time the beautiful Karlovy Vary from the top.

What impressed me the most was not only the architecture but also the fact that (I think) 90% of the building are renovated and looking like it was just builded.