Day trip to Pilsen or Terezin?

Trains to Plzen are every hour and it takes 1 1/2 hours.
Trains to Terezin go from Prague Masarykovo station and go to Bohusovice nad Ohri every 2 hours and take 1 hour and 20 minutes. Terezin is about 1 1/2 miles north of the train station.

for Terezin you are better getting the bus from Holesovice, takes around an hour and drops you just outside the Little fortress or the main museum , they run every 30 minutes or so depending of time of day.you can buy a single ticket that covers all the main sites but there is a bit of walking around to get to them all.

as to Plzen, what do you want to do there?the main reason for me is the brewery (been there 5 times) it is only a short walk from the train station, the main town is maybe a 10 minute or so walk from the brewery.
Loads of other easy day trip.Benesov for Konopiste castle, Karlstejn castle , Kutna hora and Tabor all very easy to do as day trips.

Unclegus can you tell me more about the brewery tour? And how best to get there from Prague. I definitely plan on getting there during my week vacation.

Hi,

If you can see both places, do it. I've only been to Pilsen for the historical reason, have yet to go to Terezin. See both places for the important historical significance. I agree with seeing Konopiste, even more so if you saw the Army Museum in Vienna.

Bigbob this link should give you info on the tours.
http://www.prazdrojvisit.cz/en/tours/pilsner-urquell-brewery-tour/
there is no need to book. best way is train from Hlavni the main train station in Prague ,takes about 95 minutes and you can walk to the brewery from the train station in about 7 minutes or so,you will see the brewery on the right hand side as you go into Plzen there are signs to guide you but out the main station turn right head towards the underpass of the main road and take the furthest away right hand side exit,this will take you very close to the brewery entrance , just go inside and look for the visitor center about 50 yards in and to your left .In side that complex is a very good restaurant na Splice where you will get well fed and drink great beer from the brewery also a very good brewery shop.. It is about a 15 minute walk into the main town from there and the brewery museum is well worth a visit too.

I have not been to Pilsen but visited Terezin a month ago.
Terezin is well worth visiting if you are interested in WW2, Nazi history, and the camp/prison system during the war.
It is very unique from other "camp" sights in that it is divided in two sections; one a prison, and one a fortified ghetto meant to hold relocated Jews.
The prison is in the small part of the walled fortress. Nazi prisoners of all sorts were kept here. You can view almost all of the areas of the prison, watch a film in English about the camp, and take a tour in English if you are interested.
The town, which is also surrounded by a fortified wall which was why it was chosen to hold relocated Jews, is a 10-15 minute walk from the prison. It's a very pretty town with a central square and about 10 blocks wide in both directions. There is a very sobering museum covering the history of the town when it was a Jewish ghetto. There is also a walking route taking you to the crematorium, secret synagogue, as well as several other sights. It's a very eerie place to walk around - even though there are people living there it is clear that there are many buildings that have never been reoccupied.
Terezin is well-worth visiting.
Other day trips from Prague I recommend are some of the castles in the area - Konopiste and Karlstein are two of our favorites. Not easily accessible by train but easily reached with a day tour.
Kutna Hora is OK but I was underwhelmed by this town.

I did not visit Plzen, though I did take a day tour to Terezin last year, and it was well worth it. Especially if you're interested in World War II history, you'll find a visit to Terezin very worthwhile. I found the visit to Terezin to be a very moving experience.

Pilsen is a nice town with a pretty main square. The biggest draw is the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour with 3 English tours everyday. You get one clear solo cup of unfiltered beer straight from a wooden lagering keg.
Frequent trains to/from Prague.

Buses to either place are faster and cost about the same. If you are an American visiting Plzen, you should see the Patton museum (and of course the brewery). This being said, trains take a little longer, but I think they are more comfortable.

Update on getting to the Plzen brewery from the train station. I was in Prague last week and talking to folk about brewery tours , seems there is a new walkway from the train station direct to the brewery, should only take a few minutes .Details are a bit sketchy but I would presume the tunnel runs under the railway track as you come out the station and should be on the right hand side.Not been there this year so can't confirm things.

Hi,

Aside from the reasons for visiting Terezin above, if you want to see another aspect of WWII history , see Pilsen. I saw it as a day trip from Nürnberg in 2001. The city was liberated by US troops under Patton, since he was under orders to halt at the Linz-Pilsen line, that prevented US troops from reaching Prague, something logistically and easily achievable under the circumstances. There is a memorial/monument dedicated to the American liberation of PIlsen, ...rather obvious, can't miss it, ca. 30 mins walk from the train station towards the center, worth tracking down.

If you have the financial means, taking day trips with a private guide (with a car) eliminates transportation worries while enriching the travel experience. This past August, during a stay in Prague, we took two day trips with different guides. I had previously posted this on the "Trip Reports" section of this forum. The first trip (10 hours total) was to Dresden with Kamil Vondrous, who with his wife Petra, owns Prague-extra.com. Kamil was our guide for the day and met us at our hotel at the pre-arranged time. After about a 2-hour drive, we walked around the Old Town and then had a nice lunch together. After lunch, we walked a little longer, and then my wife and I toured the Albertinum Musuem and then the 'Green Vault' on our own while Kamil attended to other business. We then met up at an agreed upon time and headed back to Prague. Kamil was an excellent, knowledgeable guide, who was friendly and engaging. We very much enjoyed our day together and would highly recommend him if you are looking to arrange a private tour in or out of Prague. The second day trip (total of about 6 hours) was to Terezin, with Helena Katzlingerova-Rakytkova ('Helen') of Wittmann Tours. Although I had previously taken this tour with Wittmann (but not with Helen) 8 years prior, my wife wanted to visit Terezin, so we signed up for a group tour. Unfortunately for Wittmann - but fortunately for us - we were the only two persons on the tour that day, so it was essentially a private tour. However, for this we did have to pay extra, which was made known to me up front, so it was not an issue at all. Wittmann does not commit to the group tour of Terezin without at least three persons confirmed, plus besides Helen there was a driver of the van; so I did not consider the added cost to be unreasonable. And Helen, who has been guiding for Wittmann since its inception over 20 years ago, gave a fantastic tour! In fact, we went to places that I did not see on the previous tour, such as inside the walls of the Small Fortress. Helen is extremely knowledgeable about Terezin and has personal ties to a survivor, about whom she and her husband wrote a book (Life Forbidden, by Jan Rakytka - about Prof. Felix Kolmer), which I purchased along with several other books at the Museum shop. I don't think one can say that he or she 'enjoyed' a visit to a former concentration camp, so I will say that it was extremely informative, historical, thought-provoking, personal, and sad when one realizes that most of the Terezin prisoners did not survive the war. If you are interested in a visit to Terezin with Wittmann tours, try to take the tour with Helen.