My sister & I are planning to spend the entire month of May in the Czech Republic. Our preference is to use only public transportation. We like to choose several towns/cities as bases from which to make side trips, normally renting places to stay via AirBNB and/or VRBO. Given that amount of time, can anyone suggest a reasonable itinerary? How much time should we book in Prague, and what day trips from there would you recommend? Some of the possible "hubs" we're looking at are Olomouc, Brno, Mikulov, Telc, and Cesky Krumlov. Thank you for any suggestions!
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9064 posts
Just pointing out that if you end in Mikulov, the center of the wine region, you can get to the Vienna airport in about 1.5 hours so it's a convenient last stop. Plenty of wineries to visit around there. And yes, Cesky Krumlov is worth seeing.
Posted by
Chicago, IL
62 posts
Just want to contribute that May is a great time to visit. We spent last May in the Czech Republic renting an Airbnb apartment in Zizkov for a month. Then we mostly used trains to visit other cities/towns (did rent a car for a day twice). We also went as far as visiting Berlin for a couple of days via train.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thank you! Sounds like the bulk of our time should be spent in Prague. Would you mind telling me what other trips you took besides Berlin? And when you rented a car, where did you go?
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9064 posts
Gosh, no. I'd say spend most time outside of Prague to see real Czech life. Prague is a bog city and so full of tourists that thats mostly who you'll see in the center zone.
Posted by
Chicago, IL
62 posts
Thank you! Sounds like the bulk of our time should be spent in Prague. Would you mind telling me what other trips you took besides Berlin? And when you rented a car, where did you go?
For car, we rented with Sixt.
For places outside of Prague,we went to Olomouc, Brno, Konopiště Castle, Nižbor (has an excellent crystal factory you can tour; also buying there is usually far less expensive than in Prague), Český Šternberk, Karlštejn castle, and Křivoklát castle. The Czech train app and webpage is fairly easy to navigate.
During the second full week of May, many private buildings and gardens are open to the public, some with tours The event is called Open House Prague. https://www.openhousepraha.cz/en/homepage-english/
On May 8th is Victory Day. They have the government buildings open for tours. We spent a ton of time in their Senate building. They are justly very proud of their democracy.
Tickets to Prague castle are good for two days, not one. We purchased the ticket that gave access to all parts and used the FULL two days to explore. Being there early is great for avoiding crowds.
We of course checked out Old Town and Wenceslas Square areas, but we also would stroll aimlessly through other streets to explore. Between trams and walking, you can explore a ton of the city. Make sure to explore the Zizkov area, especially the cemeteries and the National Monument at Vítkov. Also, many tourists ignore the Vinohrady district.
Classical concerts in beautiful churches and halls are also going in May. Catch a couple.
Worth a somber but excellent visit is the Cathedral Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius, where the assassinators of Heydrich had their last stand against the Nazis. Try to go in the later afternoon as school groups can be there earlier.
If you don't stay in a tourist area, find a bar/restaurant near where you stay and frequent it often--try to get a feel for the neighborhood.
We did not lack for things to do....many of our visits led us to other places to go see. Talk to the locals for ideas. They are not as bad as portrayed.