Prague Travel Guide
Day Trips from Prague
The best day trips from Prague and how to do them — the bone chapel and Gothic cathedral of Kutná Hora, the storybook town of Český Krumlov, Karlštejn Castle and the Terezín memorial — by train, bus or guided tour.
Prague is the heart of Bohemia, and some of the most remarkable sights in Czechia are within a few hours of the capital: medieval silver towns, fairy-tale castles, spa towns and sobering memorials. With three days in Prague, one day trip fits comfortably; with four or more, two. Here is how to choose, and how to go.
Kutná Hora: the best short trip. About an hour from Prague by train, Kutná Hora was the second most important town in medieval Bohemia, made rich by silver mines and the royal mint. Its historic centre, with the Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbara and the Cathedral of the Assumption in the suburb of Sedlec, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is best known for the Sedlec Ossuary, a small chapel decorated with the bones of tens of thousands of people, arranged into garlands, a coat of arms and a chandelier in 1870. Photography in the ossuary has been restricted out of respect for the dead. By train, from the main station, get off at Kutná Hora main station near Sedlec, visit the ossuary and the cathedral there, and continue by local train or bus to the town centre for St. Barbara's and the Italian Court. A guided tour saves time on these connections and includes the entries; afternoon tours let you spend the morning in Prague. Allow a half-day on a tour, or a full day on your own.
Český Krumlov: the most beautiful, and the longest. Three hours south of Prague by road, Český Krumlov is a Renaissance town wrapped in a loop of the Vltava, crowned by a huge castle with a painted tower, bears in the moat and one of the best-preserved Baroque theatres in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and arguably the most beautiful small town in Central Europe. A guided day tour from Prague takes around eleven hours, with about six on the road; castle tickets are usually extra. By public transport, buses go direct, and trains usually change at České Budějovice, home of the Budvar brewery. The castle's interior tours run from spring to autumn; in the off-season, the courtyards stay open and the castle museum and tower open on reduced hours, Tuesday to Sunday in November and up to 20 December 2026. If you can, stay overnight: the town is magical when the day-trippers leave.
Karlštejn Castle: the closest castle. About forty minutes by train from Prague, Karlštejn is a Gothic castle built by Emperor Charles IV in the fourteenth century to guard the crown jewels and his collection of holy relics. It rises dramatically from wooded hills above a village. From the station it is a walk of about half an hour, uphill at the end, through the village. Guided tours visit the imperial palace and, on a separate tour, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, with its walls of semi-precious stones and panel paintings; book ahead, as the chapel tour is limited. It is an easy half-day trip, and a good choice with children, combined with a walk in the surrounding Bohemian Karst.
Terezín: a memorial. About an hour north of Prague, Terezín was an eighteenth-century fortress town that the Nazis turned into a ghetto and transit camp during the Second World War. Tens of thousands of people died there, and many more were deported to the death camps in the east. The Terezín Memorial includes the Ghetto Museum in the town and the Small Fortress, a Gestapo prison. It is a sobering but important visit, best with a guide who can explain the history; it pairs naturally with the Jewish Quarter in Prague, where the Pinkas Synagogue displays drawings by children from the ghetto. Allow most of a day.
Other options. Karlovy Vary, the elegant spa town in West Bohemia, about two hours away, is famous for its colonnades, hot springs and Becherovka. Plzeň, an hour and a half by train, is the home of pilsner beer and the Pilsner Urquell brewery, with tours of the cellars. Bohemian Switzerland National Park, about two hours north, offers sandstone rock formations and hiking, including the Pravčická brána rock arch.
Practical tips for every trip. Leave early: popular sights fill up by late morning, especially in summer. Carry some cash in crowns for small rural cafés and toilets, though cards are widely accepted. Check the return times of the last trains and buses, which can be earlier than you expect in the countryside. And bring comfortable shoes: almost every day trip from Prague involves cobbles, castle hills or long walks between sites.
Train, bus or tour? Czech trains and buses are reliable, comfortable and cheap, and Kutná Hora, Karlštejn and Plzeň are easy to reach independently. Guided tours make the most sense for Český Krumlov, which is far, and for Terezín, where a guide adds essential context, or for Kutná Hora if you want to avoid the connections between its sites. Book trains and tours a day or two ahead in the busy season, and check the opening days of castles and museums, many of which close on Mondays or keep shorter hours in winter.
Our picks. With one day: Kutná Hora. With two: Kutná Hora and Český Krumlov, ideally with a night in Krumlov. With children: Karlštejn. For history: Terezín, alongside the Jewish Quarter in Prague. Whichever you choose, the change of pace is part of the reward: a day in the Bohemian countryside makes the return to Prague's spires all the more magical.