Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
town center. Its glass museum is open Monday to Friday 8am to 5:30pm and Satur-
day 9am to 3pm. There's also a
Moser Store,
on Tr
z
i
s
t
ê
7 (
&
353-235-303
), right in
the heart of new town; it's open daily from 10am to 7pm (Sat-Sun until 6pm).
Dozens of other smaller shops also sell the famed glass and are as easy to find in the
Old Town as spring water.
CESK: KRUMLOV
167km (104 miles) S of Prague
If you have time on your visit to the Czech Republic for only one excursion, seriously
consider making it
C
esk
;
Krumlov.
One of Bohemia's prettiest towns, Krumlov is a
living gallery of elegant Renaissance-era buildings housing charming cafes, pubs,
restaurants, shops, and galleries. In 1992, UNESCO named
C
esk
;
Krumlov a World
Heritage Site for its historical importance and physical beauty.
GETTING THERE
From Prague, it's a 2-hour drive down Highway 3 through Tábor.
The only way to reach
C
esk
;
Krumlov by train from Prague is via
C
eské
Bud
ê
jovice, a slow ride that deposits you at a station relatively far from the town cen-
ter (trip time: 3 hr. 50 min.). Six trains leave daily from Prague's Hlavní nádra
z
í; the
fare is 336K
c
($14/£7) first class, 224K
c
($9.35/£4) second class. If you are already in
C
eské Bud
ê
jovice and you want to make a trip to Krumlov, several trains connect
these two cities throughout the day. The trip takes about 57 minutes and costs 46K
c
($1.90/£1). For timetables, go to
www.jizdnirady.cz
.
The nearly 3-hour
bus
ride from Prague usually involves a transfer in
C
eské
Bud
ê
jovice. The fare is 136K
c
($5.65/£3), and the bus station in
C
esk
;
Krumlov is a
15-minute walk from the town's main square.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Right on the main square, the
Information Centrum,
nám
ê
stí Svornosti 2, 381 01
C
esk
;
Krumlov (
&
380-704-622;
fax 380-704-619; www.ckrumlov.cz), provides a
complete array of services, from booking accommodations to reserving tickets for
events, as well as a phone and Internet service. It's open daily in July and August from
9am to 8pm; in June and September from 9am to 7pm; in April, May, and October
from 9am to 6pm; and from November to March from 9am to 5pm.
EXPLORING THE CHATEAU
Reputedly the second-largest castle in Bohemia (after Prague Castle),
C
esk
;
Krumlov
Château
was constructed in the 13th century as part of a private estate. Throughout
the ages, it has been passed on to a variety of private owners, including the Ro
z
mberk
family, Bohemia's largest landholders, and the Schwarzenbergs, the Bohemian equiv-
alent of the TV show
Dynasty
's Carrington family.
There are two guided tours. Tour I begins in the rococo
Chapel of St. George,
and
continues through the portrait-packed
Renaissance Rooms,
and the
Schwarzenberg
Barogue Suite,
outfitted with ornate furnishings that include Flemish wall tapestries,
European paintings, and also the extravagant 17th-century
Golden Carriage.
Tour II
includes the
Schwarzenberg portrait gallery
as well as their 19th-century suite. Tours
last 1 hour and depart frequently. Most are in Czech or German, however. If you want
an English-language tour, arrange it ahead of time (
&
380-704-721;
www.ckrumlov.
cz). The guided tours cost 160K
c
($6.65/£3) adults, 80K
c
($3.35/£2) students (Tour I);
140K
c
($5.85/£3) adults and 70K
c
($2.90/£1) students (Tour II). The tickets are sold