Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING THERE
If you're
driving,
leave Prague to the south via the main D1 expressway and take the
cutoff for Highway E55, which runs straight to
C
eské Bud
ê
jovice. The trip takes
about 1
1
⁄
2
hours.
Daily express
trains
from Prague make the trip to
C
eské Bud
ê
jovice in about
2
1
⁄
2
hours. The fare is 306K
c
($13/£6) first class or 204K
c
($8.50/£4) second class.
Several express
buses
run from Prague's Florenc station each day and take 2
1
⁄
2
hours;
tickets cost 120K
c
($5/£2).
VISITOR INFORMATION
Tourist Infocentrum,
nám
ê
stí P
r
emysla Otakara II. 2 (
&
386-801-414
), provides
maps and guidebooks and finds lodging. It is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6pm,
Saturday until 5pm, and Sunday 10am to noon and 12:30 to 4pm. In winter it is open
Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, and Saturday 9am to noon and 12:30 to 3pm. There
is a good website about the city; go to
www.c-budejovice.cz
for information.
EXPLORING THE TOWN
You can comfortably see
C
eské Bud
ê
jovice in a day. At its center is one of central
Europe's largest squares, the cobblestone
nám
ê
stí P
r
emysla Otakara II
—it may actu-
ally be too large, as many of the buildings tend to get lost in all the open space. The
Keeping Up with the Schwarzenbergs:
Visiting a 141-Room English Castle
Only 8km (5 miles) north of Ceské Budêjovice lies
Hluboká nad Vltavou
(
&
387-843-911;
www.zamekhluboka.cz). Built in the 13th century, this cas-
tle has undergone many face-lifts over the years, but none that left as last-
ing an impression as those ordered by the Schwarzenberg family. As a sign
of the region's growing wealth and importance in the mid-19th century,
the Schwarzenbergs remodeled the 141-room castle in the neo-Gothic style
of England's Windsor Castle. No expense was spared in the quest for opu-
lence. The Schwarzenbergs removed the impressive wooden ceiling from
their residence at Cesk; Krumlov and reinstalled it in the large dining room.
Other rooms are equally garish in their appointments, making a guided
tour worth the time, even though only about a third of the rooms are open
to the public.
The castle is open daily May to August from 9am to 5pm (last tour at 4pm);
April, September, and October on Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4:30pm
(last tour at 3pm). There is a lunch break between noon and 12:30pm. Tours
in English cost 160Kc ($6.65/£3) adults, 80Kc ($3.35/£2) students.
If you're driving to Hluboká from Ceské Budêjovice, take Highway E49
north and then Highway 105 just after leaving the outskirts of Ceské
Budêjovice.
The town's new
Information Center
at Masarykova 35 (
&
387-966-164;
www.hluboka.cz) will provide you with maps, souvenirs, and answers to
your questions.