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.
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