Czechia, Prague and the castles of Bohemia a train ride away.

Why Czechia from Spain?

Czechia is a small country, about the size of Andalucía, with its capital in the middle of Bohemia and almost everything you could want within three hours of it. For a trip of four to six days a simple formula works: fly to Prague, sleep there and head out by train or bus on a day trip, or an overnight escape once you have seen the city. You do not need a car for anything we suggest.

• If it is your first time, spend two or three days in Prague: the castle and St Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with its astronomical clock and the old Jewish quarter.
• If you are drawn to the unusual, Kutná Hora is an hour away by train: the Sedlec Ossuary, decorated with the bones of thousands of people, a Gothic cathedral raised with the silver from its mines and a medieval mine you tour wearing a helmet.
• If you want a fairytale town, Český Krumlov deserves a night: a huge castle above a bend in the Vltava, a Baroque theatre and canoe trips down the river.
• If you are after hot water, Karlovy Vary is Bohemia's great spa town: colonnades, thermal springs you drink from a porcelain cup and an open-air pool filled with spring water.
• If you are interested in twentieth-century history, Terezín, an hour from Prague, was a ghetto and a Gestapo prison. It is a hard visit, and a necessary one.
• If you travel for beer, Plzeň is the city where pilsner was born in 1842: the tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery ends with a glass of unfiltered beer in the cellars.
• If you only have half a day, Karlštejn, the castle of Charles IV, is 40 minutes away by commuter train, and Konopiště, the hunting lodge of the archduke assassinated in Sarajevo, is an hour away.
• If you want nature, Bohemian Switzerland has the largest natural stone arch in Europe and gorges you explore by boat, and Bohemian Paradise has rock cities with a castle on every crag.
• If you like wine, Mělník offers pinot noir tastings at the Lobkowicz castle, above the confluence of the Vltava and the Elbe, and Litoměřice, next to Terezín, has Gothic cellars beneath its enormous square.
• If you want a castle in the forest, Křivoklát is the royal castle of the Přemyslids, with dungeons and a library, two hours away on the train that follows the Berounka; and Kokořín is a castle on a rock with a sandstone valley and mushroom-capped rocks, less than an hour to the north.
• If you want an elegant spa town, Mariánské Lázně has a cast-iron colonnade with drinkable springs, Roman Baths from 1896 and a fountain that dances to music, two hours away.
• If you are doing South Bohemia, Tábor, the Hussite city with tunnels beneath its square, is an hour and a half away by train, and further south Hluboká and České Budějovice bring together a white Neo-Gothic castle and the Budvar brewery.
• If you are looking for a place of remembrance, Lidice, the village the Nazis wiped out in 1942, is half an hour by bus from the metro and very close to the airport.

How do you get there from Spain?

By air. Prague's Václav Havel Airport (PRG) has direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona all year round and, depending on the season, from Valencia, Málaga, Alicante, Bilbao, Palma, Seville or the Canary Islands, with both traditional and low-cost airlines. In 2025 the airport counted 18 destinations in Spain. From Madrid the flight takes about three hours. Flights from the Schengen area arrive at Terminal 2. Routes change every season, so check what operates on your dates.

From the airport to the centre. Trolleybus 59 takes you in about 15 minutes to Nádraží Veleslavín, on metro line A, and bus 100 to Zličín, on line B. The Airport Express (AE) goes straight to the main railway station. Buy your ticket before boarding: at the machines at the stops, at the counters in the arrivals hall or in the PID Lítačka app.

Documents. Czechia is in the European Union and in Schengen, so a valid national ID card is enough. The European Health Insurance Card covers emergency care.

Money. Czechia does not use the euro: the currency is the Czech koruna (Kč, CZK). Almost everything is paid for by card, including transport and tickets. When the card machine asks, choose to pay in koruna rather than euros: the shop's own conversion usually works out more expensive. Avoid the exchange offices in the centre advertising "0% commission".

How do you get around the country?

Trains run by ČD and private companies leave Prague's main station (Praha hlavní nádraží) for Kutná Hora and Plzeň in an hour to an hour and a half. For Karlovy Vary, Český Krumlov and Terezín the bus is more practical, leaving from Florenc station or other stops in the city. If you drive, Czech motorways require an electronic vignette, which you buy online before entering them.

When to go

Spring and early autumn are the best times: pleasant temperatures for walking, gardens open and fewer groups than in July and August. In summer Prague fills up and gets hot. From November to March it often freezes; the city keeps running, but many castles across the country open only at weekends or close until April, and canoe trips on the Vltava are seasonal. December is a case apart: Prague's Christmas markets fill the city.

How much does it cost?

Eating and drinking is somewhat cheaper than in a Spanish city: a meal in a pub-restaurant comes to around 300–450 CZK and draught beer is cheap. Tickets cost the same as in Spain or a little more: the Prague Castle tour is 450 CZK per adult. Accommodation in central Prague goes up in summer, on bank-holiday weekends and in December.