49.75° N · 13.38° E
An hour and a half by train from Prague: the brewery where pilsner was born in 1842, tunnels beneath the old town and the tallest church tower in the country.
Part of Czech beer
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Brewery and cellars · 100 min · 430 CZK · tasting from age 18 · app in Spanish
Tower · 45 min · from 110 CZK · almost 300 steps
Guided tour · 1 h · 250 CZK · cool all year
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year: the brewery, the underground and the museums are open in winter, and the cellars are always at 5 °C. Spring and autumn are more pleasant for walking between the station, the brewery and the square. Techmania is closed on Mondays and the Great Synagogue on Fridays and Saturdays.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Plzeň has no flights from Spain: you fly to Prague, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue by train from the main station, about an hour and a half, or by car on the D5 motorway, about an hour. It is a classic day trip from Prague.
Plzeň is a perfect excursion by train: the station is ten minutes from the Pilsner Urquell brewery and fifteen from the square. The tram covers what is further away, such as Techmania.
By car, Plzeň is about 90 km from Prague on the D5 motorway, around an hour. It lets you sleep outside the centre, at the Hotel Purkmistr, or combine it with Karlštejn Castle on the way.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Plzeň is not just beer: with children, Techmania fills a morning, the tunnels of the historical underground delight them and the St Bartholomew tower is a challenge for those who already climb stairs. The brewery is better for the older ones.
With small children, Plzeň works if the plan revolves around Techmania, where they can touch everything, and a while in the tunnels of the historical underground.
For teenagers, Plzeň combines challenges and curiosities: climbing the tallest church tower in the country, getting lost in the tunnels beneath the town, the Great Synagogue and Techmania. They can do the brewery with you, without the tasting.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A four-star hotel on Republic Square, opposite the cathedral, with 77 rooms, a restaurant, a wellness area with sauna and courtyard parking by reservation.
Why we like it: A four-star hotel in the courtyard of a former brewery in Černice, on the outskirts of Plzeň, with its own brewery, a restaurant and beer baths.
Why we like it: A conference hotel next to Borský Park, with an outdoor pool, a restaurant, parking and an electric charger; the centre is 15 minutes' walk or 5 by tram.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a Czech dish with an unfiltered Pilsner Urquell, after the brewery tour.
What to order: ask about the house seasonal menu.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
50.04° N · 13.87° E
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49.94° N · 14.19° E
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Tips
Tours fill up in season; choose your language or use the app in Spanish.
The cellars are at about 5 °C even in summer.
They are side by side and can be booked on the same website.
Techmania closes on Monday; the synagogue, Friday and Saturday.
Plzeň is Czechia's fourth-largest city and the birthplace of pale lager: in 1842 the city's brewers made the first golden lager, the pilsner, which today gives its name to half the beers in the world. You can tour the whole Pilsner Urquell brewery, right down to the cellars where you are served a glass of unfiltered beer. But Plzeň also has an enormous square with a Gothic cathedral, the tallest church tower in the country, one of the largest synagogues in the world and a maze of tunnels beneath the old town. It is an easy day trip from Prague.
By train, from Prague's main station to Plzeň hlavní nádraží, in about an hour and a half. From the station the brewery is about ten minutes' walk and Republic Square about fifteen, or a tram stop away.
By car, about 90 km along the D5 motorway, around an hour. You can stop at Karlštejn Castle on the way. In the centre, park in a paid car park and get around on foot.
In the morning, the brewery. The Pilsner Urquell tour lasts a little over an hour and a half: the brewing process, the brewhouse and the cellars at 5 °C, where you are served the unfiltered, unpasteurised beer. Have lunch at Na Spilce, the brewery restaurant inside the complex.
In the afternoon, the centre. Climb the tower of the Cathedral of St Bartholomew, on Republic Square; go down into the historical underground, with the Brewery Museum next door; and call in at the Great Synagogue, five minutes from the square.
With children, swap the brewery for Techmania, the science centre in the old Škoda halls, where they will spend the morning touching and experimenting.
Any month: almost everything is indoors and the brewery is open all year. Watch the closing days: Techmania is closed on Mondays; the Great Synagogue on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays. In summer and on bank-holiday weekends, book the brewery tour in advance.
The brewery costs 430 CZK per adult; the underground, 250 CZK; the Brewery Museum, 150 CZK; the tower, from 110 CZK; the Great Synagogue, from 140 CZK; Techmania, 280 CZK. A meal at Na Spilce with beer comes to around 300–450 CZK.
Questions
About an hour and a half by train; an hour by car.
Guided tours run in several languages; if there is no Spanish slot, the SmartGuide app narrates the tour in Spanish.
Yes, with an adult; the tasting is for over-18s only.
The tower of St Bartholomew's, the historical underground, the Great Synagogue and Techmania.
Yes, comfortably by train.
At Na Spilce, inside the brewery, or on the square.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/czechia/pilsen
