Getaways from Prague: day trips and destinations close by.

For almost everything, Czech trains and buses are enough

There are direct flights to Prague airport from Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga, Seville, Bilbao and Palma de Mallorca, and from Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. For most of the outings you do not need a car: Czech trains and buses reach almost all the castles and towns on this page.

From the main station, Praha hlavní nádraží, trains leave for Kutná Hora, for Plzeň, for Tábor, on the way to České Budějovice, and for Benešov, for Konopiště. The commuter train towards Beroun, also from Smíchov, stops at Karlštejn, and at Beroun you change to the Berounka valley train towards Křivoklát. Along the Elbe valley, a train goes to Děčín, gateway to Bohemian Switzerland, and the direct EC carries on to Bad Schandau, already in Saxon Switzerland. By bus you go to Karlovy Vary; to Mělník, from Holešovice or Ládví, on metro line C; to Terezín and Litoměřice, from Holešovice, and to Lidice, by metro A and a bus.

With a hire car, and with the electronic motorway vignette, the D10 climbs towards Turnov and the Bohemian Paradise; the D5 goes west, towards Plzeň and Mariánské Lázně; the D8 crosses into Germany towards the Bastei, and via Mělník you reach the Kokořín valley.

Karlštejn, Charles IV's castle, and central Bohemia

Less than an hour away is central Bohemia. Lidice, 30 minutes away, is a half day; Mělník, 40, combines a castle, wine and the confluence of the Vltava and the Elbe; Karlštejn, 45, Charles IV's castle; Konopiště and Kokořín, 50, and Terezín, 55.

The fan opens out between an hour and an hour and a half. Křivoklát and Litoměřice with Terezín are 60 minutes away; Plzeň, 65, with the Pilsner Urquell brewery and the tunnels under the city; Tábor and Kutná Hora, 75, and the Bohemian Paradise, 80, with the rock town of Hrubá Skála and the towers of Trosky. This last has a night for sleeping in the castle and adding Prachovské skály the next day.

Between an hour and a half and two hours are the longer outings: the Bastei, Königstein and the Kirnitzschtal in Saxon Switzerland, 100 minutes away; Karlovy Vary and Bohemian Switzerland, 110, and Mariánské Lázně and Hluboká, 120. Hluboká is best done as a night with Budějovice, with the Budvar brewery and the boat on the Vltava.

Karlovy Vary and its open-air thermal pool

In winter, choose what does not depend on the castles' opening hours, which are open few days or only by appointment. Karlovy Vary is better than ever, with the open-air thermal pool; Plzeň opens the brewery, the underground and the tower, and Mariánské Lázně works all year round. Terezín closes at 16:00: you need to set out early. In Kutná Hora, from December to February, the Hrádek mine is closed.

In spring, from April to June, the castles return: Konopiště opens its tours and greenhouses, Kokořín is open from Tuesday to Sunday from May and the Bohemian Paradise is at its best in May and June. In June and July the Lidice rose garden blooms.

In summer, Bohemian Switzerland has boats through the Edmundova gorge every day and the Pravčická brána arch open, and in July and August Tábor opens every day. It is the season for Hluboká and for the three tours of Křivoklát. In Karlovy Vary, it is best to avoid the days of the July film festival.

In autumn, September brings the grape harvest festival at Mělník, and in October the forest of the Kirnitzschtal changes colour. In the Bohemian Paradise, September and October are as good as spring.

The Sedlec ossuary as you step off the train

• Without a car, in a day: Kutná Hora. Train from the main station, the Sedlec ossuary as you get off, a medieval mine with a helmet and St Barbara's at the end of the day.
• With a car, in a day: Bohemian Paradise. 80 minutes on the D10, the rock town from viewpoint to viewpoint, Valdštejn castle and the towers of Trosky at dusk.
• With one night: Hluboká and Budějovice. The neo-Gothic castle at Hluboká, the tasting at Budvar, a night on the square and the boat on the Vltava.