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City in the Czech Republic
Photo: Brendan Macpherson - User: (WT-shared) Brendio at wts wikivoyage - (WT-en) Brendio at English Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
České Budějovice (also known as Budweis in German and English) is in South Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. The town has since grown into the metropolitan centre. It is the largest town in South Bohemia region and it has approximately 96,000 inhabitants.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Naměstí Přemysla Otakara II
The immense square in the middle of the town. Historical landmarks here include St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Black Tower, Samson's Fountain and the distinct yellow-coloured Včela Palace.
In the middle of the square there is one of the symbol of the town, the Baroque Samson’s Fountain. It was created in the years 1721-1726 by Zachariáš Horn and the statues were created by Josef Dietrich. On the top is a statue of the biblical hero Samson.
The Erratic Boulder is not far from the Samson’s fountain, marked with a cross. It used to have an execution scaffold, and legend says that anybody who crosses the Erratic Boulder after 22:00 will not find his way home and will wander the city until the morning.
The building with three towers was built in the Renaissance style in 1555. Today it is an elegant Baroque building from 1727-1730 built by A.E. Martinelli. It is decorated by Dietrich’s statues allegories of Justice, Courage, Wisdom and Caution and symbols of the Town and Bohemia.
Built as a Gothic building in the 13th century. However, it burned down in the 17th century and today’s appearance is Baroque. There are three statues at the frontage: St. Wenceslas, St. Nicholas and St. Auratian. The interior of the church is very simple. The most important part is the main altar from the 18th century.
The main dominant of České Budějovice, a 72-m-high renaissance tower that was completed in 1577 and there are six bells in the tower, the largest of which is called Bumerin.
The Iron Maiden and Rabenštejnská Tower, parts of the old fortifications and the last remaining part of the fortifications of the middle-age Budějovice. The Iron Maiden dating back to the 14th century. It is named after the instrument of torture, which was located inside.
brewery Budvar
Karoliny Světlé 4. Take a tour of the town's largest brewery and home of "Budweiser" brand beer sold in most of Europe. Make sure to call several days in advance to schedule a tour, or if that's not possible, tours for visitors without reservations take place each day at 14:00. Visitors aged 18 or over are also able to visit the beer-tasting cellar. This is not the same as the "Budweiser" beer sold in the United States and Canada; due to trademark disputes over the name with US-based Anheuser-Busch, this is sold in the Americas under the "Budvar" or "Czechvar" name.
The museum is in the horse railway station. It is the first railway station in continental Europe.
It has a rich collection relating to the history and nature of South Bohemia. Natural history collections of primeval South Bohemia, history of the Middle Ages, and arts of the 17th and 18th century.
It belongs to the five largest institutions of its kind in the Czech Republic. A permanent exhibition South Bohemian Gothic paintings on wood and sculpture 13–16th century. Flemish and Dutch paintings of the 17th century. Part of the exhibits are housed in Wortner House in České Budějovice.
Zoo Hluboká
It is located near Hluboká nad Vltavou and České Budějovice, which is the capital of the region, lies 8 km away. The zoo can be reached very easily by train, bus or car and it is open daily all year.
Like golf (with 18 holes), but you play with a frisbee.
Meaning "a little bakery in a window", you can buy various baked goods here. Be sure to try the Zelňák (cabbage pita).
Espresso bar with interior and patio.
A coffee shop with an interesting name. It means "shy coffee" in Czech.
A cafe right by the river. You can rent a paddleboat at the cafe to paddle in the two rivers in České Budějovice.
Butcher’s Market
Famous local restaurant, formerly a butcher’s market. It was founded in 1364. It is your best chance to try the traditional food of region.
a really nice little beer hall just off the main town square. It is owned by Budvar and has four of their beers on draft. The food includes lots of traditional Czech dishes and is cheap and very nice.
An excellent value bar/restaurant on the main square and very nice freshly made pizzas.
A stylish Czech restaurant with large choice and the interior is decorated with Middle Ages legends.
Healthy bio cuisine including vegetarian dishes, vegetable salads and soups.
There is a climbing wall and popular healthy restaurant.
A soup restaurant where you can eat the edible soup container afterwards.
Meaning "they froze", this ice cream shop has many flavours of scoop ice cream.
Irish-style pub. The name is derived from old school Singer sewing machines on the tables inside.
A branch of another Czech brewery Staropramen franchise pubs. Select the place on the roof top terrace during the hot summer days to sip the beer or cocktail while look over the river Malse to Stromovka recreational park.
Bar with a terrace that overlooks the bridge and the Vltava river.
A restaurant with its own brewery.
Café sharing the building with a small cinema.
Small cafe right on the main square near with awesome views on what's happening on the square as it is on the first floor (don't give up and walk through the stores on the ground floor to the stairs if you want to enter).
odern café with Davidoff coffee and wide selection of cakes and other desserts.
Café on the west side of the main square with highly decorated interior purely in black & white tones. Good coffee, views of the square, but a bit lack of atmosphere.
"New kid on the block" right next to the city hall. One of the pluses here are particularly quite late opening hours every day.
Café in one of the oldest buildings in the city near city walls. In the hot summer day don't sit outside, but try to find your chair inside in small yard between the buildings where you can avoid the sun and where the temperature stays always comfortable. Take one of the Lavazza coffee magazines to learn something new.
Small place with a bar, two tables outside during the summer and less frequent coffee brand which also gives a name to this place.
If you want cake then head here! There is one opposite the train station, another on the main square and another just off the main square on the way to Tesco.
Trendy styled pub/restaurant with occasional live jazz music.
Small alternative music club near city centre. The program contains mainly rock, punk & alternative, but it is regularly mixed with other modern styles.
Café and club in modern space. It organizes regular performances every month.
Small theatre which is very popular among university students.
Hostel.
This hotel has 60 rooms (including one suite), very near the Vltava River.
Offers a range of rooms, including family rooms and triple rooms.
Wander around the large old town square and surrounding streets to find many specialised stores (i.e. butcher, produce, tea & spices, fabric and so on).
A pedestrianised street leading from the train station to the old town. Has various shops along its length, including a Billa supermarket and department store.
A two-storey shopping mall that shares space with the town's main bus terminal.
A shopping mall which also contains a pool and fitness centre (includes gym, squash, solarium, sauna, etc.) that is about 20 min by foot from the train station and is next to the Hotel Clarion Congress České Budějovice.
By bus
Buses leave frequently from "Na Knížecí" and "Roztyly" bus stations in Prague to here. The trip takes approximately 2–3 hours.
By train
From Prague, train is probably better than bus, as it is often more comfortable, faster, sometimes even cheaper and goes from centre to centre.
By car
The road from Prague is not very good, the Southern-Bohemian part of it is a new dual carriage highway (D3), but most of the Central-Bohemian part is a heavily congested two-lane road.
By plane
By bicycle
The city is somewhat bicycle-friendly with many bicycle paths.
By bus
There is an extensive network of public buses and trolleybuses that run quite frequently during the day. The cheapest ticket costs 30 Kč and is valid for one hour.
By taxi
The world-wide app Taxify is working in České Budějovice. The biggest legacy taxi company is Taxi Budějovice, 0042014014.
By car
Common traffic jams and difficult parking zones make getting around by car a poor means of transport across the city.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
České Budějovice · International · JCL
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Articles and travel topics about České Budějovice and Czechia.
Travel tipsThe railway system of the Czech Republic is relatively fast, reliable and very dense. In comparison to Western Europe, train travel is inexpensive and Czech trains are therefore very popular across all social classes.
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Food & drinkThis article is about the beverage. See also Beer (disambiguation).
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Food & drinkAs wine is usually regarded as the most sophisticated of alcoholic beverages, wine tourism or enotourism is highly developed in many regions around the world, and it can be as simple as hopping on a wine shuttle in Napa…
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Culture & historyFrom the end of World War II in 1945 until the Eastern European revolutions of 1989, Europe was divided between two political blocs: east and west. The border was figuratively called the Iron Curtain.
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