Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov is a small town in South Bohemia wrapped into an S-shaped bend of the Vltava, its red roofs, Gothic church and Renaissance houses kept almost untouched since the 18th century; the whole centre is a UNESCO site.

Above it stands the castle of the Rosenberg lords, the second largest in the country after Prague's, with a painted round tower, bears in the moat, a rococo garden and a baroque theatre that still has its original stage machinery. Below, an art centre remembers Egon Schiele, who lived here, and in summer rafts and canoes drift through the town over its weirs.

Coach groups fill the lanes at summer middays, so stay the night to see it empty. Prague is about three hours away by bus, Linz under an hour and a half by car.

Eat svíčková, beef in cream sauce with dumplings, South Bohemian carp or river trout, and drink Eggenberg beer, brewed in the castle's old brewery.