Czech Out Karlovy Vary, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad in English, Karlsbad in Deutsch), Czech Republic, is drop dead gorgeous. Then you also get to relax in one of the city's several spa-hotel options! The villa and mansion hotels are everywhere you look! For Marc and me, this was a no-brainer. We opted to stay in Hotel Smetana and had the entire basement spa to ourselves for nearly two hours!

Karlovy Vary is a little bit hilly but well-designed with walking trails to get to lookouts and good sidewalks in the city center. I recommend you start at the top of the mountain and wind your way down the Teplá River to where it joins the Ohře River at the base of the town. The whole premise of going to Karlovy Vary is to get these awesome spa and wellness treatments, and part of the prescription is going on walks around the beautiful city!

The best place to start your view and understanding of Karlovy Vary is at the Tower - View of Charles IV., also known as the Observation Deck. Here you can get the big panoramic views of the hillsides and town center alike while breathing in the crisp fresh clean air. Next on your path will be the Modern Art Museum Karlovy Vary, showing off 20th-century Czech artists in another older building. You'll start to notice that the city center of Karlovy Vary is nearly exclusively historical buildings, and we wouldn't have it any other way! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).