Kutna Hora

It’s hard to imagine today, but in its time this town about 65km southeast of Prague was Bohemia’s most important after Prague. This was due to the rich veins of silver below the town itself, and the silver groschen minted here was the hard currency of central Europe at the time. Today the town is a fraction of its old self, but is still dressed up in enough magnificent architectural monuments for it to have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1996. With a pastel-hued square dotted with cafés, medieval alleys with facades from Gothic to Cubist, and a cathedral to rival St Vitus, comparisons with Prague are hard to resist. Kutna Hora is certainly as densely picturesque as Prague, and blessed with warmer people and lower prices.

The historical centre is compact enough to see on foot. Those who need their dose of ‘culture’ will have no trouble finding their cravings fulfilled by the fascinating sights on offer. For a truly macabre sight, there is a cemetery at Sedlec with a Gothic ossuary decorated with the bones of some 40,000 people. For some beautiful religious architecture minus bones, visit the Gothic Church of Our Lady, the St James Church, the 17th-century former Jesuit College, which has Baroque sculpture in front of it, the Cathedral of St Barbara and the Ursuline Convent, which houses an exhibition of antiques. If you are interested in the town’s mining history, visit the Hradek Mining Museum and the medieval mine shafts.

Mikulov

Totally underrated, Mikulov and its castle sit precariously on a hill in the centre of the flat wine-growing region of Palava, a UNESCO-designated biospheric reservation. One of South Moravia’s highlights, Mikulov has some very impressive monuments but is most popular for its excellent white wines.

There’s a restored castle on the west side of the town and a museum that includes local archaeology and natural history, paintings and weapons, and excellent displays of regional folk traditions and wine making. It’s very close to the border with Austria and is a perfect stop-off to or from Vienna.

TelÄ?

This charming 13th-century UNESCO world heritage town was originally founded as a settlement around a Romanesque church. During its rule by the lords of Hradec, a castle and ponds were built, and after a huge fire in 1530 most of the town’s houses were rebuilt in Renaissance style.

Dominating the centre of town are the Renaissance castle, the towers of St James Church and the Baroque Holy Name of Jesus Church. Among the square’s charming Renaissance houses, don’t miss the town’s smallest house in the south-east corner, an object lesson in the use of space.

Zlata Koruna

At little Zlata Koruna (Gold Crown) above the Vltava you’ll find one of the country’s best preserved Gothic structures - a Cistercian Monastery, founded in 1263 by Premysl Otakar II to demonstrate his power in the region. The village’s main square is actually built inside the monastery.

Originally the Saintly Crown of Thorns, in later wealthier days the monastery was renamed the Gold Crown (hence the town’s name). In 1420 it was damaged by the Hussites, and later restored. The Monastery Cathedral, completed at the end of the 13th century, is clearly Gothic despite its facelift.

Český Krumlov

ÄŒeský Krumlov is one of Bohemia’s most beautiful towns, with a well-preserved historical centre that is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The city’s castle is the second largest in the Czech Republic and it dominates the town from a hill overlooking a horseshoe-shaped bend of the Vltava river.

The town’s traffic-free historic centre is a magic area of narrow cobbled streets lined with Renaissance and Baroque facades. Half the townspeople dress in Renaissance costume to welcome the summer solstice with a procession, street theatre, mock duels and chess matches played with human pieces.

Å umava

For large, tranquil forests, unpolluted and undamaged by acid rain, you can’t go past the Å umava Mountains, which stretch along the border with Austria and Germany. The only wildlife left behind by past hunting are birds, though deer have been re-introduced. Wildflowers abound throughout the range.

The oldest mountains in the Czech Republic, the Å umava - two rounded ranges with high plains and moors between them - are ideal for walking or trekking, and although the mountainous terrain rules out cycling on most hiking trails, the many dirt roads are good for an adventurous and challenging ride.