The best day trips from Mariánské Lázně: Karlovy Vary, Plzeň, Loket Castle, Kladská and Teplá Monastery.
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The circular fountain in front of the colonnade 'sings' every odd hour from April to October — water patterns weaving through music from Mozart to film scores. In the evening at 9 and 10 pm, coloured lights join the play.
The historic house on the main street now holds the tourist information centre, a gallery and the Fryderyk Chopin memorial — the composer lodged here in 1836 on his only spa visit. Freshly restored, it is a lively cultural centre with concerts and exhibitions.
The octagonal deanery church of 1844–1848 above Goethe Square, built in neo-Byzantine style to plans by Munich architect Gutensohn. Inside, the light-filled central space beneath the dome comes as a surprise.
Bohemia's oldest operating cabin cable car floats from the Koliba bottom station up to the Krakonoš hotel — from there it is a short stroll to the Boheminium miniature park. It runs April to October every 15 minutes, and bikes and strollers travel free.
A wooden cross on the slope right above the New Baths, with the classic view over the spa valley — this is the very spot from which Goethe, Abbot Reitenberger and landscape gardener Skalník surveyed the young town. A short but rewarding walk from the colonnade.
A late-Baroque village church from 1790 in Úšovice — the oldest church in what is now Mariánské Lázně, consecrated before the spa town even existed. A quiet, graceful spot away from the spa bustle.
The museum occupies the town's oldest surviving house, built in 1818 — Goethe lodged here in 1823. Exhibitions cover the birth of the spa, its famous guests and the nature of the Slavkov Forest; the Geological Park begins just behind the building.
A ten-hectare open-air trail through beech forest above the Town Museum: along 1.5 km of paths you meet rocks from all over the Slavkov Forest, with plantings matched to the bedrock. Freely accessible all year round.
A slender neo-Gothic chapel from 1909, built above the Forest Spring by theatre director Julius Laska in memory of his mother — it bears his name. Folk usage turned "Laska" into the Czech "láska", love: known as the Chapel of Love, it remains a favourite destination for romantic walks.
A marble vase on a pedestal from 1836 commemorates Count Waldstein, a generous spa guest; the verses on the monument praise his charity. It stands on a terrace in the spa forest, just steps from the promenade paths.
A sea of granite boulders in the most romantic corner of the spa forest known as Little Switzerland; a plaque commemorates Saxon King Frederick Augustus II, who botanised here in the 1830s. Old promenade paths criss-cross between the rocks.
A natural play park in the Pott Valley by the Prelate Spring: rope elements, a water world with a mill wheel, a wooden locomotive and a clay cave. Entry is free — and children will happily spend a whole afternoon here.
A landscaped park around the glazed small colonnade of the Ferdinand Spring in Úšovice — the spa's oldest captured spring. Among mature trees stand the sculptures Spring and The Lovers, and the Rudolf Spring rises just a few steps away.
A stone lookout tower from 1876 above the spa quarter. The forest walk up from the colonnade is a treat in itself — at the top, the view opens over the rooftops of Marienbad.
A memorial spruce that germinated around 1818 — the year Marienbad was declared a public spa — and grew to 39 metres. A storm felled it in 2017, but the mighty trunk remains protected where it lies; walkers still make the pilgrimage to the "fallen king" along the forest avenues.
A freely bubbling mineral spring deep in the forest north of town — the destination of a classic spa-walk through the woods. Tasting a cupful is part of the ritual, just as in Goethe’s day.
The Czech Republic's landmarks at 1:25 scale — dozens of lovingly detailed models of castles and monuments in a park above the town. Reachable on foot through the forest, by the regular city bus that serves the park — or by the cabin cable car up to Krakonoš.
A peat bog that bubbles and smells of sulphur: a short boardwalk takes you right over the mofettes — vents of volcanic gas that earned the place its nickname, "the Stinker".
A steel lookout tower near Drmoul from 2008: 207 steps take you to the platform at 40 metres, with views of the Slavkov Forest, Dyleň and Přimda. The tower stays closed in the winter months for safety.
A family brewery with centuries-old rock-hewn cellars, a brewery restaurant and a genuine beer spa. A different kind of cure — and by train it is just one stop from Marienbad.
An extinct volcano rising to 847 metres — the highest point in the area. The summit rocks offer a sweeping panorama of the Slavkov Forest; Goethe himself came here for his geological studies.
A pond amid the meadows and forests of the Slavkov Forest near Prameny — natural swimming with no facilities, but with views of the surrounding hills. Combines nicely with a trip to the Three Crosses.
Chancellor Metternich's neoclassical chateau, home to a world-class cabinet of curiosities and a vast landscape park. Its daguerreotype collection is inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World register.
An enchanted stream valley of old mills and footbridges, winding down from Michalovy Hory to the Mže river. A hike for those who seek silence — you are more likely to meet herons than people.
Waterlogged meadows opposite the Three Crosses, protected as a national natural monument: in late spring thousands of yellow globeflowers light them up, and the rare dwarf birch grows here too. View the flowering meadow from the path — ideally together with the neighbouring crosses.
Three crosses from 1859 on a serpentinite ridge above Prameny, now a national natural monument: the endemic Cerastium alsinifolium grows nowhere else on Earth, and grazing goats tend the rare flora. The rocky outcrop itself is off limits — but the views from the path are worth the trip alone.
Wooden boardwalks circle a still lake amid the upland peat bogs of the Slavkov Forest, passing a picturesque hunting lodge from 1875. The most beloved walk among spa guests — level and lovely in every season.
The Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1193 — its abbots once founded Marienbad itself. The highlight is the magnificent library of some 100,000 volumes, among the largest monastic libraries in Bohemia.
A thermal spa just across the Bavarian border: mineral baths, saunas and wellness in Neualbenreuth. The perfect rainy-day complement to a Marienbad cure.
At 940 metres, a legend-shrouded peak on the old Iron Curtain border zone. The hike through deep frontier forests is demanding but wonderfully solitary.
Georg Dientzenhofer’s baroque masterpiece on a hill near Waldsassen: the Trinity church is built entirely on the number three — three towers, three apses, one perfectly circular plan. One of the most original churches in Central Europe.
A stone tower from 1935 whose path spirals up around the outside — unique among Bohemian lookout towers. Wide views over the old mining landscape of the Slavkov Forest.
A Romanesque-Gothic keep above Černošín, its round tower stump recognisable from afar. A short climb up the Vlčí hora slopes rewards you with wide views over the Mže valley.
Once one of the richest tin-mining towns in Europe — it gave the Slavkov Forest its name. A Gothic church, Renaissance burgher houses and a mining museum recall its silver and tin glory.
A Cistercian abbey just across the border, with a splendid basilica and one of the most beautiful libraries in Bavaria — the carved atlantes of its Stiftsbibliothek are world-famous. Worth the detour nearby: the Kappl pilgrimage church.
A medieval castle above the Teplá valley, home to the Reliquary of St Maurus — the most precious goldsmith work in the country after the crown jewels. The train ride from Marienbad through the river valley is a journey worth taking in itself.
A thousand years of history around one market square: the timbered Špalíček houses, an imperial castle with a rare Romanesque double chapel, and the place where Wallenstein was assassinated. A direct train ride from Marienbad.
Bohemia’s youngest volcano — and the site of a famous scientific dispute that Goethe tried to settle by having an exploratory adit dug. Today a gentle walking hill with an astonishing story.
The ancestral castle of the lords of Švamberk crowns a free-standing hill above open fields. A short climb rewards you with one of the finest panoramas in western Bohemia.
The smallest spa town in western Bohemia — quiet, green and blissfully unhurried. A spa park, a naturally carbonated spring and gentle walking and cycling trails all around: an afternoon of slowing down.
Perhaps the most romantic ruin in western Bohemia, perched above the quiet Hadovka valley. Freely accessible, wildly picturesque, and best reached on a circular hike from Konstantinovy Lázně or Okrouhlé Hradiště.
A royal mining town above the Mže river whose name means “silver”: a sgraffito Renaissance town hall, old gates and an open-air mining museum by the historic bridge. On the direct rail line towards Plzeň.
A town ringed by an almost complete medieval wall, with a chateau and a lively square. The real star stands just outside at Světce: the second-largest riding hall in Europe, a neo-Romanesque colossus in the woods.
Germany’s largest archaeological open-air museum, just across the border: an entire medieval village with a Slavic settlement, a motte tower and craftspeople in period dress. Hands-on history for the whole family.
One of Bohemia’s foremost pilgrimage sites: the baroque provostry of the Knights of the Cross, its twin-towered church visible far across the Ohře valley. A place of quiet power with 700 years of pilgrim history.
Straight out of a picture book, the castle grows from massive granite boulders above the Waldnaab river. A museum inside tells its eventful story — and down in the village, a Zoigl tavern serves Upper Palatinate beer culture.
Santini’s masterpiece of Baroque Gothic: the abbey church of the Assumption, among the largest in Bohemia, fuses Gothic forms with baroque imagination into a space that takes your breath away.
A Gothic castle above a tight bend of the Ohře river, with a perfectly preserved medieval town below. Goethe celebrated his birthday here — today the castle, the lanes and the riverside amphitheatre do the charming.
The little sister of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle: imperial-yellow façades, colonnades and spa parks straight out of the Belle Époque. Rubbing the toe of the little bronze boy František is said to bring luck.
A moonscape in Bohemia: boardwalks lead across a mineral peatland of bubbling mud volcanoes and mofettes — the ground steams, hisses and shimmers with mineral colours.
One of the oldest surviving castles in Bohemia (c. 1200), right in the village of Skalná — with a Romanesque chapel and vaulted cellars that today house a castle tavern. Small, authentic, welcoming.
A Romanesque castle on a rocky spur in the Cheb region, a stone’s throw from Františkovy Lázně. Exhibitions of period furniture and Egerland folk culture make it a rewarding half-day trip.
An 800-year-old castle being brought back to life stone by stone by volunteers from around the world — castle bakery included. Visitors experience heritage restoration up close, and can even lend a hand.
The remains of Bohemia's oldest stone castle (c. 1121) stand watch on a striking hill above the Bohemian Forest. A short, brisk climb leads to Romanesque masonry and views deep into Bavaria.
Granite towers above the Ohře river — a petrified wedding party, according to legend. The level riverside path is a delight even with a stroller, and there is a restaurant right beneath the rocks.
The grand sister among the spa towns: the 72 °C Hot Spring geyser, opulent colonnades, the Diana observation tower and the home of Becherovka. A full day of spa tradition and film-festival glamour.
A Gothic ruin on a steep rocky cone near Karlovy Vary with one of the finest panoramas in the region — from the Ore Mountains to the Slavkov Forest. The short, steep climb rewards in every season.
Alexander von Humboldt called it “the most beautiful basalt cone in Europe”: an exposed wall of towering basalt columns crowned by a chapel, with a modern volcano museum in the village below. Geology as theatre.
The “baroque pearl of western Bohemia”: a chateau, church and a whole small town lined with sandstone statues, as if the 18th century had never ended here. The density of sculpture is unmatched in Bohemia.
Where Heinrich Mattoni built his mineral-water empire: Swiss-style pavilions and colonnades above the Ohře, restored piece by piece after years of decay. Plus a museum of Bohemia’s most famous mineral-water brand.
The smallest town in Central Europe: a handful of houses, a monastery church, castle remnants and a Gothic stone bridge deep in the Střela valley. A place like a painting — and almost without tourists.
Santini’s pilgrimage church of the Annunciation, its radiant dome completed only in our own time — following his original plans. The cloisters house the Museum of the Northern Plzeň Region.
A 13th-century guard castle, rebuilt by the Buquoy family into a neo-Gothic seat, is slowly coming back to life after decades of decay. You can explore Gothic cellars, the knight's hall with its carved ceiling, the tower and the castle park — half ruin, half château, all romance.
The city where Pilsner beer was invented in 1842: a brewery tour with cellar tasting, St Bartholomew’s Cathedral with Bohemia’s tallest church spire, and a market square of royal proportions. Direct train from Marienbad.
A maze of nearly a hundred mirrors right on the main street — the largest of its kind in western Bohemia. Dead ends, optical illusions and endless reflections entertain children and adults alike, whatever the weather.
A sandstone obelisk with stone benches from 1849 on the Hamelika hillside, where Goethe liked to sit with Ulrike von Levetzow. The base carries lines from his Wanderer's Night Songs, and the promenade paths continue to the Hamelika lookout tower.
A viewing platform on a rocky outcrop in the spa forests, laid out in 1850 and named after Baron Mecséry, governor of Bohemia. A wooden pavilion once stood here; today it offers one of the loveliest views of the town.
A lookout above the town named after Queen Carola, a distinguished spa guest; an observation pavilion was built here in 1875. It sits on the slope between the Forest Spring and the cemetery and combines well with the walk to the Laska Chapel.
A forest resting spot with a view where Abbot Alfred Clementso of Teplá liked to pause — during his era (1888–1900) the cast-iron colonnade and the Casino social house were built. An atmospheric stop on the Little Switzerland loop.
A quiet forest pond east of the town, reached by a pleasant walk through the spa forests. No facilities — just water, woods and calm; on hot summer days it invites a refreshing dip.
A forest-ringed natural swimming lake on the edge of town, with sandy and grassy beaches: pedal boats, beach volleyball, a kiosk and evenings by the water. Open daily 10 am to 7 pm in season.
