Things to Do in Karlovy Vary

Karlový Vary wakes to the hiss of thermal springs simmering beneath pastel colonnades, air thick with sulphur and pine drifting down from the Slavkov Forest. Belle Époque hotels in lemon, rose and pistachio icing line the Teplá River, wrought-iron balconies dripping geraniums. By mid-morning the spa promenade smells of waffle cones laced with vanilla and the metallic tang of mineral water poured from porcelain cups. Afternoons taste of wafer-thin oplatky cookies sandwiched around walnut cream; evenings bring the low hum of classical concerts drifting from the Grandhotel Pupp's chandelier-lit ballroom. The town keeps its fin-de-siècle manners intact: elderly Czechs still clutch porcelain beakers on prescribed walks between the dozen hot springs, measuring their progress in arcaded pavilions. Between treatments they gossip on spa benches, voices echoing under the glass roof of the Mill Colonnade. It's the sort of place where you'll overhear Russian spoken like a holdover from pre-Revolution days, where pharmacy windows still display Victorian cure-all posters, and where the hills above town smell of resin and woodsmoke from hidden cottages.

Karlovy Vary's dining scene revolves around spa cuisine and Russian money – you'll find borscht alongside beef tartare on Slovenská Street. The riverside strip from Mlýnská to Tržiště harbors mid-range Czech places serving dill-heavy soups and roast duck with caraway, while T.G. Masaryka Avenue caters to Moscow tastes with caviar service and vodka frozen into ice blocks. For wood-fired trout and forest mushroom sauces, the converted mill at Dvořákova 5 charges spa prices but earns them with river-view tables. Budget travelers head to the Tesco cafeteria on Moskevská for cafeteria goulash that locals swear beats tourist traps at half the cost.

May through September delivers warm evenings good for riverside dining, though July-August brings Russian tour groups and hotel rates spike accordingly. October paints the surrounding hills in copper tones and coincides with the International Film Festival when celebrities occupy the Pupp's suites – book six months ahead if you want to spot actors by the colonnade. Winter wraps Karlovy Vary in snow muffling the springs' hiss, with thermal pools steaming against frozen air; January sees spa packages at their cheapest but some restaurants close for renovations.