Events & Festivals in Czech Republic

Classical marathon inside the ornate State Opera: hear Dvořák's Slavonic Dances under gilded ceilings while frost etches the windows and roasted chestnuts scent the foyer.

Raucous pre-Lenten carnival where villagers march in hand-painted masks, brass bands blare from doorways and you nibble sweet koláče pastries chased with Slivovice plum brandy.

Village Hlinsko keeps mask season alive with bell-jingling processions and door-to-door doughnut runs. Bite into plum jam-filled 'kobliha' still warm from oil.

Timber stalls wrapped in yellow birch garlands sell hand-painted eggs, braided pomlázka whips and hot honey cake. Cinnamon drifts beneath Gothic towers.

Ten days of foam-capped steins: 150 brews from indie micros to legendary Pilsner Urquell, poured in cooled tents along the Vltava while accordion trios weave between wooden benches.

Looping 42 km past red-tiled rooftops, across Charles Bridge at dawn and through leafy Stromovka park. Crowds clang cowbells and press salty pretzel sticks into runners' hands.

Colourful horseback parade through Vlčnov; a boy-king in women's dress rides between plum-blossom racks while floral-scarved crowds cheer.

Český Krumlov's Renaissance fair: jesters tumble on cobblestones, falcons dive over the Vltava bend and rose-scented water squirts from leather flasks.

Open-air museum thrums with embroidered skirts, cymbalo music and grilled mutton smoke. Dancers stamp sawdust yards in South-Moravian costume.

Jazz and classical fusion in Brno's abbey gardens where Gregor Mendel once tended peas; candle-lit terraces echo with double-bass riffs and clinking Bohemian crystal.

National commemoration of reformer Jan Hus. Church bells toll at noon across Czech Republic, and Prague's Bethlehem Chapel welcomes respectful visitors to Czech-language services.

Eastern Europe's premier cinema show. Catch indie premiers in Art-Nouveau Thermal Hotel cinemas while spa colonnades hiss with warm mineral water.

Historic car rally through forested spa region; motor-oil tang mixes with pine resin as 1920s Bentleys rumble past colonnades.

Rainbow parade floats glide past powder-coated Baroque façades; after-parties thump on Vltava embankment where food trucks dish paprika-loaded langos.

The 14th-century Karlštejn Castle courtyard fills with Moravian winemakers. Sip citrusy Grüner Veltliner while trumpeters in period gear sound fanfares from the ramparts.

The flat course loops the historic square's Baroque arcades. Spectators press hot, foil-wrapped varene brambory, chunks of potato dusted with rock salt, into runners' hands.

Famous 6.9 km horse race over water jumps and hedges. Pounding hooves fling sandy turf while spectators sip sweet spiced burčák and the air carries the scent of wet leaves.

After-dark light art turns Baroque façades into shifting galaxies. Follow the glowing trail from Vinohrady to the castle while headphones pulse with electronic scores.

Silent procession from Wenceslas Square to Národní Street. Thousands raise candles, the air flickers with flames and 'We Shall Overcome' rises in Czech.

Roast goose crackles in pub ovens while St. Martin's wines uncork at 11:11 a.m.; sip young white and crisp svatomartinské alongside soft bread dumplings.

Wooden huts draped in pine boughs grill honeyed trdelník pastries over charcoal. Choirs sing beneath the towering tree while snowflakes settle on red rooftops.

Evening when white-bearded St. Nicholas, angel and devil trios roam streets quizzing kids on carols. Sweets or coal drop into small hands amid ringing hand-bells.