Why go?

The name says it all. Home of the famous brew, Pilsner Urquell, the city of Pilsen loves its beer. But while it would be just plain wrong to spend a ‘dry’ weekend here, there’s much more to this Czech centre than foaming tankards. Colourful architecture, beehive-like network of subterranean tunnels, and rustic, meaty stews that would make vegetarians weep combine to make a city break as memorable as it is thirst quenching.

What to do

The city frames the gothic cathedral of St Bartholomew, inside which you’ll find the Madonna of Pilsen, a 14th-century treasure sculpted from marl. St Bartholomew’s 102 metre-tall tower offers a great bird’s eye view of the city and the square below, which is fringed by period buildings in Easter-egg shades of pink, blue, green and yellow. The Renaissance town hall is the most remarkable building of all, with its painstakingly detailed black and white sgraffito exterior. To the west, the pink-brick figure of the Great Synagogue – the third largest in the world, and second largest in Europe – reaches towards the sky. A large Jewish community thrived in Pilsen before the Second World War, but when 2,600 Jews were deported, the structure was turned into a uniform workshop. Bullet hotels still stud its Ten Commandments. From here you can walk the municipal garden circle, a former moat, and visit the old butchers’ market or the gothic water tower (both now housing art galleries) or the Franciscan Monastery. Pilsen has an intricate network of underground tunnels that stretch some 20km and date to the 14th century. Tour a small part to see the artefacts discovered in these former workshops and beer cellars. The adjoining Brewery Museum serves a fine pour of Pilsner Urquell. Of course, it’s obligatory to visit the iconic brewery itself (prazdrojvisit.cz) where you can tour the 19th-century copper stills and drink unfiltered, unpasteurised Pilsner in the historic cellars.

Where to stay

A central location right in the old town – directly opposite the Brewery Museum – makes the Courtyard Pilsen (00 420 373 370 100, marriott.co.uk) one of the best bets in the city Hotel Palace Pilsen (00 420 377 539 669, hotelpp.cz), a mere stumble across from the Pilsner Urquell brewery, is a newly built, simple but comfortable place to stay.

Where to eat and drink

It’s nearly impossible to avoid Pilsner her – and you wouldn’t want to – but bear in mind that not all pours are created equal. Only a handful of places serve it unfiltered, but they’re worth seeking out. 12 Degrees (a reference to Czech measurements of alcoholic strength), on Kopeckeno sady, is one of the best; it also does a mean goulash, one of the city’s favourite dishes. PI.JEZ.PI (pijezpi.eu) is a reliable lunch spot, with both lighter and classic Czech fare – dumplings and braised meats, or steak tartare. You can sample traditional sausages and head cheeses at the Pilsner Urquell brewery, or try the beer garden at Pivovar Groll (00 420 602 596 161, pivovargroll.cz), another one of the city’s breweries. A short drive from the city centre, Purkmistr (00 420 377 994 311, purkmistr.cz) is a micro-brewery, hotel, restaurant and – impressively – beer spa, at which you’ll find a hearty lunch of beef cheek in dark beer, or lager-soaked pork knuckle with potatoes. Wash it all down with its own selection of brews (you can ask to see the brewery in the basement) – it produces limited-edition flavours regularly, and all are excellent. The Mestanska Beseda theatre boasts a lovely Secessionist café, but stop for a snack at SiCaffé Isis (sicaffe.cz) on the river’s edge – it doesn’t look like much, but its thick wedges of cream cakes, in countless flavours, are the stuff of local legend. Go for the caramel, chocolate and banana combo – you won’t regret it.

Time running out?

Stop off at one of the three branches of The Pub (thepub.cz). Each table comes with its own Pilsner Urquell tap. You only pay for what you pour, but with a screen keeping track of each table’s consumption, things can quickly become competitive

Travel Information

Travel Information

Currency is the euro. Pilsen is one hour ahead of GMT. It’s an hour’s drive (one and a half hours by bus, one hour 45 minutes by train) from Prague, which is a two-hour flight from the UK.

Getting There

Easyjet (easyjet.com) flies from Bristol, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Manchester to Prague.
British Airways (ba.com) flies to Prague from London Heathrow.

Resources

Czech Tourism (czechtourism.com) will help you plan a trip and
Pilsen Tourism (plzen.eu) is a good source of local information.