Tips on summer trips with kids

Summer in Pilsen offers rich cultural experiences for children. If you’re planning on extending your visit, you’ll find an array of places around Pilsen that’ll scratch your itch of wanting to escape the bustling city and relax in nature.

Taking the kids to Spálené Poříčí

Located 25 km from Pilsen, Spálené Poříčí is the smallest city to receive the honourable title of Historical City of the Year. Here you can check out the Renaissance chateau, the Baroque granary, the deanery with its old, Gothic chapel, and, last but not least, the mill and other smaller, sacral and secular monuments. If you’re visiting with children, you can’t skip the local fairy-tale routes. You’ll find three of them here: A Fairy Tale by Meadow and Forest, A Trip to See the Miller from Bradava, and Fairy Terezka’s Little Pearls (Loukou a lesem za pohádkou, Za mlynáři od Bradavy a Perličky víly Terezky) - maps. Little ones are sure to enjoy the wooden statues, climbing frames, swings, the special forest board game Sorry!, and loads of other outdoor games and tasks.

To the village at Knižská skála near Řenče

The one and only Baroque chateau in Nebílovy stands amongst the most attractive locations in the southern Pilsen Region – and its surroundings are just as interesting. About 8 km from here, you’ll find a place that is, according to multiple experts in earthly energy, literally packed with positive energy. At Knižská skála (map), beginning filmmaker Leoš Kastner built a village from the early Middle Ages, which he used in his envisaged film Zbojník. The village wasn’t abandoned after the filming, however, and it continues to grow to this day. You can combine your trip with a visit to the Kožich lookout tower (map), which offers a perfect view of the Brdy hills and the Bohemian Forest.

A fairy-tale farmhouse and the Dírka waterfall

You’ll experience fairy-tale moments with your children at the beautiful, countryside farmhouse and fairy-tale barn located in Vranovice (map). Learn how fairy-tale creatures lived at the house, what Smolíček Pacholíček looks like, how water sprites and devils live, and what exactly a woodborer is. The farmhouse is open every weekend from 10-17h.
You can then combine your trip with a stop at the tallest and most beautiful waterfall in the Pilsen Region. You’ll find it in the town of Darová, 20 km northeast of Pilsen (map). Dírka waterfall is about 3 m tall and easily accessible from Darovanský dvůr. If you’re coming from Pilsen through Zruč-Senec (map), then you can take a ferry across the Berounka River (map) to the waterfall. It runs every day, all year long, and simply taking the ferry ride is an experience in and of itself.

Visiting Dobřany for the ice cream and non-traditional lookout tower

We see the former Pilsen neighbourhood of Dobřany similar to that of Bohnice in Prague. However, in recent years, this little town’s reputation has improved significantly thanks to its famous local ice cream, which can be purchased from the stand at the football pitch (map), and the local microbrewery. And it also has a beautiful, historic city centre. The local natural biotope Kotynka offers perfect swimming conditions. You can easily travel here from Pilsen by train or bike, and even add a walk through the forest park Martinská stěna (map), with its nature theatre, labyrinth, and other interesting features. Nearby Dobřany, you’ll discover a highly non-traditional viewpoint burial mound atop Šlovický vrch (map). And along the way, you’ll pass by a wild horse reservation.

To the viewing tower and Bijadla educational trail

And our last tip is a trip to the newly-built lookout tower Chalupská Štěpánka in the town of Zemětice, approx. 30 km from Pilsen (map). You’ll also find a children’s playground here open all year round as well as regularly-held cultural events, including Historical Weekend and A Weekend with Horses. You’ll find the events programme and more information HERE.
Also nearby Zemětice, you’ll find the Bijadla educational trail with expositions on nature, animals, and hunting. You can even see animals typical of this region in outdoor enclosures.