Getting There

If you're driving, leave Prague to the south via the main D1 expressway and take the cutoff for Hwy. E55, which runs straight to Ceské Budejovice. The trip takes about 1 1/2 hours.

Daily express trains from Prague make the trip to Ceské Budejovice in about 2 1/2 hours. The fare is 320Kc first class or 213Kc second class. Several express buses run from Prague's Roztyly station (on the metro's C line) each day and take 3 hours; tickets cost 152Kc.

Visitor Information

Tourist Infocentrum, námestí Premysla Otakara II. 2 (tel. 386-801-413; www.c-budejovice.cz), provides maps and guidebooks and finds lodging. It is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday until 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm. In winter it is open Monday and Wednesday 9am to 5pm; Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9am to 4pm; and Saturday 9am to 1pm.

Special Events

Each August, Ceské Budejovice hosts the largest International Agricultural Show in the country (www.vcb.cz).

If you're passing through in the late fall or winter and want to see Czechs at their most emotional, head out to a match of the Czech Extraliga hockey league at the hockey arena on ulice F. A. Gerstnera 8/7, where the local team, HC Mountfield, does battle. Arguably some of the best hockey in the world is played in the Czech Republic, which you can see for a fraction of the price -- from 100Kc to 180Kc -- you'd pay to see players of a similar caliber in the North American National Hockey League. The games are rarely sold out. The box office (tel. 386-352-705; www.hokejcb.cz) opens 1 hour before the game. The local newspapers, tourist information center, and posters pasted around the town will tell you what time the next match is.

Orientation

Ceské Budejovice's circular Staré Mesto (Old Town) centers around the Czech Republic's largest cobblestone square, námestí Premysla Otakara II.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.