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Tours and Activities in Karlovy Vary, the Ore Mountains and surrounding area
The apartment's location provides an ideal starting point not only for extensive strolls through the beautiful town of Karlovy Vary and its colonnade, but also for exploring its various lookouts and surroundings.
The cycle path directly behind the Moser Residence, leading along the Ohře River, may take you to Loket Castle, Františkovy Spa or swimming at Lake Medard. Turn around the other way and it will guide you to the Ore Mountains, the city of Boží Dar, a network of cycle paths suitable for the whole family or all the way to Ústí nad Labem and further to Germany. Hiking enthusiast will find great enjoyment in the various trekking trails and routes offered by Karlovy Vary and the Ore Mountains.
The apartment also provides an all-encompassing solution to all your skiing needs. The Ore Mountain ridges are only 20-minute drive away and it's up to you whether you'll take advantage of the tens of kilometers of groomed cross-country trails in the vicinity of Boží Dar, or you rather decide to stay in the Czech Republic's largert interconnect ski resort with over 31 km of tracks in Klínovec.
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a famous spa town enticing visitors around the globe with its healing springs and colonnades, beautiful center and world-famous film festival.
The greatest asset of Karlovy Vary are its renowned healing springs. The first historically preserved treatment dates back to the 14th century. It is said that a frequent guest was Charles IV., who contributed to the foundation of Vary.
The springs' temperature range from 30 ° to 72 °C, each having its own beneficial effects. Don't miss the opportunity to experience their unique taste via the traditional spa cups.
But there's a lot more to do in and around the city. To explore the views and lookout towers of the city, to learn about history through castles, chateaux or to go on a trip to the surrounding countryside.
The cable ride to the Diana lookout tower, a four-sided brick building inaugurated in 1914, is just one of the many adventures you can experience during your stay.
Lookouts Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary prides itself on its indelible nature, the beauty of which can be admired from dozens of places without the need to move away from the city center for kilometers.
The forty-meter Diana lookout tower on the Friendship Heights (556 m above sea level) is almost around the corner, just go from the Hot Spring Colonnade along the marked tourist route or use the funicular at the Grandhotel Pupp. The lookout tower not only offers a beautiful view of Karlovy Vary, astute in the distance you can also see Klínovec, the dominant feature of the Ore Mountains.
From the lookout tower you can continue for about 20 minutes to Peter's Heights, a lookout dedicated to the Russian Tsar Peter I the Great. Here you will find his bust and a monument that was erected by the locals. Not to mention, Peter I. ranks among the most outstanding spa guests of Karlovy Vary. From the viewpoint you will have a view of the Grandhotel Pupp, where your route began.
The next stop is the Deer Jump viewpoint (450 m above sea level), where the symbol of the city, a bronze statue of Kamzík from the hands of sculptor Jan Kotek, stands out. The original statue was built by Baron August von Lützow, but it was destroyed by vandals.
Less than two kilometers from Kamzík, you will come across the wooden gazebo Camera obscura, on whose darkened walls in the past images of scenic landscape were projected. From the viewpoint you can see the Orthodox Church of St. Peter and Paul.
Another gazebo can also be found at the Three Crosses lookout, which is built on the roof of a concrete observatory from the Second World War. At the top, you will be amazed by three towering crosses, which were built by an unknown Polish princess as a symbol of re-Catholicization and Mount Golgotha, the alleged place of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
From the Three Crosses you are only half a kilometer away to Otto's Lookout, named after the son of the Bavarian king Ludwig I. a famous visitor to Karlovy Vary. At the top there is a granite column with a ball and a star.
It would definitely be a shame not to visit Goethe's lookout (642 m above sea level) with a brick tower. It is the highest located and oldest lookout tower in the city. At the top, you can refresh yourself in a quality restaurant or use the space reserved for barbecue or roasting. Fans of adventure and adrenaline can seduce themselves along a 321m steel rope stretched out among the trees. And if you went on a hike with children, the surroundings of the lookout tower offer a spooky trail with figures from famous legends.
The last stop is the lookout tower of Emperor Charles IV. You can get to the 15m brick building on foot and by cable car.
Loket Castle
The prison of Charles IV, the study oasis of Johann W. Goethe, the alleged refuge of orcs and the reliquary of a fallen meteorite... All this is the royal castle Loket, a Gothic-Romanesque building towering near Karlovy Vary on a granite rock cliff enclosed by the River Ohří.
The castle will enchant especially the hardcore history lovers, because its walls are inscribed the history of our most important battles and the noblest kings. The origins of Loket date back to the beginning of the 13th century, when it was an important scene of disputes between King Wenceslas I and Přemysl Otakar II. However, it was not until the following century that this stone monolith finally came to life when it was equipped with an ornate façade, a hetman's house and a palace with a Gothic bay window during the Hussite wars .
At this time, many important personalities were imprisoned here, but the numerous list is dominated by the future Czech king and Roman Emperor Charles IV. and Jiří Popel of Lobkowicz, former Hofmaster of the Czech Kingdom famous for his failed coup against Rudolf II. The castle makes no secret of its prison past, today the exhibition includes, in addition to an extensive collection of porcelain, Gothic frescoes and centuries-old equipment , also an exhibition of prison dungeons and torture law, the highlight of which is a graphic demonstration of torture by medieval instruments on moving mannequins.
However, fans of tales and camp stories will also come into their own. A lot has been said about Loket since ancient times and it is literally surrounded by legends that have become an integral part of every tour. Not only were dwarves supposed to roam the castle in the past, but nowadays the exhibition centre is also the remains of the so-called Enchanted Burgrave, the largest known meteorite that fell on the territory of the current Czech Republic and which fascinated Johann W. Goethe himself. The space stone originally weighed up to 110 kg, but in the 19th century it was cut and its fragments became a valued part of the Viennese and Prague museum exhibitions.
In the background of Loket stands out the town of the same name, which together with the castle creates a unique cultural machinery. Every summer there are "Rudolphine Festivals", thematic markets in the medieval style, which take you to the time of Rudolf II., when alchemists mixed the elixirs of youth and the prison was closed three-year-old barefoot. The atmosphere of the Rudolphine court is complemented not only by spectacular shows of dresses, dishes, music and dances, but also by various masquerade attractions. Let yourself be dazzled by the performed arrival of the Emperor and his military guard, look under the hands of a skilled scribe or interpret the fate of a mysterious gypsy woman.
Cruise on the Ohře River
But the castle is not the only thing you should not miss in the historic town near Sokolov. Admirers of nature will surely appreciate the local sightseeing boats, which offer every week (except Monday and Thursday) from 11:00 to 17:00 a scenic cruise on the Ohře River, the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic (316 km). Depending on weather conditions, payment takes no more than half an hour. The ride, which will be accompanied by a view of the majestic castle, will cost only CZK 50 per person and families with children will receive significant discounts.
However, more adventurous visitors do not have to stay only at a peaceful viewpoint. Ohře castle only flows around and carves a peculiar riverbed through the Slavkov Forest, the svatoš Rocks gorge and the border of the Doupov Mountains, where it winds through the landscape of the Bohemian Central Uplands. If experienced paddlers accept this second best passable river in Bohemia, they will be rewarded with a mostly peaceful ride with many unforgettable points of contact, such as the rock town of Svatošské skály, the Cheb Basin and the former Kyselka Spa.
Although the Ohře has a reputation as a quiet non-raging river with a continuous current, it is usually not recommended for complete beginners. Light rapids can appear even on the most popular sections, the 16-kilometer "Kyšperk nad Ohří – Sokolov" or the 27-kilometer "Sokolov – Karlovy Vary", and can make the descent much more unpleasant for amateurs. You must avoid especially dangerous weirs, the passage of which is prohibited under a fine of CZK 200,000 due to the high risk of drowning. These include, among others, Otto's weir near Cheb, the weir in Radošov or the weir between Hlavno and Černý Mlýn.
Klinovec
Not even 20 minutes from the apartment, few kilometers east of Boží Dar, tower the Ore Muntains with their imposing 1,244-metre high peak Klínovec.
From the lookout tower in Klínovec there are excellent views not only of the Ore Mountains, but also of the Bohemian and Slavkov Forests, the Doupov Mountains or the Czech Central Mountains. In exceptional visibility, you can also see Sněžka, Říp or Prague's Žižkov transmitter, 200 km away.
Klínovec is also a top ski resort, where you can ride on 32 km of slopes with 5 cable cars, 11 lifts and 5 ski belts of children's parks. The new cable cars are covered with an orange bubble that will provide you with superior comfort on your way to your skiing adventures.
The longest of the chairlifts serves the new ski slope to Jáchymov, which with a length of 2,950 meters and a width of 50–100 meters is one of the longest and widest slopes in the Czech Republic. Freeride lovers have the opportunity to use two kilometers of untreated ski slopes with natural snow under suitable conditions.
Equipment rentals and certified instructors are avaliable on the spot. Cross-country skiers will find joy in the 146 kilometers of well-maintained trails adjusted to their needs. Throughout your skiing adventures, you can enjoy the myriad of restaurants, bars and aprés-ski tents where food and drinks of all sorts are yours for the taking.
Trail Park Klínovec offers 30 km of trails of four difficulty levels from the easiest to the most demanding with rental and complete facilities. Easy trails suitable for children are also avalible. They are especially fun when going downhill on giant off-road scooters. The whole area is served by a cable car.
The Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains, which are a 15-minute drive from the apartment, or half an hour by bus or train, are no longer synonymous with ruined nature. The withered spruces have recovered and today the forests on the Erzgebirge plains are turning green again.
The ridge of the Ore Mountains is relatively flat and the more pronounced peaks are separated from each other by long stretches of mountain meadows, peat bogs or wetlands. Thanks to the dense network of marked paths, tourists are offered many opportunities to move around the Ore Mountains on foot, by bike or on skis.
The Ore Mountains, Boučský vrch, Sokolovská pánev and the towns of Oloví and Sokolov. Those are the vistas you can enjoy from the 30-metre high Cibulka lookout tower, located with its 127 steps on Šibeniční Hill near Oloví.
On foot or by bike from Loket to Karlovy Vary
Just a few hundred metres from the hotel you will find both a bus and a train stop. You can take the bus or train to Loket Castle, from where a beautiful hiking and cycling trail along the Ohře River in the picturesque landscape of the Slavkov Forest Protected Landscape Area leads back to Karlovy Vary.
The slightly descending route of about 13 km can be easily managed by children. Loket is an ideal starting point for excursions - there are plenty of restaurants and cafes to recharge your batteries. You can also combine it with a visit to the famous castle.
About halfway there, you can refresh yourself at the Svatožské skály (St. John's Rocks) with a beautiful view of the rocks on the opposite side of the river.
The end of your walk or bike trip will offer you beautiful corners of Karlovy Vary. After the walk you can of course relax in theSPA wellness of the Moser Residence
