Karlovy Vary

A neo renaissance walkway on 124 columns holds five of the hot springs. Each one comes out at a different temperature, and the figure is posted beside it.

The strongest hot spring in the valley throws water at 73 degrees up to 12m. It is too hot to drink at the jet, so cooled taps beside it are used instead.

A flat cup whose handle is hollow works as the straw. The shape settled this way to slow people down while the water is hot.

A funicular climbs the slope, and 150 more steps up the tower open the whole valley. Forest paths fan out below it if you would rather walk down.

A hotel running since 1701, familiar from films, and photographed constantly from the street. The ground floor cafe is open whether or not you are staying.

Glass has been blown by hand here since 1857, and the floor is watched from behind glass. Working with molten gobs throws heat as far as the visitor walkway.

For nine days at the start of July the whole town turns into a screening venue. Room prices climb steeply then, and the valley does not go quiet at night.

A bronze chamois stands on a rock west of the valley at a viewing point. Thirty minutes of forest path gets you there, or you walk from the funicular's middle station.

A white timber walkway in Swiss style, put up in the first place as a temporary structure. The carving is dense enough that up close the tool marks in the wood show.

The old factory of the herb liqueur is open as a museum. It finishes with a tasting by type, and a panel states that only two people know the recipe.

A Baroque church just above the Vridlo geyser colonnade, built in the 1730s by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. Set into the slope, it has a tall flight of front steps. The crypt underneath is visited only on scheduled guided rounds.

An Orthodox church built in the 1890s for the Russian guests who came to take the waters. Five gilded onion domes rise above the wooded hillside. Inside there are no pews, and an icon screen hides the altar.

A white cast-iron colonnade by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer, at the end of Dvorak Park. Next to it, a snake-head spout trickles lukewarm mineral water. The big colonnades draw more people, so this one suits a quiet rest with your cup.

A castle and village on a rock wrapped by the Ohre in an elbow-shaped loop, a short bus ride from Karlovy Vary. The name, meaning elbow, comes from that bend. Goethe stayed several times, and the castle holds an exhibition of local porcelain.

Another spa town ringed by forest, about 50km south of Karlovy Vary. Before the cast-iron colonnade, a singing fountain dances to music several times a day from May to October. Parks take up about half the town, so it is good for walking.

A castle perched in a wooded valley, holding the Romanesque gold reliquary of St Maurus. Found in 1985 buried under the chapel floor, it ranks second only to the crown jewels among Czech treasures. The reliquary and castle tour are ticketed separately.