Czech Republic

A celebrated jewel hidden abroad at the affection of Europe, the Czech Republic packs a lot of bite for such a baby country. No bigger than Scotland or South Carolina, it's awash with fairytale castles, medieval towns, affected spa resorts and breathtaking civic parks. And on top of all that, it's the birthplace of the world's finest beer.

Part of Czechoslovakia until the 'Velvet Divorce' of 1993, the Czech Republic encompasses the age-old acreage of Bohemia and Moravia, and boasts a affluent cultural ancestry represented by the brand of classical artisan Antonin Dvorak and biographer Franz Kafka.

Almost anybody who visits the Czech Republic goes to Prague, with its arty castle, abundant museums and galleries, applesauce clubs and concerts and added attractions. Many day trips are accessible from here, including the spa resort of Karlovy Vary, the celebrated towns of Mělník and Kutná Hora, and castles like Karlštejn and Konopiště.

But the blow of the country has just as abundant to action the absolute traveller, with no beneath than 11 UNESCO World Ancestry sites including the picture-postcard boondocks of Český Krumlov, the chateaux and landscaped breadth of Lednice-Valtice, and the Renaissance architectonics of Telč.

Among the a lot of admirable breathtaking areas are the Šumava Civic Park in the southwest, which takes in the forested mountains and lakes about the headwaters of the Vltava River, the wierd and admirable bedrock pinnacles and gorges of the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks in the northeast, and the amazing caves and underground rivers of the Moravian Karst in the southeast.

The affluent agronomical breadth of Moravia in the eastern bisected of the country offers rolling ranges of abounding hills, vineyards, folk art and yet added castles. Actuality wine is added accepted than beer - a aspect of Bohemia - and activity moves at an even added airy pace.