Plzen Old Town

Plzen is known abroad for beer, but its centre is a serious piece of medieval town planning: a grid laid out in the 13th century around a square so large that the cathedral stands freely in the middle of it rather than at one edge. Saint Bartholomew's carries the tallest church tower in the country, and the climb up its stairs gives the widest view in West Bohemia. Around the square stand a sgraffito-covered Renaissance town hall, arcaded burgher houses and three gilded modern fountains. A few streets west is the Great Synagogue, a vast twin-towered building in Moorish revival style, and beneath the whole centre runs a network of medieval cellars open as a guided walk.

What you actually see

• Saint Bartholomew's tower - the country's tallest church tower, with a long stair climb to the gallery.
• Namesti Republiky - the outsized main square with its sgraffito town hall and gilded fountains.
• The Great Synagogue - the twin-towered Moorish revival building a few streets west of the centre.
• The historical underground - guided walks through medieval cellars and wells beneath the streets.

When to go

April to October for the tower climb and the terraces on the square; the underground stays cool and is a reasonable wet-weather option year-round. The synagogue keeps shorter winter hours and closes on Saturdays. Plzen is a working city rather than a resort, busiest at weekday lunchtimes and quiet on Sunday mornings.

Honest expectations

The square is enormous and largely paved, which can feel bleak in flat weather, and the surrounding streets mix restored facades with unremarkable postwar filler. The tower climb is a long narrow spiral with no lift. The underground tour is cold and low in places. Beer tourism dominates the evening atmosphere.

Nearby

The brewery quarter sits just east of the centre, and the Sumava foothills begin about an hour south.