Travel | Topic Archive

This edition of Spotlight comes to you from the Czech Republic's famous Jested Mountain: the site of a popular ski hill as well as a space-age hotel.

In today's Spotlight we visit the Moravian town of Bystrice pod Hostynem, close to the city of Zlin. Lying beneath the Hostyn Hill, which is a place of pilgrimage but also offers ideal hiking routes and skiing conditions, the town attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Just a few moments ago I arrived in the town of Nymburk, our location for today's Spotlight. Nymburk lies in Central Bohemia, just 50 kilometres east of Prague. Now, it may not be an obvious destination but the town is in many ways remarkable.

One thing missing so far from this Christmas season is proper Christmas weather: snowy conditions and temperatures well below zero degrees Celsius. So far this month, the mercury has stubbornly stayed well above freezing, for instance, daily it has been around 11 degrees Celsius). That has some skiers suffering - with very few runs at any ski hills operating. Still, it's too early to get too worried yet: as Jan Velinger reports, operators are confident things will soon take a turn for the better.

The house of culture in the Moravian town of Prostejov is one of the country's best examples of the art nouveau style. Built by the famous architect Jan Kotera, it celebrates its 99th birthday this Friday. Dita Asiedu takes a tour around the newly renovated structure with the house of culture director Alena Spurna:

Undeterred by the onset of winter weather, hordes of tourists swirl in eddies around the Old Town Square—in front of the famous Astronomical Clock, by the carts selling sausages and cups of hot wine, down the passages lined with stalls crammed top to bottom with knickknacks and gewgaws. It is a site that is as rich in art and history as it is bustling with activity. This place is one of Prague's nerve centers, the beating heart of the old city.

For first-time visitors the world-famous Konopiste Chateau or Karlstejn Castle are natural choices for daytrips outside of Prague but one destination visitors might want to consider is the royal Czech town of Rakovnik, a veritable historic gem found less than 60 kilometres west of the Czech capital. Archaeologists have found that long before it was established as a town, the site of Rakovnik and its surroundings, was favoured by tribes as far back as the Stone Age. Finds on display at the local TG Masaryk Museum in Rakovnik show some of the oldest

CzechTourism is - as the name suggests - the Czech Republic's tourist board. As well as its headquarters here in Prague, it has many offices around the world, everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires. Last week I paid a visit to the London branch of CzechTourism, where I met its director, Jan Mlcak. I began by asking him about the office's activities.

In mid-June, two adventurous travellers from southern Bohemia hopped into their 17-year old Skoda Rapid and sped off. 12,900 kilometres later, Petr Goldmann and Petr Vavrik arrived in the Russian Far East. The men were inspired by the famous Czech duo Jiri Hanzelka and Miroslav Zikmund, who travelled the world in their Tatra car four decades ago.

Every year tourists from all over the Czech Republic and abroad get off a train in Benesov, however few with the aim to visit the Bohemian town. Almost all of them head for Konopiste Castle, one of the country's most attractive sites, which is just about a 2 km walk from the railway station. But in today's Spotlight, we take a look at the history of Benesov itself. The town has over 16,200 inhabitants today and lies just 37 km southeast of Prague between the Sazava river and Blanik - the hill where, according to legend, St. Wenceslas and his warriors