Czech Republic - Travel guide

Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Revolution" in November 1989 was probably the most unequivocably positive of eastern Europe's anti-Communist upheavals, as the Czechs and Slovaks shrugged off 41 years of Communist rule without a shot being fired. But the euphoria and unity of those first few months evaporated more quickly than anyone could have imagined.

Just three years on, the country split into two separate states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czechs - always the most urbane, agnostic and liberal of the Slav nations - have fared well, although they are now having to contend with growing unemployment and an increasing cost of living.

Almost untouched by the wars of the twentieth century, the capital, Prague , is justifiably one of the most popular destinations in Europe. An incredibly beautiful city with a wealth of architecture, from Gothic cathedrals and Baroque palaces to Art Nouveau cafés and Cubist villas, it's also a lively meeting place for young people from all over Europe. The rolling countryside of Bohemia is swathed in forests and studded with well-preserved medieval towns and castles, especially in the south around Ceské Budejovice . In the west, you'll find the old watering-holes of the European aristocracy, the spa towns of Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázne . The country's eastern province, Moravia , is every bit as beautiful, only less touristed. Olomouc is the most attractive town here, but Brno , the regional capital, has its own peculiar pleasures.

Prague has an excellent chain of tourist offices specifically set up to give information to foreign visitors (look for the "PIS" sign). Most other cities and towns have their own tourist offices ( informacní centrum ). A comprehensive range of maps is available You can buy them, often very cheaply, from bookshops, petrol stations and some hotels - ask for a plán mesta (town plan) or mapa okoli (regional map). For road maps, the 1:100,000 Euroatlas produced by Kartografie Praha is still the best, marking all campsites and petrol stations. For hiking, the 1:100,000 turistická mapa series details the country's complex network of marked footpaths. You can find great maps online at www.mapy.cz or mapy.atlas.cz , which, though in Czech, are pretty straightforward to use.

Forty years of culinary isolation under the Communists introduced few innovations to the Germanic-influenced Czech cuisine , with its predilection for slabs of meat served with lashings of gravy, dumplings and sauerkraut, although pizza is swiftly turning into a national dish.

For Czechs, the days of starting at 5am with a cup of Turkish coffee are disappearing - these days they're as likely to breakfast on cereal as salami and rolls. Popular snacks include bramborák , a potato pancake with flecks of bacon, párek , a frankfurter dipped in mustard or ketchup and shoved in a white roll, and smazeny syr - a slab of melted Edam fried in breadcrumbs and served in a roll ( v housce ) with tartar sauce.

In and outside of Prague, eating out is inexpensive; restaurants ( restaurace ) always display their menus and prices outside. They serve hot meals nonstop from about 11am until 11pm (10pm outside Prague). Most pubs ( pivnice ) also serve basic hot dishes, as do wine cellars ( vinárna ) - often the most stylish places around.

Even the most simple bufet in the Czech Lands almost invariably has draught beer ( pivo ). The pivnice (which close around 10 or 11pm) is still a predominantly male affair, with heavy drinking; wine bars and restaurants ( vinárna ) are generally far more upmarket and cocktail bars have now opened up in most main towns.

The Czech Republic tops the world league table of beer consumption, even beating the Germans - hardly surprising since its beer ranks among the best in the world. The most natural starting point for any beer tour is the Bohemian city of Plzen (Pilsen), whose local lager is the original Pils. The other big brewing town is Ceské Budejovice (Budweis), home to Budvar, a mild beer by Bohemian standards but still leagues ahead of the American Budweiser. The burgeoning in-house breweries offer some great brews, as do the hundreds of small breweries dotted around the country.