Cesky Krumlov is a popular destination for day trippers from Prague. But there’s a very good reason why you shouldn’t limit yourself to such a short visit. Because you’ll miss seeing the town like this:

And this:

And this:

Of course, if one day is all you have then the journey is well worth it. I was completely enamoured with the medieval town of Cesky Krumlov as soon as I arrived and stayed three days. I loved just wandering around town, which is almost like an island with the way the Vltava River winds around it. Cesky Krumlov Castle, built in 1240, towers over the town and walking up along the outside of the castle gives amazing views back across town.

By this point in my trip I was feeling pretty castled out, so I opted not to see the inside of this one, but you can wander the outside for free, as well as the gardens. At the back of the gardens is the Revolving Theatre, but you need to book months in advance to get a seat for its summer season. I was bummed to miss out.

Strange but true, make sure you look in the moat at the entrance to the castle. Emptied of water, it is now the enclosure for three bears (though not of Goldilocks fame)!

There are a number of picturesque day hikes that can be done in the surrounding hills. I took a walk up to a viewpoint about an hour’s (slow) walk from town, called Hill of the Cross. Being a hot summer’s day there was no-one else out walking and I had the trails to myself. When I reached the top I found an old abandoned looking church with panoramic views back down across town and the surrounding hills. Again I had the whole place to myself and took the opportunity to relax and read for a while on the only park bench up there. I haven’t found too many of these solitary moments on my trip so far so I savour them when they come along.

A great place to watch the sunset is the small park next to the museum. Lots of people gather here for the great views across the town to the castle and there will undoubtedly be a busker or two to entertain.

Speaking of buskers, make sure you carry plenty of spare change in your pockets for the multitude of talented buskers around town.

Another popular activity is to raft or kayak down the Vltava river and down the ramps of the concrete weirs that wind around the town. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do this as the companies that rent out the kayaks only had double kayaks available at the time. The occasional drawback of being a solo traveller.