Mariánské Lázně

The youngest and greenest of the great west Bohemian spas — a UNESCO town of colonnades and a hundred springs, ringed directly by the forests of the Slavkovský les.

Mariánské Lázně grew in one romantic burst at the start of the 19th century, and it still looks the part: a bowl of white-and-ochre spa architecture around the cast-iron colonnade and the singing fountain, with about a hundred mineral springs rising in and around the town. Since 2021 it belongs to the UNESCO Great Spa Towns of Europe. For walkers the best thing about it is the edge: the forests of the Slavkovský les begin literally at the colonnade’s back stairs, laced with spring pavilions and old promenade paths, so the town works as a trailhead with hotels, restaurants and its own brewery for the evening.