Things to do
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Castle Tower
Painted in pink and ochre bands, the round tower carries the town's skyline and stands over the castle's second courtyard. A spiral stair of roughly one hundred and sixty steps ends at a gallery with the river loop, the red roofs and the forested hills laid out below. Narrow treads and a single file slow the climb when the town is busy.
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Český Krumlov Castle
Rising over the river bend on a rock spur, the complex runs to forty buildings, five courtyards and a cloaked bridge, and includes a rare baroque theatre with its original stage machinery. Interior routes are guided and the theatre opens for limited dates in the warm months. The gardens and courtyards can be walked without a ticket.
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Egon Schiele Art Centrum
A converted brewery holds work by the Austrian painter who spent part of 1911 in the town, along with changing exhibitions of modern Czech and central European art. Schiele's stay ended early when local disapproval of his models drove him out. Galleries are quiet even when the streets outside are full, which makes this a useful stop in bad weather.
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Historic Centre
Inside a tight double loop of the Vltava, lanes of painted burgher houses, a Renaissance square and a Gothic church fill a medieval plan that survived the twentieth century almost untouched. Day groups from Prague and Linz arrive late morning and leave by late afternoon. Staying a night gives the streets back, and the river walk below the castle stays quiet.