Alternatives to Český Krumlov: six Czech towns without the crowds

Český Krumlov is a town of about 13,000 people. Its historic centre has been on the UNESCO list since 1992, its castle is the second largest in the country after Prague's, and the whole place sits inside a double bend of the Vltava. Local estimates put visitors at around two million a year. The castle alone had 233,900 visitors in 2025. The town already charges tour coaches to park, and an entry fee for the old centre has been floated more than once.

What most people come for is simpler than the castle: a complete old town, burgher houses round a square, a chateau above the water, and an evening when the streets belong to the people who live there. Plenty of Czech towns still have that. Five of the six below have a full profile on this site with a tourist-density score (lower means quieter). The sixth, Slavonice, we haven't covered yet, but it's at the end of the same branch line as Telč, so it would be odd to leave it out.

Telč — the closest match

If you only pick one, pick Telč. The main square, named after Zachariáš of Hradec, is a long run of gabled renaissance and baroque houses on arcades, with the chateau at one end and fishponds wrapped around the town. It went onto the UNESCO list in 1992, the same year as Krumlov. About five thousand people live here, and the chateau had 68,000 visitors in 2025, under a third of the Krumlov castle figure. The town is on branch line 227. From Prague it takes about three hours with a change at Havlíčkův Brod or Jihlava, which goes a long way to explaining why the coach tours don't bother. Read the Telč profile →

Třeboň — same region, much quieter

Třeboň is in South Bohemia too, under an hour's drive from Krumlov, and feels nothing like it. The town sits among carp ponds that people have been digging since the Middle Ages, and the whole Třeboň basin is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. There's a renaissance chateau, the Schwarzenberg family tomb in the park at Domanín just outside town, and a spa, and the pace suits all three. Trains come in from Veselí nad Lužnicí and České Budějovice. From Prague it's about two and a quarter hours with one change. Read the Třeboň profile →

Mikulov and the Pálava — a chateau above the vineyards

Choose Mikulov if it's the castle on a rock you're after. The chateau stands over a South Moravian wine town, with the pale limestone of the Pálava hills behind it and the old Jewish quarter and its large cemetery below. The Pálava is part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and the hills have stayed largely free of new building. Regional trains on the S8 run Břeclav–Valtice–Mikulov–Znojmo, and Břeclav is on the main line between Vienna and Brno. Read the Mikulov–Pálava profile →

Valašsko — wooden villages and ridge walks

Valašsko, or Moravian Wallachia, is for people who like the idea of a place kept whole. The Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm is a wooden town and village moved here building by building, under the Beskid mountains. The museum is busy (it had more visitors in 2025 than Krumlov castle), so go early or on a weekday. The ridge walk up to Radhošť is much emptier. Afterwards, find a frgál, a flat fruit pie about the size of a plate. By train, head for Valašské Meziříčí (usually with a change at Hranice na Moravě) and take the branch line to Rožnov. Read the Valašsko profile →

Nový Bor — a working glass town

Krumlov's shops sell plenty of Bohemian glass. Nový Bor still makes it. This small town in North Bohemia, under the Lusatian Mountains, has been blowing and cutting glass for well over two centuries, and the glass museum explains how. It looks the least like Krumlov of anywhere on this list, but it's a real working town, and the sandstone country of Bohemian Switzerland is about an hour away. Trains from Prague go via Česká Lípa; allow around two and a half hours. Read the Nový Bor profile →

Slavonice — not on the site yet

Slavonice is at the far end of line 227, past Telč and Dačice, close to the Austrian border. It's a small renaissance town with sgraffito façades and vaulted cellars, and it spent forty years right up against the Iron Curtain, which did a lot to keep it the way it was. The same train that takes you to Telč carries on there. We don't have a profile yet; when we write one, this is where it will start.

So, where to go

Český Krumlov is still worth seeing, just not in August. Go between November and March, stay the night in the old town, and you'll have a good part of it to yourself once the day visitors leave. For everything else: Telč is the straight swap, Třeboň the one next door, Mikulov the castle, Valašsko the wooden architecture, Nový Bor the glass, and Slavonice the one furthest off the usual map. You can reach all six by train.

Questions, answered

Is Český Krumlov worth visiting despite the crowds?

Yes, in winter. From November to March the coach groups thin out and the town goes back to its residents. Most castle tours close for the season, but the town is the real attraction anyway. In July and August, with that many visitors passing through a town of 13,000, it's hard to recommend.

What is the closest alternative to Český Krumlov?

On the map, Třeboň: same region, under an hour by car, on a railway line, and much quieter. As a like-for-like match Telč is closer, but it's in Vysočina, around two hours north by road.

Can I visit Telč by train from Prague?

Yes. Take a train to Havlíčkův Brod or Jihlava and change onto branch line 227 for Telč. Some services need a second change at Kostelec u Jihlavy. The station is a short walk from the square. Allow about three hours.

How many tourists does Český Krumlov get?

Local estimates put it at around two million a year, against about 13,000 residents. Ticket sales are easier to pin down: the castle had 233,900 visitors in 2025, according to CzechTourism's annual survey of visitor attractions.

When is the best time to visit Český Krumlov?

November to March for the town itself. May, June or September if you want to see inside the castle and don't mind company. In any month, get there before nine in the morning.

Is Telč a UNESCO site too?

Yes. The historic centre of Telč, with its square and chateau, was listed in 1992, the same year as Český Krumlov.