Price: from 80 Kč
Guided walks
Guided Tour of the Observatory
Explore the night sky and learn about astronomy during a guided tour at Hvězdárna Karlovy Vary, featuring various observational programs.
Longevity clinic · Karlovy Vary
Luxury Spa & Medical Wellness Hotel Prezident
- Longevity protocols
- Immune rehabilitation
- Active Health programme
For your robust health, vital energy and longevity
Modern science and the power of nature — a holistic approach
Thermo-mineral springs unique on a world scale
Open the Longevity programmes Free, nothing to install — opens app.karlovyvary.info
Longevity — a guide that knows why you came
For two hundred years people have come to this spa for three things: to drink the water, to walk, and to see the town. Usually those are three separate activities and nobody joins them up. Longevity does: an AI companion trained on the best spa practice stays with you through the whole stay — it picks your water, builds your route and tells you the city as you walk. One route in which water, movement and the story work towards a shared result, and that result can be measured.
-
Understands what you arrived with
A quiz about how you feel, blood pressure, joints, sleep and habits. Five minutes, and it is clear which load helps you now and which would harm.
-
Picks your water
Your springs are chosen from the 13: temperature, how often, before or after meals. The water is chemically the same everywhere — the degrees and the carbon dioxide are what matter.
-
Builds the route for you
Distance and elevation gain matched to your condition, with springs placed along the way. The classic spa principle: drink at the vase, then walk straight uphill.
-
Leads and narrates
The guide starts by itself as you walk up to a landmark. Healing properties, legends, architecture — in your language, in your headphones, at your pace.
-
Shows what changed
After 7 and 14 days: the same quiz plus your watch data. Heart rate at the same load, recovery, kilometres and climbs. You can see the fortnight was not wasted.
Open the quiz and maps Free, nothing to install — opens app.karlovyvary.info
Not an audio guide with a medical footnote, and not a health app with a map. It is the spa protocol laid onto a walk.
Events calendar
What is on in town this week: colonnade concerts, guided walks, exhibitions and cinema. Updated daily, with the walk from the hotel shown for every event.
Sort
Events: 12
Nothing on for the selected dates and categories — here is what is coming up.
Price: Free
Price: Free
Sport
Czech Athletics Championship for Men's and Women's Teams
Karlovy Vary hosts the national athletics competition where men's and women's teams compete for the Czech championship title.
Price: 250 Kč
Price: from 80 Kč
For children
A Fairy Tale with a Star
A special program for children at the observatory, inviting young explorers to discover the wonders of the night sky and engaging stories.
Price: Free
Price: 590 Kč
Concerts
AVE MARIA – Eva Müllerová & Vladimír Jelínek
A classical music concert featuring the renowned AVE MARIA and works by old masters, performed by Eva Müllerová and Vladimír Jelínek.
Price: from 300 Kč
Price: Free
Price: from 100 Kč
Price: from 50 Kč
Price: Free
The 13 thermal springs of Karlovy Vary
Of some 79 known mineral water outlets, 13 springs are tapped for the drinking cure. They all rise from the same deep reservoir, so the water is chemically identical — only temperature and dissolved carbon dioxide differ. The hotter the spring, the more it speeds up digestion; cooler ones act gently and have a laxative effect.
| # | Spring | Temperature | Where to drink |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vřídlo (the Hot Spring) | 72 °C | Hot Spring Colonnade |
| 2 | Charles IV Spring | 66 °C | Market Colonnade |
| 3 | Lower Castle Spring | 52 °C | Castle Colonnade |
| 4 | Upper Castle Spring | 50 °C | Castle Colonnade |
| 5 | Market Spring | 64 °C | Market Colonnade |
| 7 | Mill Spring | 61 °C | Mill Colonnade |
| 8 | Rusalka Spring | 62 °C | Mill Colonnade |
| 9 | Prince Wenceslas Spring | 65 °C | Mill Colonnade |
| 10 | Libuše Spring | 62 °C | Mill Colonnade |
| 11 | Rock Spring | 45 °C | Mill Colonnade |
| 12 | Freedom Spring | 63 °C | Freedom pavilion |
| 13 | Park Spring | 40 °C | Park Colonnade |
| 15 | Snake Spring | 30 °C | Park Colonnade |
Vřídlo (the Hot Spring)
The hottest and most famous spring of the town: the water surfaces at about 72 °C and shoots vertically up to 12 metres. Its yield reaches 2,000 litres per minute — more than all the other springs together. You can drink it from three vases in the lower hall of the colonnade, where it is cooled to 72, 57 and 41 °C.
Charles IV Spring
Named after Emperor Charles IV who, as the legend goes, discovered the hot springs while hunting in the mid-14th century and founded the spa here. The spring is tapped under the wooden Market Colonnade, next to a relief depicting that scene. Around 66 °C.
Lower Castle Spring
One of the two Castle springs drawn from a borehole under Castle Hill. Water of about 52 °C is piped to a publicly accessible vase, while its upper twin is used in the treatments of the Castle Spa.
Upper Castle Spring
The cooler of the pair of Castle springs, around 50 °C. It sits on the upper level of the colonnade, built into the Art Nouveau complex of the Castle Spa.
Market Spring
A spring of about 64 °C under the white wooden Market Colonnade. It was found in the 19th century during work on the site of the old town hall and quickly became one of the busiest thanks to its central position in the spa zone.
Mill Spring
The classic spring of the Mill Colonnade, about 61 °C. Used for baths as early as the 16th century and for the drinking cure since 1705. The main colonnade of the town grew up around it.
Rusalka Spring
A spring of about 62 °C named after the water nymph. Until the 19th century it was called the New Spring, before being renamed in the romantic spirit of the age. It stands in the northern part of the Mill Colonnade.
Prince Wenceslas Spring
One of the hottest springs of the colonnade at about 65 °C, with two outlets — Wenceslas I and Wenceslas II. Discovered in the late 18th century and named after Prince Wenceslas Troyer, abbot of the Teplá monastery.
Libuše Spring
A spring of about 62 °C, known until 1945 as the Elizabeth Rose Spring. Its current name honours the legendary princess Libuše, the mythical founder of Prague.
Rock Spring
The coolest of the hot springs of the colonnade, about 45 °C. It is tapped right at the cliff in the northern extension of the Mill Colonnade, which gave it its name.
Freedom Spring
A spring of about 63 °C in an elegant wooden pavilion below Castle Hill. Discovered in 1865 during the construction of a bath house; the Swiss chalet style pavilion was built in the 1880s.
Park Spring
One of the coolest drinking springs, around 40 °C. It was found in the mid-19th century during the building of the Military Bath House; today its vase stands beside the cast-iron Park Colonnade in the Dvořák Gardens.
Snake Spring
The coolest of the drinking springs at about 30 °C. It is tapped beside the Park Colonnade in the Dvořák Gardens and named after the bronze snake from whose mouth the water flows. Its mineral content is lower than that of the hot springs, so it is drunk more readily and in larger quantities.
13 main landmarks of Karlovy Vary
The spa quarter is one kilometre of embankment along the Teplá river, lined with five colonnades, two legendary hotels and a baroque church. Above them, on the slopes, sit three viewpoints: Diana, the Deer Jump and the Castle Tower.
Hot Spring Colonnade
A modern glass and concrete colonnade designed by Jaroslav Otruba and built in 1969–1975 on the site of the demolished 19th-century cast-iron colonnade. Inside is the Vřídlo geyser itself, with its jet reaching 12 metres, and a drinking hall with three vases at different temperatures.
Hotel Prezident
The Luxury Spa & Medical Wellness Hotel Prezident stands on Moravská street, away from the main embankment but within walking distance of the colonnades. It is home to the Active Health programme from which the quiz and the routes on this site grew — the hotel is the zero point of every walk.
Mill Colonnade
The largest and best known colonnade in town: 132 metres long with 124 Corinthian columns. Built in 1871–1881 to a design by Josef Zítek, architect of the National Theatre in Prague. Five springs are tapped under its roof, and twelve statues on the balustrade personify the months of the year.
Market Colonnade
A delicate white timber colonnade built in 1883 to a design by the Viennese studio of Fellner & Helmer. Intended as a temporary structure, it has stood for over a century and was fully restored in the 1990s. It shelters the Charles IV Spring and the Market Spring.
Park Colonnade
A cast-iron 'lace' colonnade from 1880–1881, also by Fellner & Helmer. It was originally part of a large spa-hall pavilion; today it is a shaded gallery in the Dvořák Gardens next to the Park Spring.
Castle Colonnade
An Art Nouveau colonnade built in 1910–1913 to a design by the Viennese architect Friedrich Ohmann on the site of the old Castle Baths. It is famous for the 'Spirit of the Springs' relief by Vojtěch Šaff. Today it belongs to the Castle Spa complex, with public access to the two Castle springs.
Grandhotel Pupp
The hotel traces its history to the Saxon Hall of 1701; its present neo-baroque appearance was created by Fellner & Helmer in 1907. Goethe, Beethoven and Casanova stayed here, and in this century it appeared in Casino Royale and Last Holiday. The funicular to the Diana tower starts right behind it.
Hotel Imperial
A vast palace hotel built in 1910–1912 to a design by the French architect Ernest Hébrard on the Helmut cliff above the spa. It has its own funicular from the centre and was for decades one of the most prestigious spa addresses in Europe.
Hotel Thermal
A landmark of Czechoslovak brutalism, built in 1967–1976 to a design by the married architects Věra and Vladimír Machonin. It is the main venue of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and its open-air thermal pool overlooks the whole town.
Diana Lookout Tower
A stone tower 35 metres high on the summit of Friendship Hill, 547 metres above sea level, built in 1912–1914. A lift runs to the top and a funicular from the Grandhotel Pupp runs to its foot. The platform overlooks the whole spa canyon and, on a clear day, the Ore Mountains.
Deer Jump
A rocky spur above the spa valley with a bronze chamois by August Kiss, placed there in 1851. Legend has it that this is where a hunting dog of Charles IV leapt after a deer and led the hunters to the hot spring. The classic first stop on any walk uphill.
Church of St Peter and St Paul
A Russian Orthodox church in the Byzantine style, built in 1893–1898 after the model of a church in Ostankino. Five golden domes, a rich iconostasis and a relief of Peter the Great. It stands on Krále Jiřího street, a couple of minutes from the Park Colonnade.
Church of St Mary Magdalene
A baroque masterpiece by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, built in 1732–1737 directly above the Vřídlo spring. Two underground levels of the old cemetery with an ossuary survive beneath it and are open to visitors. It is considered one of the finest baroque buildings in Bohemia outside Prague.
Routes and the health quiz
A walk in Karlovy Vary is not only sightseeing. The classic spa principle is to drink the water at the spring and walk uphill straight afterwards. The quiz in the app asks about how you feel, blood pressure, joints and habits — and picks a route of the right length and elevation gain, with a map and the springs along the way.
1. Take the quiz
20 questions about your health and activity. Five minutes, results on screen right away.
2. Get your route
A map with distance, elevation gain and springs on the way — matched to your load, not to an average.
3. Walk and record it
Track it with your phone or a Garmin watch. You get distance, pace, heart rate and week-by-week trends.
Route maps
These are the very walking routes the quiz picks from: nineteen trails of the Longevity Prezident spa catalogue. Below is the outline of each one, its length, climb and the springs it passes. Turn-by-turn navigation, spring markers and track recording open in the app once you sign up.
Route I
Level walks along the Teplá valley and the colonnades: almost no climbing, fine to take straight after the drinking cure. The quiz offers these to guests at higher risk.
Route I – 1
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Charles IV Spring, Lower Castle Spring.
Route I – 2
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Charles IV Spring, Lower Castle Spring.
Route I – 3
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Park Spring, Snake Spring, Freedom Spring.
Route I – 4
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Charles IV Spring, Lower Castle Spring.
Route I – 5
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Park Spring, Snake Spring, Freedom Spring.
Route I – 6
A level stretch along the water. On the way: Park Spring, Snake Spring, Freedom Spring.
Route II
Gently undulating terrain: the same valley, but up onto the lower terraces — around a hundred metres of climbing per walk.
Route II – 1
Gently undulating terrain. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Hotel Prezident, Hot Spring Colonnade.
Route II – 2
Gently undulating terrain. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Hotel Prezident, Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Route II – 3
Gently undulating terrain. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Hotel Prezident, Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Route II – 4
Gently undulating terrain. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Market Spring, Charles IV Spring.
Route III
Spa forest and viewpoints: long trails with real climbs, for guests with no limits on exertion.
Route III – 1
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Hotel Prezident, Hot Spring Colonnade, Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Route III – 2
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Market Spring, Charles IV Spring.
Route III – 3
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Hotel Prezident, Hot Spring Colonnade, Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Route III – 4
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Hotel Prezident, Grandhotel Pupp.
Route III – 5
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Hotel Prezident, Hot Spring Colonnade, Church of St Mary Magdalene.
Route III – 6
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Rusalka Spring, Prince Wenceslas Spring, Rock Spring.
Route III – 7
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Hotel Prezident, Grandhotel Pupp.
Route III – 8
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Market Spring, Charles IV Spring.
Route III – 9
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Market Spring, Charles IV Spring.
Route III – 10
Forest trails and climbs. On the way: Vřídlo (the Hot Spring), Church of St Mary Magdalene, Hot Spring Colonnade.
Signing up is free and takes a minute. After the quiz the app keeps the routes that match your condition and opens the map with navigation and spring markers.
Frequently asked questions about Karlovy Vary
How many springs are there in Karlovy Vary?
About 79 mineral water outlets are known, but 13 springs are tapped for the drinking cure across five colonnades and several pavilions. Their temperature ranges from 30 °C at the Snake Spring to 72 °C at Vřídlo.
Is the spring water free to drink?
Yes. Every drinking spring in the colonnades is open and free of charge. All you need is the traditional porcelain spa cup with a spout, sold at any kiosk next to the colonnades.
How do the springs differ from one another?
The chemical composition is practically identical — they all rise from the same deep reservoir. What differs is temperature and dissolved carbon dioxide: hot water speeds up digestion, cooler water acts gently and has a laxative effect.
How long does it take to see the colonnades?
The five colonnades line the Teplá river along roughly one and a half kilometres. A relaxed walk with stops at the springs takes 2–3 hours; adding the climb to the Deer Jump and the Diana tower makes a full day.
Which route should I choose if climbing is hard for me?
Start with a flat route along the embankment and through the Dvořák Gardens — there is no elevation gain there. You can reach the Diana tower by funicular from the Grandhotel Pupp and walk the forest paths at the top. The quiz in the app picks a route taking your wellbeing, blood pressure and joints into account.
Do I need an account to take the quiz?
The quiz and the route maps open at app.karlovyvary.info with nothing to install. You only need to register if you want to save your results and record walks with your phone or a Garmin watch.
About this project
karlovyvary.info is a guide to the spa town built on top of the Active Health programme of the Luxury Spa & Medical Wellness Hotel Prezident. The illustrations, the quiz and the routes are free and open to every visitor of Karlovy Vary.
Quizzes and route maps
The full version with the health quiz, maps and walk recording lives on a separate subdomain.