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7. Czech Republic

The focus has shifted from Prague, gaspingly overrun, to other towns in the republic. Travellers increasingly head straight for Kutna Hora and pretty medieval Cesky Krumlov, just an hour away. Krivoklat, which can be reached via train through the Berounka valley, has the same charms on offer as the capital -- cheap beer, hearty food, red roofs -- but fewer football teams running around with their postgame paunches on show. The region around the town is a Unesco "biosphere preservation" area flanked by Bohemian forests.

PIctured: A view of the Vltava river and the town from Cesky Krumlov Castle Tower

Text reproduced with permission from Bluelist 2007, copyright 2006 Lonely Planet Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.