Things to See in Czech Republic

Karlstejn is the Czech Republic's star castle and it lives up to the highest expectations. Perched on a crag that overlooks the Berounka river, and sporting a spotless paint job, this cluster of turrets, high walls and looming towers is as immaculately maintained as it is powerfully evocative.

Human bones, the remains of a woolly rhino and a forge for counterfeiting coins are some of the oddities to be found in the guts of these impressive 600m/1969ft-deep limestone caves. Take a pullover: it's a constant, chilly 10°C (50°F), and you'll be down there for 45 to 60 minutes. Plus, if you get hungry there's no food to speak of except a snack bar at the caves.

A Benedictine abbey was founded here in 1115 and, following repeated plundering in the Thirty Years' War, received a major facelift by prominent Bohemian artists Giovanni Santini and Kilian Ignatz Dientzenhofer. The main attraction is the Abbey Church of the Holy Virgin, rebuilt between 1712 and 1726 by Santini in an extraordinary 'baroque Gothic' style.

Like the cherry on a cake, Tel's Renaissance chateau, part of which is known as the Water Chateau, guards the north end of the peninsula. Rebuilt from the original Gothic structure in 1553-56 by Antonio Vlach and 1566-68 by Baldassare Maggi, the surviving structure remains in remarkably fine fettle, with immaculate lawns and beautifully kept interiors.

Prague Castle is one of the most impressive buildings you will ever visit. It has a magnificent clifftop outlook and a 1000-year-old history going back to a simple walled-in compound in the ninth century. The scale of this castle is breathtaking - it qualifies as the biggest ancient castle in the world.