Source: Karlovarský kraj
Karlovy Vary Region - Ohře Cycle Route
The Ohře Cycle Route is the backbone cycle route of the Karlovy Vary Region. Its construction began in 2004 and is currently 80% complete. The construction of the Ohře Cycle Route is financed by the Karlovy Vary Region using available national and European subsidy programs. The completion of the Ohře Cycle Route is a priority set out in the Karlovy Vary Region's Cycling Strategy for 2023–2030.
The Ohře Cycle Route has an asphalt surface from the border with Bavaria and is therefore also suitable for road bikes up to Sokolov. From Sokolov, it runs on a more natural gravel surface or on paved forest roads. Maintenance of the Ohře Cycle Route is provided for the Karlovy Vary Region by the Regional Road Administration and Maintenance of the Karlovy Vary Region. The Karlovy Vary Region allocates more than CZK 5,000,000 in its budget for the maintenance of the cycle route.
Between 2025 and 2030, it is planned to complete the Ohře Cycle Route so that 95% of it runs along roads that are safe for cyclists. The Ohře Cycle Route is regularly expanded with additional sections and infrastructure (see graphic). Currently, missing sections in the Ohře River canyon below Karlovy Vary, where spatial and foundation conditions are complex, are being addressed. Nevertheless, five sections are being prepared for implementation here, which will divert bicycle traffic from motor vehicle roads.
Together with the sections in Bavaria and the Ústí nad Labem Region, the Ohře Cycle Route will become a safe 250 km long bicycle route connecting to the Labe Cycle Route.
Source: Živý kraj
St. Linhart Game Reserve
In close proximity to the city of Karlovy Vary itself, in the adjacent spa forests, are the ruins of the oldest preserved building in the city – the Romanesque Church of St. Linhart. Here you can visit a restaurant, a game reserve and a rope center. The game reserve itself covers an area of 40 hectares, is crossed by suspension bridges and is divided into three sections for deer, fallow deer and wild boar. For an educational walk, you can take the Dendrological Trail and the Animal Silhouette Trail.
Source: Živý kraj
Spa Forests
The Spa Forests stretch like a ring around the entire city center. They are crisscrossed by a number of marked trails and paths. Each of them will take you somewhere, whether to a romantic spot, an interesting viewpoint, or a lookout tower. The most famous are the Diana lookout tower, which can also be reached by funicular, and the Goethe lookout tower. At Diana, you can visit the lookout tower itself, a restaurant, a mini zoo, a butterfly house, and a playground. the Goethe outlook tower is the oldest and highest lookout tower in Karlovy Vary, opened in 1889. It is a neo-Gothic building with views of the Ore Mountains, Doupov Mountains, and the Slavkov Forest. In addition to the lookout tower, there is now a café, a mountain bike trail, and Goethe's geological trail.
Source: IC Karlovy Vary
Meander Ohře Nature Park
The nature park is located in the immediate vicinity of the former waterworks in Tuhnice. Here you will find a sports trail, playground, and sports facilities with refreshments. The area flows smoothly into another recreational zone – Náplavka Ohře, stretching 1 km along the river. Here you can try out a whole range of interactive elements such as a water pump, a screw, optical illusion elements, chimes, climbing frames, and swings; or relax with a view of the river on the pier or by the fireplace.
Source: IC Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary Art Gallery
The Art Gallery is definitely worth a visit. Since 1953, it has been preserving, promoting, and presenting 20th-century Czech art through permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, publications, and cultural and educational programs. In addition to its main building in Karlovy Vary, the gallery has a branch in Letohrádek Ostrov (Summer House) and uses the premises of the Becher Villa in Karlovy Vary.
Source: IC Karlovy Vary
Svatoš Rocks
It is a granite rock town by the Ohře River on the way from Loket to Karlovy Vary. It is a national natural monument that even J. W. Goethe was enchanted by and visited regularly. According to one of many legends, a water nymph from the Ohře River turned an unfaithful suitor and his wedding procession to stone here. This story was, among other things, the inspiration for Goethe's masterpiece Faust.