3 Best Sights in Western Bohemia, Czech Republic

Under a little gazebo filled with brass pipes sits the town's main spring. The colonnade to the left once displayed a bust of Lenin that was replaced in 1990 by a memorial to the American liberation of the town in April 1945. To the right, in the garden, you'll see a statue of a small cherub holding a fish. The oval neoclassical temple just beyond the spring (amazingly, not painted yellow and white) is the Glauberova dvorana (Glauber Pavilion), where several springs bubble up into glass cases.

While Plzeň lacks the bitter thermal waters that are a draw in the spa region, it is better known for bitter pilsner-style beer. So the opening of a beer spa was inevitable. You can bathe in a custom-made larchwood tub filled with warm beer for a 60-minute treatment. Potable beer is available from a barrel at the same time. The room is lined with stone tiles, and relaxing music plays in the background. The treatment can be combined with a beer massage, or a honey or chocolate massage. Other procedures are also available. The spa is a bit outside of the city center.

Shooting its scalding water to a height of some 40 feet, the Vřídlo is indeed Karlovy Vary's hottest and most dramatic gusher. Built around it is the jarringly modern Vřídlo Colonnade. Walk inside the arcade to watch patients take the famed Karlsbad drinking cure. The waters (30°F–72°F) are said to be especially effective against diseases of the digestive and urinary tracts. They're also good for gout (which probably explains the spa's former popularity with royals). If you want to join the crowds and take a sip, you can buy your own spouted cup from one of the souvenir vendors throughout the town.