The Colonnades, Springs & Spa Cure of Karlovy Vary

Everything in Karlovy Vary radiates from its hot springs, and the colonnades built to shelter them are the town's open-air living rooms. This guide explains the drinking cure that the whole resort is built around: what the water is, how to taste it, and which colonnade is which, from the grand Mill Colonnade to the modern hall over the Vridlo geyser. It also covers the two edible souvenirs, the spa wafers and Becherovka, and how to go beyond sipping and book an actual bath or treatment. None of it requires a doctor or a multi-day stay; a curious afternoon and a spa cup are enough to join in. Save the springs and spas that appeal and slot them into your days.

The drinking cure

Karlovy Vary's defining ritual is the drinking cure: walking the colonnades and sipping warm mineral water from a porcelain spa cup, a little at each spring in turn. The water is naturally heated and rich in minerals, and was historically prescribed for digestive and metabolic complaints. You do not need a prescription to join in, just buy a cup and taste, but go gently, as the water is salty, warm, and a mild laxative in quantity.

The Mill Colonnade

The grandest of them all, a 132-metre Neo-Renaissance promenade of 124 Corinthian columns designed by Josef Zitek and built between 1871 and 1881. Twelve statues of the months line the roof, and five springs flow beneath it, making it the natural place to start the cure.

The Hot Spring Colonnade & the Vridlo

The modern glass-and-concrete hall of 1975 shelters the Vridlo, the hottest and most powerful spring, which erupts in a jet up to twelve metres high at around 73C and yields some 2,000 litres a minute. The water is too hot to drink at source, so it is cooled at five indoor taps. The geyser is the emblem of the town.

The Market & Castle colonnades

The pretty white Market Colonnade, a lacy Swiss-style timber structure by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer (1883), covers three springs including the Charles IV spring of the founding legend. Just above it, the surviving Castle Tower marks where the emperor's hunting lodge once stood and gave the town its name.

The Park Colonnade

The ornate cast-iron Park Colonnade of 1880-1881, the surviving wing of a grand glass pavilion, threads through the leafy Dvorak Gardens beside the Snake Spring, whose fountain spouts from a bronze serpent's mouth.

Spa wafers & the thirteenth spring

Two local specialities complete the cure: the large round wafers called oplatky, sold warm from colonnade stalls and made in the town since 1867, and Becherovka, the herbal liqueur produced here since 1807 and fondly called the town's 'thirteenth spring'. Both are gentler on the palate than the salty water.

Taking a treatment

To go beyond the drinking cure, book a thermal bath, a peat wrap, or a massage. The historic Elizabeth's Spa (Alzbetiny lazne) in Smetana Gardens is the grand, affordable public option, with a thermal pool and a full menu of treatments; the spa hotels offer the same by the hour. A half-day sampler pairs a springs walk with a bath and a massage for roughly CZK 1,000-1,400.