Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

The bell tower of the Deanery Church on Žižka Square gives unrivalled views over the countryside around Tábor. The worn old steps up to the top are hard work but worth it.

Arts and culture

The Hussite Museum is also on the old town’s main square, housed in the impressive late-Gothic town hall, with a permanent exhibition about the followers of reformer Jan Hus. It also gives access to Tábor’s extraordinary network of underground tunnels (www.husmuseum.cz). New art is shown at the Water Tower Gallery, ZiZková Street. The Sechtl and Vosecek Museum of Photography on Filipovská showcases a unique archive of social-documentary photography, and has an excellent website (http://sechtl-vosecek.ucw.cz).

Something for nothing

In midsummer, cool down in the town centre with a swim in Lake Jordan, the oldest manmade lake in Europe.

Shopping

There’s a quality gift shop just off Žižka Square called Kràmecek u podloubi, at 156 Pražkà. You can buy paintings, graphic art, glass and ceramics at the 140 Gallery, 140 Koželužká.

Daytripper

It’s a 60km drive to Ceské Budejovice, another of southern Bohemia’s proudly preserved heritage towns and, famously, home of Budvar beer. The 13th-century town and castle of Ceské Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is 90km away.

Perfect picnic

Half an hour on foot from the old town, the baroque monastery church at Klokoty is a famous place of pilgrimage, connected to Tábor by a footpath through lovely parkland.

Activities

Ask the hotel about cycling, horse-riding, rock climbing and hiking among waymarked routes in the woods and hills around Tábor. Fishing and boat trips on the LuZnice river can also be arranged. A booklet called Walking in the Region of Tábor is available in English from the Tourist Information Centre at 2 Žižka Square.