Karlovy Vary · With kids

Smetanovy sady 1145/1, in the park below the spa valley. The last public municipal baths in town, dating from 1906, with a swimming pool and a salt cave open to anyone off the street rather than only to spa guests.

Krale Jiriho 1196/9, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-17:00, 80 Kc and 40 Kc reduced. The Gallery of Arts runs its hands-on strand here, with year-round children's programmes on colour and on Karlovy Vary porcelain that end in something made rather than looked at.

A medieval fortress in a river loop a short trip west, open 09:00-17:00 with last entry half an hour before. 175 Kc adults with a guide or 145 Kc with a printed text, 140 and 120 Kc for children. Armoury, porcelain, a torture exhibition children find fascinating, and a 26 m tower to climb.

Up in the Ore Mountains: a 12.9 km circuit or a 5.6 km short version with puzzles and tasks at stations along the way. Buy the 50 Kc notebook at the info centre (daily 08:00-12:30 and 13:00-18:00), fill it in, hand it back and the child gets a stamp and a small prize. Doable year-round on foot, with a pushchair, by bike or on skis.

Granite pillars on the Ohre that local legend turns into a petrified wedding party - bride, groom, priest, mother-in-law and all - reached on the marked trail from Doubi and crossed by a suspension footbridge. Free, roughly two hours, and the story does most of the work.