Your sparkliest Christmas ever
What do you imagine when you hear “Christmas”? A tree? Mountains of food? Family parties? One of the images that comes to mind is of festive decorations, and the Christmas light spectacle that awaits you in Czechia is beyond your wildest dreams! The whole country will be illuminated by several magical light parks until the end of January.
River of lights
When you arrive in Prague during the holiday season, your first steps will undoubtedly lead you to the Christmas markets. It’s no wonder ― they’re some of the most beautiful in Europe! Once you’ve experienced the magic of the festively decorated city, you’ll feel like you’re in a fairy tale or even a kitschy Christmas movie when you visit the largest light park in Czechia, which extends along the bank of the Vltava River.
Getting here will be an experience ― you can travel on a cute Christmas tram adorned with twinkly lights. If a walk among 170 light sculptures, including the Prague Eiffel Tower, isn’t enough, you can gaze at the light exhibition from an entirely new perspective ― the deck of a boat or an open houseboat. Seeing the reflection of 400,000 lights on the water is simply magical. The illuminated boat will not only take you on a cruise near the park but also into the city center and back.
A chateau Christmas
If you’re a big Christmas fan, you must visit Loučeň Chateau near Prague. Just as in the capital, the chateau park transforms into a dreamy world filled with glowing light sculptures and decorations. The largest Advent wreath in Czechia is lit in front of the palace, and the lights will guide you through the chateau’s 12 labyrinths and mazes. You can also enjoy the jolly festive atmosphere during Christmas tours of the palace, where you can marvel at more than 20 Christmas trees! After the tours (which run until Jan 21), you can even decorate a Christmas ornament yourself. By the way, every decoration on the chateau’s trees is from the Czech workshop Koulier, which you can visit throughout the year.
Jules Verne’s Christmas
Can you imagine a former industrial ironworks site getting you into the festive mood? They will in Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava! This unique area appears as if it were taken from Jules Verne’s novel The Begum’s Fortune. In the spirit of the author, a light exhibition will carry the theme. Under the historical blast furnace and mining tower, an illuminated airship, a flying bicycle or planets will hover. If you seek a more traditional festive atmosphere, head to the town’s Christmas markets and skate on the rink or illuminated ice paths.
Into the light
Miles of illuminated chains will also create light parks in gingerbread-scented Pardubice, in České Budějovice, where you can admire light nativity scenes or traditional South Bohemian cottages made of bulbs, and at Ratměřice Chateau, which transforms into a fairy tale kingdom of princesses and knights.
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Prague light park
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Family visiting the Prague Light Park
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Ostrava Vítkovice, Light Park
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Christmas lights
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Prague light park from boat
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