Liberec i Tjeckien - 7 tips på saker att se och göra

Liberec in the Czech Republic is the fifth largest city in the country. Here you will find beautiful historic buildings, and in the surrounding area there are plenty of high mountains and dramatic scenery. Welcome to a wonderful Czech city!

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Liberec in the Czech Republic

Liberec in the Czech Republic is a very pleasant city for visitors. The area offers beautiful nature, glass art and breweries. You can start in the city and then move outwards in the area.

Liberec is located in the north of the Czech Republic, about 11 kilometres north of the capital Prague,

Things to see and do in Liberec

What can you see and do in Liberec? We only spent a few days here, but we still managed to experience both culture and nature. Here are our top tips!

1. go on a city walk

A walking tour is always a good way to discover a city. We went together with a professional guide, which of course makes the visit extra interesting. But even if you walk around on your own, it can be very enjoyable! Feel free to start in the central square at the City Hall. The town hall itself is so exciting that it becomes a point of its own, but the square is also very beautiful.

The square includes the Neptune Fountain, which replaced an older wooden fountain in 1826. The fountain was eventually moved and demolished, but after protests and because of its historical value, it was reassembled and reinstalled.

On a city walk in Liberec you can see many different buildings, many of which are both old and beautiful. In the small picture to the left below you can see the oldest stone house in the city and in the small picture to the right you can see the oldest house in the city. Valdshtein houses were built between 1678 and 1671.

You can also check out the beautiful opera house (small picture below left) and the neighbourhood where author Franz Kafka sometimes hung out because his sister lived here (large picture).

You can also see the modern reconciliation building, built on the site of a former synagogue burnt down during Kristallnacht in 1938. The building now houses both the synagogue and a large public library.

Some other exciting sights in Liberec included a cinema that will be the first in Europe after Paris, an installation of chairs commemorating former President Václav Havel and a bus stop decorated by renowned sculptor David Černý.

We also stopped by The Church of the Holy Cross, which was closed when we were here but otherwise shows interiors from the 18th century. We could at least see the large column that was built to commemorate the plague.

2. Visit the town hall

Perhaps the biggest attraction in Liberic is the town hall, a neo-Renaissance building from 1888-1893, designed by the Viennese architect Franz Neumann. The building is incredibly grand, and it's almost impossible not to stop for a photo.

We had a guided tour of the city hall, and it is possible to book for those who are interested. Our guide first showed us through the grand entrance and staircase.

We later entered perhaps the most magnificent hall, "the ceremony hall", which today is sometimes used for weddings.

In one of the neighbouring rooms, we could also try out a chair where former President Václav Havel is said to have once sat.

At the end of the guided tour, you can climb the viewing tower of the town hall. I (Helena) am afraid of heights and don't mind if I don't have to, but Peter went up and took two photos!

3. Eat (Czech) food at Balada restaurant

One thing to do in Liberec is, of course, to eat. Czech food. We visited restaurant Balada, which is a traditional and cosy restaurant. There are classic Czech dishes such as dumplings. We ate salmon here, with potato cake and vegetables, which by all means is not very Czech. In any case, we finished off Czech with the liquor Slivovice.

4. Coffee at Café Dok

We can also recommend a café in Liberec called Café Dok. This café has a very modern and almost Scandinavian feel, with clean simple colours and a strong focus on locally produced products. They also have great pastries!

5. Get to the top of Ještěd Mountain

Just outside Liberec is Mount Ještěd, which is of course an interesting place to visit. If you want a little extra adventure, you can choose to take the cable car up. We arrived at the wrong time for the cable car and chose instead to take a car all the way up, which also worked well.

At the top, however, we were met by ... fog! Fog is common on mountains, so it's not unusual for it to be foggy up here. However, sometimes you have clear visibility with wonderful views, and if you experience that, you're lucky!

At the top of the mountain there is a restaurant where we had dinner. Here we both chose chicken with couscous and grilled vegetables. Good and nice!

6. Experience nature at Prezidentska, Jizer Mountains

The Czech Republic has a lot of nature to offer, and so does here! About 40 minutes by car from Liberic is Samalova, where we started for a trip through nature and eventually towards Prezidentska.

The first part of the walk was towards the former glassworks of Kristianov, and the walk here was very nice (about 35 minutes).

Kristianov's former small glassworks is charmingly located in a clearing in the mountains. This is where wine glass manufacturer Riedel started production in the 18th century. The German invasion of the Czech Republic led to the factory being blown up to prevent it falling into German hands, but today you can visit this little museum - and have a refreshing beer at the same time!

We then continued to Prezidentska, a trip that takes just over an hour on foot, but a little faster if you have a bike. Here we had a hearty (and very late!) lunch. Peter chose a tender piece of meat with root vegetables and I (Helena) went for the classic Czech vegetarian dish - fried cheese with tartar sauce. Definitely not easy, but delicious!

While we were having our lunch at Prezidentska, the fog was falling around us. I (Helena) first went for a walk by myself, and found it really beautiful. Then we all went for a walk to a lookout tower nearby. Nice walk but hard to see the view in the fog!

7. Take a trip to Jablonec Nad Nisou.

If you are visiting Liberec, Jablonec Nad Nisou is not too far away. In fact, the distance is no more than 14 kilometres. Jablonec Nad Nisou is a city with a strong focus on glass, and here you can visit the Museum of Glass and Jewellery. In this stylish museum you can see lots of glass, glass art and jewellery.

Göra i Liberec - Tjeckien - Jablonec Nad Nisou

Jablonec Nad Nisou is also home to the crystal company Preciosa, with its showroom. This may not be the place to shop as a private customer, but please read on more about the company here.

More to see and do in Liberec

There is, of course, more to see and do in Liberec than what we have recommended. When we went on the guided tour, we heard about the Liberec Zoo, where there is at least one white tiger. There is also a botanical garden, a dinosaur park and a technical museum.

Where to stay in Liberec?

If you're travelling by campervan, there's Camping Jarpslav Kahoutek Autokemp and Ski Areal Jested. We have not visited either place, as this time we flew and stayed in a hotel. We stayed at Pytloun Grand Hotel Imperial in Liberec, which we were very pleased with. The hotel is centrally located and the room was very fresh.

A special thing in our room was that there was a glass disc between the room and the bathroom. It felt very modern, but it also requires you to be comfortable with the person you are sharing the room with...

The breakfast at the hotel was excellent. We found fried eggs, vegetables, yoghurt and different fruits... very satisfied!

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Liberec is located in what is known as the Crystal Valley, which means there is plenty of glass to see and discover in the surrounding area. The area is also filled with beautiful nature and a long line of beer breweries. You can find more stories about neighbouring areas here:

READ MORE: Panská Skála - a naturephenomena in the Czech Republic
READ MORE: Hrubá Skála in Bohemian Paradise, Czech Republic
READ MORE: Handmade Christmas decorations in the Czech Republic - a Unesco heritage site
READ MORE: Slup Castle in the Czech Republic - a fascinating place to visit
READ MORE: Pačinek Glassworks, Czech Republic - decorated garden and church

More tips for things to do in Liberec?

Have you visited the city of Liberec in the Czech Republic? Do you have more tips on what to do in the city and its surroundings?

Facts about Liberec

Country: Czech Republic
Area: Bohemia / Bohemia
Region: Liberecky kraj (Liberec region)
Name: The city is called Liberec in Czech and the German name is Reichenburg,
Residents: About 104 000 (2018)
Industry and business: Textile and engineering industries, including one of Škoda's factories, and a technical college.

2 Comments

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BP says:

The houses in the old part of Liberec are very reminiscent of Riga and Gdansk. Neptune's fountain was also in the centre of the main street in Gdansk.
Love the angle you took the pictures at. Not so easy to get the big and tall building if you don't photograph them in "oblique mode";-)

The food - well it was certainly not Czech directly. Guess you are not very fond of dumplings and schnitzels;-)

07 October 2021 - 19:44

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Haha, yes it is not easy to know how to get the houses. Sometimes the "on the slope" variant works best, it feels like 😉 We often like the food in the Czech Republic, but there is a lot of meat, so sometimes it's nice to break with something else 😉
  
  09 October 2021 - 16:39

Liberec, Czech Republic - 7 things to see and do

Liberec in the Czech Republic

Things to see and do in Liberec

1. go on a city walk

2. Visit the town hall

3. Eat (Czech) food at Balada restaurant

4. Coffee at Café Dok

5. Get to the top of Ještěd Mountain

6. Experience nature at Prezidentska, Jizer Mountains

7. Take a trip to Jablonec Nad Nisou.

More to see and do in Liberec

Where to stay in Liberec?

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

More tips for things to do in Liberec?

Facts about Liberec

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