Overview
Tábor is a city in South Bohemia 100 km south of Prague. It was founded in 1420 by radical followers of Jan Hus, who paved the way for Martin Luther's church reforms. Much of its old town has been preserved, perched on a hilltop between the Lužnice River and the medieval reservoir of Jordán Lake. A big castle, old town hall and other sights remind visitors of its interesting past. Its population in 2019 was over 34,000.
Understand
The town is named after the Mount Tabor, where, according to the Bible, Christ revealed his divinity to his disciples.
History The town was founded in the spring of 1420 by Petr Hromádka of Jistebnice and Jan Bydlínský of Bydlín from the most radical wing of the Hussites, who soon became known as the Taborites. In the following years the town flourished as an egalitarian peasant commune. This spirit is celebrated in Smetana's "Song of Freedom", made famous in the English-speaking world by Paul Robeson's recording in Czech and English.
The historical part of the town sits on the summit of an isolated hill separated from the surrounding country by the Lužnice river and by an extensive lake, to which the Hussites gave the biblical name of Jordan. This lake, founded 1492, is the oldest reservoir of its kind in Central Europe. The historical importance of the city of Tábor ceased only when it was captured by King George of Poděbrady in 1452.
The tourist information centre is the at Žižkovo Náměstí 2 in the old town centre.
Get in
By car Tábor lies on the road connecting Prague with České Budějovice and it takes approximately one and a quarter hour to get there. From České Budějovice it takes 50 min.
By bus – It's near the train station.
Buses from Prague to Tábor depart from Roztyly bus station on Metro C (red) line. The ride to Tábor takes 1 hr 20 min. The departure times and prices of other bus operators from Prague are covered by the app Busradar. In that app are rides for about shown.
By train From Prague main railway station, there are Express (1hr 17min) and Regional (1hr 25 min) trains operated by the national train operator ČD, providing a roughly hourly service from 6am until midnight.
Get around
There are 16 bus lines in Tábor. To get from the main bus and railway station to the historic centre, use one of the frequent city buses to Klokoty. Or it's 1.2 km (0.7 miles) walking (15 min). There is a path for pedestrians and cyclists by the lake that makes a nice alternative to go from the bus or train station to the historical centre.
See
Žižka Square. Main square of historic core. Gothic town hall, big church with look-out tower and monument of medieval military leader Jan Žižka are right on this square. Other interesting sight are in walking distance.
Church of "Proměnění Páně na hoře Tábor". Big church in late Gothic style, right on the main square. Church tower is 87 m tall and offers nice views of the city and surrounding landscape.
Kotnov Tower and Bechyně Gate. Kotnov Tower is the only remnant of Tábor Castle, which was destroyed by fire in 1532. Bechyně Gate, the southwest entrance to historic centre is next to the tower.
Renaissance Water Tower. Unusual water tower in Renaissance style from 1502.
The Town Walls. Well-preserved gothic town walls on northern edge of old Tábor.
Jordán Lake. Large lake on eastern edge of old Tábor from 15th century; the oldest water reservoir in Central Europe. Ideal for swimming.
Hussite Museum and medieval underground. Located in gothic style former town hall, this museum contains expositions about reformer Jan Hus and Hussite revolution, with weapons and historical documents. Under the houses and streets of Žižka Square is a labyrinth of tunnels. The townspeople dug cellars under their houses and these were connected; an approximately 500 m-long section of the tunnel system is open to the public and is a part of the Hussite museum.
Museum of Chocolate and Marzipan. If you get bored of many historic sights, why not to spend some time in this museum?
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Outside the historic centre (in quarter Klokoty), baroque pilgrimage church is definitely worth a visit.
Hylacka look-out tower. 25 meter tall look-out tower, nice view of Tábor.
Tábor Zoo. Small zoo (however the largest in South Bohemia) with 80 species, mostly from America, including tigers and zebras.
Do
Hiking There are lots of options for both shorter walks or longer hikes. is a short trail 1.2 km from centre of Tábor. The trails are covered on OsmAnd or Mapy.cz. There are a lot of quite interesting sights which can be reached by hiking. For example, Pribenice castle ruin (follow red hiking trail, which goes along Luznice river valley - 10 km), Hylacka (3.5 km) and Babice (4 km) look-out towers and Kozí Hrádek castle ruin (9 km).
Like elsewhere in Czech Republic, you can best plan your hiking routes through Mapy.cz, which shows the routes in the same colours as the signposts.
Canoeing Luznice river is a good river for canoeing.
Out of town trips On holidays there are . It's operated by ČD and you can buy tickets on board or at the station at the regular tariff. The platform is in front of the station building, separate from the other tracks.
Bechyně. Taking a normal train is also worth. There is a nice old town and a train&automobile museum.
Buy
The ATMs of these banks in the city center do not charge a fee for withdrawing money: fio banka, KB (Komerční banka) and Raiffeisenbank.
For buying groceries, there are Zabka stores around. A bigger variety have the Portaviny Večerka Supermarket in the Old Town, the Billa and Albert in the city center and the Penny supermarket near the train station. All of the named grocery stores have same-day baked goods.
Albert supermarket. in the basement of the shopping mall.
"Karel Dvořák - Obchodní dům" Shopping centre.
Eat
Stárkův Dům. Here you get a typical Czech hot dog from 30 Kč
Com Viet. It's on the highest floor of the shopping mall and only open during the normal opening hours of the shopping mall. A main dish is about 109-129 Kč
Hokkaido Sushi bar. Also on the highest floor of the shopping mall. They offer a dish Nudle s kurecím masem with chicken for 109 Kč. For the other dishes the rice or noodles must be paid extra. There is also all-you-can-eat offered on "running sushi" plates. The opening hours of the restaurant are longer than the ones of the shopping mall. You can enter the restaurant in the western entrance of the shopping mall and then take the lift to floor 2.
Restaurace Na Bečvárně. Czech cuisine. Main dishes for 112-135 Kč.
Indická restaurace Tandoor. An Indian restaurant.
Goldie Restaurant. Part of Hotel Nautilus.
Tábor Restaurace U Dvou Koček. Temporarily closed as of May 2022. Standard Czech restaurant, don't expect anything great.
Bistro Stárkův dům. Bistro in Renaissance house from 1570. Ready meals all day long - every day one Czech traditional meal, one vegetarian meal, one steak and, of course, schnitzel and fried cheese.
RAFARIZ Uyghur Noodle House. Thick home-made stir-fried noodles (lagman) and plov are the main staples but they also serve more obscure dishes from the region. Menu has English descriptions and changes weekly.
Drink
Café Budík. café, hot chocolate (lots of kinds and good quality), desserts.
Sleep
Rodinny Hostel Stárkův Dům. With a kitchen and warm in the winter. It can be reserved on booking.com. The dorm is for 360-400 Kč (May 2022).
Cesta. It's in an old simple house. Staying there is suggested from late spring to early autumn when the temperature in the night is over 10⁰C. There is an oven in the sleeping room which you can fire up and fill with cut wood. The included breakfast is good with self-made cheese and sausage. The dorm is for 400 Kč (May 2022). It can be reserved on booking.com
Staromestsky Pension. Family-friendly pension in house from 16th century.
Nautilus Hotel. Luxurious hotel with wellness and restaurant on the main square in the historic centre.
Make Tábor your own.
Before committing, pick one main reason for this visit and two nearby experiences that support it. Check the guide’s transport sections against current operator information. A convenient base can save more time than adding another attraction.
- Choose your arrival point and one base. Write down the real transfer time, not just the map distance.
- Build a first-day plan with room to settle in. Cluster the places you want to see rather than crossing the city repeatedly.
- Use actual accommodation and transport quotes in your budget. Add fees to the quote before comparing it.
- Keep one uncommitted block. Weather, energy and a good local recommendation can all change your plan.
Source transparency
This guide adapts licensed text by Wikivoyage contributors. It is not a claim that Lakhou has visited or independently verified every listing. We converted the source to plain text, selected practical sections and removed price sentences and private contact information. The planning framework and any related-business booking recommendations above are Lakhou editorial additions.
Original revision 5357530 · Contributor history · CC BY-SA 4.0. Reused text and adaptations on this page are available under that license. Source revision date: 2026-09-12. This is not a date of field verification.
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