Prague Excursions

One of the benefits of studying abroad is the ability to venture outside your host city and explore the surrounding area. Excursions are offered for all semester, year, and summer programs. Semester students are typically offered two to three excursions and summer students are typically offered one to two excursions. You will receive a calendar of the specific CEA excursions offered for your program during orientation. To give you an idea of the possibilities, we have collected typical experiences from some of the day trips and weekend tours offered to our students in the past.

Kraków and Auschwitz - Birkenau (Semester Only)

Kraków ranks with Prague, Vienna and Budapest as one of the architectural gems of Central Europe. Unlike its neighbor, Warsaw, Krakow miraculously escaped unscathed from WWII. Students will tour the main sights of this UNESCO World Heritage site including Rynek Glówny, the largest town square in medieval Europe and the hub of the city since 1257; Cloth Hall, the world’s oldest shopping mall which has been in business for 700 years; St. Mary's Basilica with its giant Gothic alter carved from wood by Veit Stoss and the cathedral, royal chambers, stately rooms and beautiful arcaded courtyard of Wawel Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs. In the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, the Old Synagogue and the Remuh Synagogue and cemetery will remind students that the area was once a thriving Jewish community. The Schindler's List Tour will introduce sites which are both historical and recognizable scenes from Spielberg's movie about the Nazi occupation of Kraków, including Oskar Schindler's factory. The tour of the Martyrdom Museum in Auschwitz-Birkenau is one of the most sobering experiences and yet it remains a must-see. Camp buildings, barbed wire fences, watchtowers, and the entrance gate inscribed "Arbeit Macht Frei" all remain to bear witness to the atrocities of the holocaust. The last century has been very rocky for Poland, so seeing it now makes for a unique experience.

Vienna

Scenic Vienna, the capital city of Austria, it is also the world's music capital. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Strauss, Brahms and Schubert, the world’s greatest classical composers, all lived and worked in Vienna. Students will walk in the footsteps of the Hapsburgs, visit the splendid baroque Schönbrunn and Belvedere Palaces, and stroll along Ring Boulevard to see the Imperial Palace. A sense of the glitz and glory of the old empire can be experienced by visiting St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Spanish Riding School, the Giant Ferris Wheel at the Prater and the Imperial Vault. Students interested in Art History will particularly enjoy the visiting the Kunsthistorische (Art History) Museum, one of the finest art collections in the world. This is an amazing weekend in perspective!

Ceský Krumlov

Ceský Krumlov is one of the most wonderful medieval cities in Central Europe and is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. This romantic and charming town, located in Southern Bohemia, is a wonderful getaway from the bustling city. Students will visit the State Castle and the Baroque Theatre before spending the rest of the day wandering through the historical center of this fairytale town. There are many activities available, including hiking, cycling and canoeing down the Vltava River on a trip that lasts about one and a half hours. The scenery is incredible and students will get a great work-out. For students looking for a less physical experience, there will be plenty of time to relax in Krumlov's cozy cafés and restaurants before heading back to Prague in the evening.

Karlovy Vary

Beethoven, Casanova, Chopin, Freud, Kafka, Mozart, Tolstoi and Wagner have all taken a dip in the hot springs of Karlovy Vary, one of Central Europe's most famous spa towns. Legend has it that King Charles IV came upon the springs in 1360 and promptly named the area in honor of himself. Students will walk around the historical city center and visit some charming stores and boutiques. They can even purchase crystal glasses at the Moser glass factory before having a typical Czech lunch of Smažený Sýr (fried cheese) in the famous Thermal hotel. In the afternoon, CEA will spend a couple of hours at the open-air swimming pool in the hotel, filled with natural thermal water. After returning to Prague early evening they still have time to go to the university disco with some Czech friends.

Moravia

Moravia is a very distinct and pictoresque region of the country. While Czechs are, generally speaking, an atheist nation, Moravia folks attest to the opposite, its shining renovated churches being a clear proof. It is here where you can still see, in villages that is, the locals dressed in traditional costumes going to a Sunday Mass. Also, the rest of the Czech Republic may be beer thirsty but there is no doubt that Moravia prefers wine - a hilly vineyard-dotted countryside stretching for miles on end is a peaceful, refreshing sight. Students will visit a remarkable viticulture village where the oldest wine cellars date from the 15th century. Later they will see the beautiful Lednice chateaux and its surrounding resplendent park, the largest artificial landscape/park in Europe and perhaps in the world, one of many Czech UNESCO World Heritage sites. On a bumpy ride, a local quaint train will move them closer to the next destination, The Baťa Canal - the pride of one of the most outstanding Czechoslovak entrepreneurs of the 30´s, world renowned shoe maker Tomáš Baťa.

Šumava mountains

The territory of the Czech Republic is conveniently enveloped by a green ring of mountains forming a natural frontier. Visiting at least one of them is a must. On their way to the West Bohemian mountains, students will first make a stop in the city of Plzeň, the paragon of superior beer making, to visit the Pilsener Urquel Brewery´s museum but also the third largest Jewish synagogue in the world, among other things. Then they will continue to Churáňov in Šumava, which has many moving stories to tell – those of the dauntless first-republic soldiers who at the brink of World War II had built a series of forts along the Czechoslovak border, determined to defend the country against the Nazis, only to be ordered to retreat unconditionally without a fight, or the dim post-war stories of left-over German fighters – the so called wherwolves - attacking the locals meliciously, or later those of the opponents of the communist regime who sought illegaly to cross the borders and escape into the free part of Europe. In Šumava, students will spend a nice sporting weekend, mushroom picking – a popular Czech pastime -, going on a hiking tour, and horse riding trip.

Kuks Chateaux

Kuks is an unusual complex of late 17th century and early 18th century Baroque buildings near the historical town of Dvůr Králové nad Labem, founded by King Přemysl Otakar II in 1270. Kuks´ owner Špork was known for his love of the arts, as well as for supporting artists. One of them, sculptor Matyáš Braun created for him an impressive series of 24 statues, paragons of twelve Virtues and Vices. It´s hard to imagine he had only spent about a month carving each one of them. They are considered to be the Baroque sculptoral highlights in Bohemia. He also carved a marvellous Bethlehem into small natural sandstone rocks in the nearby Nový les (New Forest), unique in the world of art and one of the most valuable Baroque works of art in Europe. On the way back to Prague, students will stop at the mighty octagonal-shaped fortress called Josefov, built by Emperor Joseph II in 1789.