Prague's Petřín cable car was the most popular Czech attraction last year

Prague's Petřín Funicular was the most-visited Czech attraction last year, according to data released this weekend by Czech Tourism. The location saw more than one million visitors in 2021 while more traditional tourist attractions saw a decrease in visitors due to effects related to the pandemic and a decrease in foreign tourists.

Domestic tourism, meanwhile, saw an uptick in 2021, with many local attractions across the Czech Republic reporting an uptick in visitors last year despite the pandemic. Six of the top ten most-visited Czech attractions last year were zoos.

Prague Castle, which traditionally tops the list of the Czech Republic's most popular attractions, fell to ninth place last year with just 440,000 visitors. Only eight of the Czech Republic's top 50 most-visited attractions in 2021 were in Prague.

"The explanation is simple: there were significantly fewer foreign tourists in 2021 due to Covid-19 and logically interest in Prague Castle fell, similar to the pandemic year in 2020," says CzechTourism Director Jan Herget in a press release.

"At the same time, and on the contrary, the interest of travelers in [natural attractions] has increased radically and still holds a high position, especially in the Czech mountains."

While the Czech Republic expects a rebound in tourism this year, numbers aren't expected to fully recover due to lingering pandemic effects and the war in Ukraine. Visitors from China and Russia, especially, aren't expected to return in force this year.

"At the moment, we expect that around 5 million visitors from abroad will come to the Czech Republic this year, so we can expect an increase in interest in Prague Castle," adds Herget.

"However, tourists from Asia and Russia will probably still be missing, and they made up almost 20% of the Czech Republic's tourists."

Following the Petřín Funicular, Prague Zoo was the Czech Republic's second most-visited attraction in 2021. Zoos in Zlín, Pilsen, Ostrava, Olomouc and Dvůr Králové also made the top ten.

The Industrial Complexes at Ostrava, a monument to industry and UNESCO World Heritage nominee, received 620,000 visitors last year to become the fourth most-popular attraction in the Czech Republic. The Aquapalace Čestlice water park came in fifth with 618,000 visitors.

"The change of places that tourists visited the most in the Czech Republic last year shows two things: the importance of domestic tourism is growing and it is necessary to invest in the restart of foreign tourism," says Herget.

He adds that the Kudy z nudy portal helps promote domestic tourism, while a new advertising campaign is currently promoting the Czech Republic in 14 countries across the world.

These were the Czech Republic's most-visited attractions in 2021:

More information can be found via Czech Tourism's statistical site tourdata.cz.