Czechia reveals its most-visited tourist attractions: What are yours?

Sites in Prague topped the list of Czechia’s most visited places, but a few other spots across the country made respectable showings, according to a ranking compiled by CzechTourism.

The funicular on Petřín proved to be even a bigger draw than Prague Castle last year. It saw 1.707 million visitors while the Castle merely had 1.420 million. Prague Zoo was just a lion’s whisker behind with 1.419 million. Just outside the capital, AquaPalace Praha in Čestlice saw 980,000 visitors.

The rest of the Top 10 was taken by regional sites. The list only includes places where visits can be counted, but not ones like Charles Bridge that have no admission, making it impossible to accurately count visits.

Zoos, gardens, and aquariums across the country consistently ranked among the most visited tourist destinations in 2022. Aside from the already mentioned one in Prague, Zlín Zoo was sixth with 798,500 people, the Safari Park in Dvůr Králové was eighth with 669,400 visitors, and Zoo Ostrava finished out the Top 10 with 606,700 visitors.

"Zoos played a leading role last year in terms of tourists in eight out of 14 regions: South Bohemia, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Olomouc, Pilsen, Vysočín, Ústí nad Labem and Zlín regions," Jan Herget, director of CzechTourism, said.

The Petřín funicular wasn’t the only example of infrastructure to rank high. The former ironworks in Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava came in fifth, while the Žižkov Television Tower and Petřín Tower were 11th and 12th. The Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery in Pilsen came in 14th.

Sky Bridge 721 in the Pardubice region was a newcomer to the list, coming in 28th even though it only opened to the public in May last year.

“This is not a big surprise for the longest suspension bridge for pedestrians in the world,” Herget said. He added that the bridge was truly unique and there was also a large promotional effort seen around the world.

Water parks and historical buildings filled in most of the other top spots in the list, although dinosaur parks and other family-oriented attractions also made appearances.

Some destinations like the National Museum in Prague and similar institutions with multiple venues only report combined figures and were ranked separately. The National Museum venues together had 956,100 visitors and the Jewish Museum in Prague had 407,900 visitors.

For people who want to explore the figures in more detail can also find lists of the most popular place by region or by category. Obecní dům in Prague was the most popular example of architecture, beating out Vila Tugendhat in Brno. For memorial sites, Terezín topped the list, followed by Lidice.

For Prague, the big news was that it became the most popular tourist destination for domestic travelers, according to the Czech Statistical Office. The last time this happened was in 2012. Domestic visitors accounted for one-quarter of the total of 5.98 million tourists in 2022.