All tours require a minimum of three participants, and will be presented in English, unless by prior arrangement.
All text and images are Copyright 2007, Olomouc Tours, Sokolska 1, Olomouc, 77900. Tel (+420) 775345570
All text and images are Copyright 2007, Olomouc Tours, Sokolska 1, Olomouc, 77900. Tel (+420) 775345570
Tourist Information
If you're at the research stage of your trip, we've tried to provide some resources that we think might be helpful...
The currency of the Czech Republic is the Czech Crown, or Ceská Koruna. The plural form of Koruna is 'Koruny' until you reach 5 and then it becomes 'Korun'. Current exchange rates are best checked online. The Euro is not scheduled for adoption until at least 2010, but Euros are easily exchanged for crowns and some businesses may accept them directly, albeit at sometimes inflated rates.
The main tourist information office is in the town hall on the main square. The staff are helpful, multilingual and the office is open until 7pm daily in the warmer months. Their official website is (predictably) an excellent source of information about Olomouc, everything from upcoming concerts to a thousand years of history to the weather that you can expect on your stay. Olomouc.com has more history of the city in English, but it's not as well written as the tourist info site. Olomouc.cz is all in Czech but has a nice photo section.
Wikipedia and Wikitravel both have good articles about Olomouc, and Lonely Planet guidebooks are the most comprehensive that we've seen regarding the city. They certainly don't make stupid mistakes like the Rough Guide does when it claims that the Arion fountain is "a naked woman holding a dolphin".
If you're travelling by public transport, you can check all connections on the Czech rail website. From Prague or Krakow, train tends to be best. From Vienna, Budapest or Bratislava, you can travel to Olomouc by train, but may need to change at either Břeclav (on the Austrian border) or Přerov (20km from Olomouc) Both of theses stations are well organised major rail hubs with electronic departures boards, so changing trains should be straightforward. If you're coming from places like Telč or Český Krumlov, you will probably find bus more convenient.
Arriving at the train station Olomouc main station (Olomouc hl.n) has been recently renovated and the building houses a bankomat, tourist information office (until 6pm), currency exchange, and a small supermarket. Trams 4, 6 and 7 run to the centre of Olomouc from the front of the station. You'll need an 8Kč ticket (10Kč from October 2007) from the orange automat, take the trams to the right (with your back to the station building) and remember to time-stamp your tickets when you enter the tram. Taxis often hover around the train station carpark and the trip to the old town should be around 100Kč.
Arriving at the bus station is not quite as pleasant. It's further from the centre in a fairly drab part of town, and there are no toilets, tourist information or bank machines. Fortunately it's only two tram stops or a ten minute walk from the train station. The free call number for a Taxi is 800 150505
Parking It is not permitted to park within the historic centre unless you have a permit or buy a temporary ticket from one of the machines. Many of the streets within the historic centre are pedestrian only, unless you have a special permit (taxis, delivery vehicles, police etc.) Watch out for the blue Pěší Zona (pedestrian zone) signs. There's a large guarded carpark on Koželuzska Ul. and many outdoor carparks around the edge of the old town, notably beside the Hussite church on Legionařská and at the old bus station off Třida Svobody. Many hotels and pensions have their own carparks, but within the historic centre there are also some which do not.
The currency of the Czech Republic is the Czech Crown, or Ceská Koruna. The plural form of Koruna is 'Koruny' until you reach 5 and then it becomes 'Korun'. Current exchange rates are best checked online. The Euro is not scheduled for adoption until at least 2010, but Euros are easily exchanged for crowns and some businesses may accept them directly, albeit at sometimes inflated rates.
The main tourist information office is in the town hall on the main square. The staff are helpful, multilingual and the office is open until 7pm daily in the warmer months. Their official website is (predictably) an excellent source of information about Olomouc, everything from upcoming concerts to a thousand years of history to the weather that you can expect on your stay. Olomouc.com has more history of the city in English, but it's not as well written as the tourist info site. Olomouc.cz is all in Czech but has a nice photo section.
Wikipedia and Wikitravel both have good articles about Olomouc, and Lonely Planet guidebooks are the most comprehensive that we've seen regarding the city. They certainly don't make stupid mistakes like the Rough Guide does when it claims that the Arion fountain is "a naked woman holding a dolphin".
If you're travelling by public transport, you can check all connections on the Czech rail website. From Prague or Krakow, train tends to be best. From Vienna, Budapest or Bratislava, you can travel to Olomouc by train, but may need to change at either Břeclav (on the Austrian border) or Přerov (20km from Olomouc) Both of theses stations are well organised major rail hubs with electronic departures boards, so changing trains should be straightforward. If you're coming from places like Telč or Český Krumlov, you will probably find bus more convenient.
Arriving at the train station Olomouc main station (Olomouc hl.n) has been recently renovated and the building houses a bankomat, tourist information office (until 6pm), currency exchange, and a small supermarket. Trams 4, 6 and 7 run to the centre of Olomouc from the front of the station. You'll need an 8Kč ticket (10Kč from October 2007) from the orange automat, take the trams to the right (with your back to the station building) and remember to time-stamp your tickets when you enter the tram. Taxis often hover around the train station carpark and the trip to the old town should be around 100Kč.
Arriving at the bus station is not quite as pleasant. It's further from the centre in a fairly drab part of town, and there are no toilets, tourist information or bank machines. Fortunately it's only two tram stops or a ten minute walk from the train station. The free call number for a Taxi is 800 150505
Parking It is not permitted to park within the historic centre unless you have a permit or buy a temporary ticket from one of the machines. Many of the streets within the historic centre are pedestrian only, unless you have a special permit (taxis, delivery vehicles, police etc.) Watch out for the blue Pěší Zona (pedestrian zone) signs. There's a large guarded carpark on Koželuzska Ul. and many outdoor carparks around the edge of the old town, notably beside the Hussite church on Legionařská and at the old bus station off Třida Svobody. Many hotels and pensions have their own carparks, but within the historic centre there are also some which do not.
