What to do with the kids: Take the Pöstlingberg mountain railway to climb the landmark mountain of Linz and visit the Grottenbahn through the houses and landscapes of dragons, witches and dwarves. Our children loved it! The ride  from the main square to the Pöstlingberg takes around 30min. 

Day trip to Passau: Passau (Germany) is a short train ride (around 1 hour) away. Passau is known as the Dreiflüssestadt (City of Three Rivers) because the Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. It is a very lovely town with many baroque churches and a nice historic town center (last picture in the gallery is from Passau).

Getting there: Nightjet from Zurich (leaving 21:40) to Linz (arriving at 6.00). Book well ahead for bargain tickets (www.oebb.at).

Where to sleep: Hotel Wolfinger is a classic Austrian hotel and has great family rooms. Breakfast is abundant. It is located near the main square (Hauptplatz).

Where to eat: You will find an excellent breakfast with a stunning view of the city on the Pöstlingberg at the Jindrak Konditorei.  

Song for the city: Amadeus (Falco, 1985).

What to do with the kids: Budweis (don't even try to pronounce the Czech name unless you are a native speaker) is a very relaxed and lovely city with a nice and well preserved historic center (and yes, there is this famous brewery...). There are lots of parks and modern playgrounds at Plavencky stadion. And for rainy weather there is the Hopsarium, a huge indoor playground. 

Getting there: Take the train from Linz to Budweis (around 2 hours, seveal trains throughout the day). There is a very good App from the Czech train company for busying tickets (www.cd.cz/en). We always booked first class; prices were very favourable.

Where to sleep: We stayed at the Grand Hotel Zvon, an elegant boutique 4-star superior hotel with tradition since 1533. It is located right in the historic centere. The family room was huge and the breakfast abundant.

Where to eat: We had lunch at the Potrefena husa (staropramen.cz). They serve traditional Czech dishes and have a wide selection of local beers. Another good and traditional restaurant is the Masne Kramy (meat market; masne-kramy.cz). If you fancy more mediterranean food, head to the Pizzeria Fontana (pizeeriafontana.cz) with superb pasta and tasty pizzas.

Song for the city: Kate Bush - King of the mountain

What to do with the kids: Tabor has many great places for kids. You will find a lot of recommendations at the very good tourist information. We went to the chocolate museum. Our kids not only learned how chocolate is made, but they also created their own sweet souvenir in a creative workshop, in memory of their visit to the museum.  

Getting there: Take the train from Ceske Budejovice to Tabor (around 1 hour; seveal trains throughout the day). 

Where to sleep: We stayed at the superb Hotel Nautilus. The family room was huge and the breakfast abundant. 

Where to eat: Definitively the restaurant of Hotel Nautilus, delicious!

Song for the city: Everything she wants (Wham)

What to do with the kids: There are so many things to do with your kids. Take a look at the very good webpage of the Prague tourist information office. Our top favourite pasttime was:

1. Take the tram to the Hotel NH Prague City. From there take the cable car to the upper building which has a great restaurant and a terrace. From there you have a superbe view over the city (see foto above with the red cable car).

2. Stroll around in the old city center and have a rest at the hidden playground at Plac Zabaw in an old fransician garden.

3. Buy the best ice at Zmirzlinar. Or at Angelato.

4. If you happen to have some parent time, take a detour to the Bukowski's Bar at Borivojova 689/86 in Praha 3. It is how a good bar should be. Or dance the night away at Fuchs.

5. Visit the Dox, a museum for contemporary art. For older children certainly suitable as the building itself is already worth a visit.

Getting there: Take the train from Tabor to Prague (around 1 hour; seveal trains throughout the day).

Where to sleep: We stayed at a wonderful B&B at Polska street near the Riegrovy sady.

Where to eat:  Excellent breakfast you get at Cafefin, EMA Espresso bar, Ty Kavo, Kolektor Café and also at Coffee Room. There is a huge playground nearby so we often took our coffee take away and enjoyed it on the playground (Detské hriste U Vodarny) while the children were busy playing. Our son loved the Vytopna Railway restaurant where your drinks will be served by little trains. Excellent food and a sophisticated atmosphere you will find at the Eatery. An easy going place for family is the concept of vnitroblock.

Song for the city: Friend of a friend (Lake Malawi 2019)

Give your family a treat: Have a nice stayover at Heralec Castle (Chateau Heralec) in the marvellous Vysočina region. Chateau Herálec is located in the region with the largest UNESCO historical monuments and lies in the middle of almost untouched nature of the Highlands with deep forests, adjacent fields, blooming meadows, vast valleys, and breathtaking natural scenery. Apart from the exquisite restaurant, the superbe service and the spacious room (and the interior swimming-pool) the main highlight was the 18th-century English park with its century-old trees. It is one of the top boutique hotels where children from all ages are welcome!

Impossible to get there without car? No, it's not. Take the train from Prague to Havlíčkův Brod (around 2h). The hotel was kind enough to organise (for a reasonable price) a hotel shuttle which took us directly to the hotel.

What to do with the kids: Take a stroll through the Telc castle park. Or go out of the city center, cross Na Bastie, go along Jivhlaska road untill you get to a crossroad. There take a left  into Na Kotnove street and continue walking a short distance on the tranquil road until you reach the signal U Rostenky. Turn right and follow the path untill you reach the recreational field and camping site U Rostenky. There you can enjoy a swim in the Pond (Telcsky Potok) and enjoy ice cream. Meanwhile your kids can play on the playground.

Getting there: The hotel shuttle/taxi drove us to Telc.

Where to sleep: Hotel Telc was a very pleasant place with good food.

Where to eat:  We liked the retro styled Kavarna U Nas doma at the main square as well as the modern Bistro Café Friends.

Shopping: Nice city center with artisanal shops.

Song for the city: Into the Groove - Madonna

What to do with the kids: We fell in love with Brno. It's a family-friendly but still cool place. It has history, playgrounds, underground and art scenes. So here our top 4:

1. Visit the Špilberk Castle and enjoy the view from the top of the hill.

2. From the main station, take Tram Nr. 1, 3 or 11 until Přístaviště stop. From there walk in direction of the ferry terminal Bystric Pristav, turn left until you reach a small but lovely playground (mini netsuke hirsute Ypsilanti). We haven't visited it but nearby there is also the Brno Zoo.

3. Stroll around the old town. Visit the main square (majesty Svoboda) and discover the astronomical clock (brnensky orloj) and its history. Continue to the big Luzanky Park where you'll find great playgrounds for the kids. Have a break at Punkt Cafe and enjoy the lovely homemade cakes. Walk back to the city while stopping at dawn at the Light fountain (Světelná fontána u Janáčkova divadla) for a light spectacle.

4. Visit the Moravian Gallery (Modern Art Gallery): The Moravian Gallery in Brno comprises five buildings in total. Four of these are in Brno - they include the Museum of Applied Arts, the Pražák Palace and Governor's place. The Museum of Applied Arts harbours an awesome sledge from one level to another. And they also have a playroom for kids. Definitely worth to go there.

For more information contact the tourist information website.

Getting there: As the rails were under construction, we took a comfortable Bus from Telc to Brno bus station (around 2h).

Where to sleep: We had a lovely Airbnb at Panska Street.

Where to eat: For breakfast go to Pdonik Cafe or Momenta Cafe or to the urban styled SKOG Urban Hub for a bit Brooklyn Feeling (and good coffee). For dinner try Bistro Franz.

Song for the city: Into the Groove - Madonna

What to do with the kids: 

1. Visit the Chateau: Lednice Chateau is located in the Lednice-Valtice region. It is one of the most beautiful complexes in the English Neo-Gothic style in Europe. Several tour routes lead through the chateau interior, from representative halls, to the princely apartments, rooms of the small princes and princesses and the Puppet Museum. 

2. Bike tour: We rented bikes at Miroslav Peňáček: Půjčovna a úschovna kol. We cycled through the lovely landscape, passing ponds and bird reserves, till we reached Valtice. There we ordered coffee and sweets in the Valtice Chateau and then returned to Lednice (all in all it took about 5 hours).

3. Mikulov: You could hardly find a town with a more beautiful position than Mikulov. It is spread on the last hills of the Pálava Mountains and surrounded with vineyards. This is the centre of the Mikulov vineyard sub-area and wine is everywhere – in the scenic historical streets and in the chateau. It's a easy bus ride (bus station at the main square from Lednice).

Getting there: Take one of the several trains from Brno to Lednice.

Where to sleep: We had a good room at the Chateau Hotel Lednice. 

Where to eat: We ate at the restaurant of our hotel.

Song for the city: I want to ride my bicycle (Queen)

What to do with the kids: Check out wienXtra für Kinder information center (they also harbour a playground inside the information center). Here are some idea:

Haus des Meeres (house of the sea) Aquarium:  More than 10.000 animals run and swim around a 5.000 m² area in the Haus des Meeres - Aqua Terra Zoo. There are crocodiles, poisonous snakes, constrictors and saurians. The main attractions of the tropical seawater section are the huge fish-tanks, the sharks, sea turtles, many different corals, as well as gorgeous fish. 

Zoom Kindermuseum (Childrens Museum):  At ZOOM, children explore the world with all their senses, on their own or in small teams. In contrast to museums for adults, ZOOM invites children to touch and try out exhibits and, through the sense of touch, take possession of the world.

Haus der Musik: Fun and interactive expositions also for kids.

Haus der Illusionen (house of illusions): (unfortunately we could not go there.)

Prater: A huge entertainment for both young and old. Full of turbulent roller coasters, spooky ghost trains and attractions of all sorts .

Verkehrsmuseum Remise (Traffic Museum Remise): Great place for kids.

Getting there: With the national train company Oebb  you'll reach from the main station almost every city within Europe. We went back with the 21.26 p.m. train to Zurich (arriving at Zurich around 8:30 a.m.).

Where to sleep: We had good luck with Airbnb's around Burggasse. If there is a hotel I would recommend the 25hours hotel or the stylish-quirky hotel Daniel.

Where to eat: 

1. Burggasse24 Cafe: Cool place combined with a vintage store at Burggasse 24.

2. Cafe Liebling: Great breakfasts. Nothing special for kids but easy-going at Zollergasse 6.

3. J. Horing Coffee-bar: Awesome coffee at Siebensterngasse 29.

4. Cafe Kunst in the Hundertwasserhaus

5. Super Sushi at KitchA at Vorlaufstrasse 2.

6. Market Restaurant at Linke Wienzeile 36.

7. Best ice cream in town: Eisdiele Romana at Stiftsgasse 15-17.

8. Dschungel Café within the Museum Viertel (Museumsplatz 1) offers good food also suitable for children.

Shopping: 

1. Daantje for cool children clothing at Westbahnstrasse 1.

2. Wald und Wiese for great honey and mushroom products at Neubaugasse 26.

3. Volta Vienna: For stylish interior design.

4. I love Lena Hoschek, the reinvention of the Dirndl at Goldschmiedgasse 7A.

5. "Komische Künste" at Museumsplatz 1. Austrian Humor at its best.

Song for the city: Vienna Billy Joel