Ostrava attractions. Zoo, towers and fair. What is worth seeing in Ostrava, Czech Republic?
Ostrava is a very attractive city located in the northern part of the Czech Republic, just a bit beyond the Polish border. An hour by car and you grab the second largest Zoo in the Czech Republic, impressive observation towers, a gothic castle, a tropical butterfly plant and an atmospheric winter market! We made our daughters so happy at Mikołajki, but not only us, there were really a lot of Poles! Check out the best attractions of Ostrava!
How to get to Ostrava?
From Poland, you can easily get to Ostrava, because it is very close to the border, just a few minutes by car. In addition, you drive past the city, heading, for example, to Olomouc and further south. We from Upper Silesia have about an hour by car, on the A1 motorway to the south. In this section, the purchase of vignettes is not even required.
An alternative is a train or bus. There are a lot of courses from Katowice. From Warsaw, it takes about 4.5 hours by train, similarly by bus, e.g. FlixBus. You can also take a flight to Mošnov Airport (Ostrava), from where you can get to the city center by train or bus.
The biggest tourist attractions - what is worth seeing in Ostrava? Map of Czech Ostrava attractions
Monuments of past eras since the Middle Ages, industrial curiosities, magnificent views from tourist towers, the Zoological Garden loved by Poles and many other tourist attractions. Check out what this city has to offer and what to see in Ostrava!
Bolt Tower in Ostrava
Bolt Tower is one of the two towers of the cross-border Silesian Trail in Ostrava. The Bolt Tower is located in the industrial complex Dolní Vítkovice, on the site of a former steelworks, on the construction of the Blast Furnace, which is an amazing attraction and a unique curiosity. The tower rises to a height of over 80 meters, and the viewpoint is located at 75 meters and offers an interesting panorama of the complex itself, but also of the city and the surrounding area. A walk around the whole complex is also interesting and unusual. This is definitely one of the most interesting attractions in Ostrava!
Address: Ruská 2993, Dolní Vítkovice
Entry: 280 crowns (approx. PLN 50)
Observation tower of the New Town Hall in Ostrava
The New Town Hall Tower in Ostrava is the highest Czech town hall tower. It is as high as 85 meters and is built of steel from the steelworks in Witkowice. The staircase to the tower has 293 steps! But relax, you can take the two-step elevator up to the observation deck located at 73 meters. The view is fantastic! The Tourist Information is visited along the way. An interesting fact is that the clocks on the town hall tower weigh 2 tons and their dial diameter is 3.5 meters! The structure of the entire tower, on the other hand, weighs 155 tons!
Address: Prokešovo nám. 8
Entrance: 80 crowns (about 14 zlotys)
Ostrava Zoo - Zoo and Botanical Garden
Ostrava Zoo is thesecond largest zoo in the Czech Republic and at the same time a wonderful Botanical Garden. The total area is about 100 ha. It is a beautiful place with interesting animals and wonderful vegetation as well as great educational values. It is so popular among Poles that the descriptions are also partly in Polish, and the visit to the pavilion takes place in Polish. In winter, tickets are cheaper because part of the Garden is excluded from tourist traffic. You will see, among others, lions, elephants, giraffes, ostriches, various species of monkeys or endangered Vietnamese deer. Interesting is the pavilion depicting life at Lake Tanganyika, where hippos and a large cave spider in the night part are waiting.
Address: Michálkovická 197
Tickets: 180 crowns (approx. PLN 30) in summer, 130 crowns (approx. PLN 22) in winter, paid parking lots
Masaryk Square (Masarykovo náměstí), Ostrava's market square
Ostrava's Masaryk Square is located in the central part of the old town. It was demarcated in the Middle Ages, but its construction does not prove it today. The oldest one here is the Old Town Hall, probably from the 16th century, but later saved and rebuilt many times after destruction. Today, it houses the Ostrava Museum. Only some of the tenement houses on the square are historic, the rest of the buildings are contemporary. In the middle stands the baroque Marian Column from the 18th century. This is where the atmospheric fair is located in winter, attracting many tourists, also in Poland!
Cathedral of the Divine Saviour in Ostrava
The Cathedral of the Divine Saviour is extremely impressive and looks great from the Town Hall Tower. It stands in the city center, west of Masaryk Square and dates back to 1889. It represents the Neo-Renaissance style, and its powerful towers reach a height of 67 meters!
Address: nám. Msgr. Šrámka 4
Silesian Ostrava Castle in the Silesian district of Ostrava
The Silesian-Ostrava Castle was built in the middle of the 13th century on the initiative of the Piast princes of Opole, to protect the Silesian-Moravian border, which ran along the Ostravice riverbed. In the 20th century, the building was in very poor condition, the last Gothic tower was destroyed by a bulldozer in 1965. It was only in 2001 that the city began intensive reconstruction works, now it is available to tourists, and we found ourselves here at a fair and an exhibition of beautiful nativity scenes.
Address: Hradní 1, Slezská Ostrava
Entrance: 90 crowns (about PLN 16)
St. Wenceslas Church in Ostrava
St. Wenceslas Church is the oldest monument in Ostrava. Today, it represents various architectural styles, but it was created as a Gothic one.
Address: Kostelní nám
Motylarnia - Papilonia Butterfly House Ostrava
Finally, for a warm-up, we visited the Butterfly Plant (Papillonia) near the Market Square. Colorful dizziness! This is not our first object of this type, but again we all admired these wonders with colorful wings. Beautiful experience!
Address: Dlouhá 3355/6
Tickets: 180 crowns (about 30 PLN)
Ostrava Fair
Although crowded, it is very atmospheric. Around the market square there were identical wooden stalls offering handicrafts and delicacies in the form of sausages, coffee, hot chocolate, punch and, of course, trdelnik. In the evening, the scene also came to life, and we admired everything from above, from the mill wheel. Our cabin had the number 13, but we happily reached the ground.
Address: Masarykovo náměstí
Other attractions in Ostrava and interesting places related to mining
- Ostrava Museum - in the old town hall
- Museum of Mining in the Michał Mine
- The water world of Sareza - a complex of swimming pools
- Wooden Church of St. Catherine
- Landek Park Mining Museum
- Ostrava Firemen Museum
Where to eat in Ostrava?
While in the city, we visited the Ostravica Restaurant on the market square. You will eat typical Czech dishes here, as well as European cuisine. For us, a Czech Christmas Eve was prepared here - fish soup, cod, carp and shallot, i.e. vegetable salad.
Ostrava is an ideal destination for those who want to learn about the history of industrial monuments and enjoy modern tourist attractions, as well as experience the festive atmosphere!
Accommodation in Ostrava
We did not sleep in Ostrava, because we have been here twice on a day trip, but the city offers many accommodation options, including hotels, apartments and other facilities. If you are interested in staying in Ostrava, check out the search engine below.
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Rent a car
Exploring becomes much easier when you have your own means of transport. You don’t have to worry about buses or taxis, and you can plan each day your way. The search box below will help you find the right car – right where your journey begins.
What's worth seeing in the area?
If you have already visited this attraction, it is also worth visiting several other interesting ones places nearby. Within a radius of 100 kilometers you will find many interesting places places that can diversify your stay in this part of Poland.
- The castle in Tworków, distance: 20 km
- Kapias Gardens in Goczałkowice Zdrój, distance: 48.8 km
- Pławniowice Palace, distance: 62.5 km
- Castle in Żywiec, distance: 67.2 km
- Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry, distance: 75.3 km
- Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, distance: 76.7 km
- Moszna Castle, distance: 77 km
- Energylandia, distance: 82.2 km
- Gródek Park in Jaworzno, distance: 85.1 km
- Tenczyn Castle, distance: 96.8 km
