Františkovy Lázně, known in German as Franzensbad, is a small spa town in the far west of the Czech Republic that looks as if it has been painted in a single colour: yellow and white Empire-style buildings, colonnades and pavilions set in spacious parks, all laid out in the early nineteenth century around mineral springs. It was named after Emperor Francis I of Austria, and it became a fashionable resort, especially for women, because its waters and mud baths were believed to help with fertility. The bronze statue of a little boy holding a fish, known as František, is said to bring luck to women who touch it, and you will see that his foot has been polished by countless hands. Since 2021, the town has been part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage site, along with its larger neighbours, Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně.
Just outside the town, the Soos nature reserve offers a strange landscape of mineral springs, mud volcanoes and mofettes, where carbon dioxide bubbles up through the wet ground, a reminder of the volcanic activity beneath this region. A boardwalk leads through the reserve, and there is a small museum. Cheb, a few kilometres away, is the main town of the area, with a medieval square of colourful houses, an old castle and a dark episode in history: in 1634, the imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein was assassinated here by officers loyal to the emperor.
The riding around is relaxed and pleasant. The roads through the countryside of western Bohemia, the old Egerland, wind through fields, forests and villages, with little traffic and good surfaces. To the south-east, the road to Mariánské Lázně crosses wooded hills, and to the north, the Ore Mountains offer more demanding routes. The German border is very close, and the roads into Bavaria and Saxony are easy to reach. Czech motorways require an electronic vignette, and speed limits are enforced.
Františkovy Lázně has fuel, shops, hotels and restaurants, and Cheb has even more choice. Try the spa wafers, large thin wafers filled with sweet cream, and taste the mineral water from the springs, which some like and others find challenging. In the evenings, the parks are quiet and lovely for a walk.