Red rooftops in Cesky Krumlov

Photo: Steve Woodhall

If you’re partial to fairytales, then this extraordinary little confection will delight your inner child.

The word “confection” springs to mind for two reasons: one is the ginger-bread look adopted by a favoured backpacker joint, Krumlov House, and the other is that this town is in some ways a creation of the tourist industry post 1989.

Cesky Krumlov, rich in medieval and renaissance architecture and history, had been inhabited by mainly Germans until World War II; when they were driven out in its aftermath, the town lay fallow for four decades.

After the Velvet Revolution, the World Heritage-listed town became a major tourist attraction. The upside of this is that every inch of it is lovingly looked after and you can enjoy attractions like the magnificent Egon Shiele art gallery and the first-flush darjeeling served in the exquisite Dobra Cajovna teahouse.

The downside is that after two or three days, the enchantment begins to pall and one starts to long for signs of real life (although there are some, like the expat founders of Krumlov House, who fall in love and can’t leave – hear a podcast interview).