Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour Review
Pilsen > Things to do in Pilsen > Pilsner Urquell Tour
Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour is is according TripAdvisor one of the world´s best tourist attractions. Discover how to book Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour online, learn how to dress and everything you need to know before visiting Pilsen Brewery in this Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour Review.
Plzeň (in English and German called Pilsen) is the Czech City situated only 90 km southwest of Prague, the Capital of Czech Republic. Pilsen is the home to two major breweries: Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus, but you can find also several microbreweries here. 🍺
Plzeň is especially known as the birthplace of the famous Pilsner beer, which is the grandfather of all lager beers and which has been brewed in Pilsner Urquell Brewery the same way since 1842.
Pilsen Urquell Brewery Tour in Plzeň is a goal of 750,000 tourists from all over the world every year.
Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour Review
The famous golden drink (Pilsner Urquell Beer) attracts thousands of tourists to visit Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour each year.
So, if you want to know more about the history of the legendary Pilsner Urquell Brewery, about the ingredients from which Pilsner lager beer is brewed, and taste unpasteurized beer directly from the barrel, then take part on the Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour.
Because I live in Pilsen I prepared for you a detailed guide to Pilsner Brewery tour:
- 1. Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour Plzeň
- 2. How to book Pilsner Urquell Tour?
- 3. Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour from Prague
- 4. About Pilsner Urquell Brewery
- 5. Pilsen Brewery Restaurant
- 6. Pilsner Urquell Shop
- 7. Brewery Museum Plzeň
- 8. Hotels near Pilsner Urquell Brewery
- 9. Purkmistr hotel with spa, restaurant and brewery
1. Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour Plzeň
When visiting Pilsen brewery you understand why Pilsner Urquell beer is so unique. Pilsner Urquell Tour will take you across all Pilsner Urquell factory's areas and explain how beer is made. You will learn about every step in the brewing process: ingredients used, malting, fermentation is steel tanks, maturation in wooden tanks etc.
First you will see the ingredients and beer brewing in general, then packaging plant (which has a capacity of 120,000 bottles per hour), will continue to see authentic parts of the brewery where the original Pilsner beer has been made since 1842 and current brewing houses of Pilsner Urquell Brewery.
Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tours lead through all parts of the famous Plzeň Brewery.
Pilsner Brewery Tour takes 110 minutes and finishes in the brewery cellars 20m below ground. Cellars beneath the Pilsen Brewery are 9 km long and they used to serve for storage and cooling of Plzeň beer. Ice pieces remained here for almost a whole year. Nowadays, only a small part of production is stored here: only beer which is fermented in wooden barrels.
Pilsen Brewery Tour finishes by tasting of Pilsner Urquell unpasteurized and non-filtered beer (0.3l) straight from the wooden barrel. Of course, if you are older than 18 years.
Don't forget to bring a jacket or sweater, because beer cellar is really cold: 7°C (40° F).
2. How to book Pilsner Urquell Tour?
You can get a fully guided Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour in English, Czech, German, French and Russian. The ticket costs about US$16 and if you want to take pictures then another US$5. For booking of Plzeň brewery tour you have following 2 options:
- Come to Pilsner Urquell Brewery Visitors Centre directly. Pilsner Urquell Brewery tours are in a variety of languages that are shown on a screen above the admission desk. Just sign up for the one you need if it isn't full.
- Book your Pilsner brewery tour online here.
Pilsner Urquell Brewery
U Prazdroje 7, Plzeň
GPS: 49°44'47.339"N, 13°23'10.568"E
Open daily:
January - June: 10 am – 6 pm
July – August: 9.30 am - 6 pm
September - December: 10 am – 6 pm
Web page of Pilsen Brewery
Pilsner urquell brewery tour times
Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour in English language takes place two or three times a day,
check date and language here.
3. Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour from Prague
Visit to Pilsner Urquell Brewery as a one day trip from Prague. The driver will pick up you in Prague and then bring you again back to your hotel. You will have enough time to visit the Pilsen Urquell Brewery Tour, have lunch, and still have time for a short walk through Pilsen city centre. The city can be easily reached on foot. We strongly recommend to make a booking online at least 2 days ahead. Price for Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour (110 minutes) is CZK 300 (US$13).
✔ Total duration: 6 hrs.
✔ Travel time (one way): 1 hr.
✔ Free time in Pilsen: 4 hrs.
✘ Price doesn´t include entry fee and lunch
From US$50 / person
3.1. How to get to Pilsner Urquell Brewery from Prague?
Pilsner Urquell Factory is a popular tourist goal for a day trip from Prague which is only about 90 kilometers far from Plzeň. You can come to Pilsen by: a car (but be careful when returning to Prague: maximum Blood Alcohol Content in Czechia is 0%), by a train, bus or taxi.
Would you like to enjoy the visit of Pilsner Brewery by the most comfortable way? Do you want to travel directly from your hotel in Prague to Pilsner Urquell Brewery?
Then you can use the direct transfer from Prague to Pilsen. Let this reliable service to bring you straight to Pilsner Urquell Brewery, wait on you for 4 hours and then bring you back to Prague. Click here to book the excursion to Pilsner Urquell Brewery including the transfer from Prague to Pilsen and back.
The view from the main entrance to the area of Pilsen Brewery: the Visitor Centre is located on the left side, the Pilsner Urquell Restaurant "Na Spilce" is situated on the right side. You can see the Water Tower of Plzen Brewery in the middle of the picture.
How to get to Pilsner Urquell Brewery from Prague by train?
Czech Republic has one of the best railway networks in Europe.
So, the transportation from Prague to Pilsen is quite easy by a direct train connection from Prague Main Railway station (Hlavní Nádraží) or Prague Smíchov
station. Pilsner Urquell Brewery is situated 400 meters from the Pilsen Main Railway Station (Plzeň Hlavní nádraží). You can walk, just follow the sign
"Plzeňský Pivovar".
Trains from Prague to Pilsen run several times a day. The journey takes about 90 minutes. Train ticket costs for one way (Prague to Pilsen) US$7 or you can buy the return ticket which is cheaper than two one way tickets. For train schedule go to the Web page of Czech Railways and choose the English or German language. Read also our detailed guide how to get from Prague to Pilsen here »
Based on my recent experience, I highly recommend adding a seat ticket to your ticket, because the trains from Pilsen to Prague are very popular and you definitely don't want to stand in the aisle for more than an hour.
4. About Pilsner Urquell Brewery
Where you can learn more about beer and taste the best beer in the world than in the City where almost every household brewed beer at home since 1295 until the biggest brewery in the Czech republic Pilsner Urquell was grounded?
Plzen Brewery Tours are perfect for learning something new about beer.
4.1 History of Pilsner Urquell Brewery
Pilsner beer wasn´t always so tasty as today.
Beer has been brewed in Plzeň since 1295 when the King Václav II. gave to 260 Pilsner burghers the right to brew the beer. This privilege, a very profitable financially, allowed the holder to sell beer in his house.
Pilsners had been making beer without the necessary education and knowledge and often improving the tastes by variety of ingredients. No wonder, that the quality of beer was really horrible!
This lead to an unusual theatre: 36 barrels of disgusting Pilsner beer was poured out in front of Pilsen City Hall in February 1838.
The owners of the right to brew beer joined together and choose a place for constructions of a new brewery: a place with sandstone underground for deep cellars and with a rich water source. The construction started in 1839. Then they hired a German brewer Josef Groll to prepare German style lager beer. The taste of new brewed beer was extraordinary! Probably because of unique Plzeň water. It was the year 1842 when the legendary Pilsner Beer was born.
To take part on Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour is a great opportunity to learn more about Pilsen beer history.
4.2 Pilsner Urquell ingredients
Plzeň has very good assumptions for brewing excellent beer. Special local Czech ingredients as: Pilsen´s soft water, red hops from Žatec, malt and special brewer´s yeast accompanied with the love to beer create the necessary base for production of Pilsner beer.
You will see all these ingredients during your visit to Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour.
Pilsner Urquell ingredients are used in beer baths. Pilsner Urquell Brewery and Spa Beerland® invite you to the unique beer wellness on Pilsen main square.
Read about my visit to BEERLAND beer spa in Pilsen here.
4.3 Wooden barrels
Pilsner Urquell Brewery is the only one brewery at the world which keeps the traditions of handmade wooden barrels. Coopers of Pilsner Urquell Brewery produce small and also huge beer barrels (of the size 4.000 liters) which serve for storage of Pilsner lager beer in cellars of Pilsner Urquell Brewery. You can see these barrels during the Pilsner Brewery tour. And we hope that this tradition will be included to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage soon.
5. Pilsner Urquell Restaurant
The famous Pilsner Urquell Restaurant "Na Spilce" is situated in front of visitor center in the area of Pilsner Urquell Brewery. After the visit to the Pilsner Urquell Tour is the right time to relax, taste the typical Czech cuisine and the unpasteurized and unfiltered Pilsner Urquell beer from the tank. The Pilsner Urquell Brewery restaurant is equipped with the children playing area; you can also sit in the garden in good weather.
Pilsner Urquell Brewery Restaurant
Restaurant Na Spilce
U Prazdroje 7, Plzeň
GPS: 49°44'47.339"N, 13°23'10.568"E
Open:
Mo - Su: 11 am – 10 pm
Web page of the Restaurant Na Spilce
6. Pilsner Urquell Shop
Did you enjoy Pilsen brewery visit and want to buy some souvenirs, Pilsner Urquell glasses and mugs, pilsner beer, home accessories or clothing
with the logo of Pilsner Urquell Brewery? There is a special Pilsner Urguell Souvenir Shop in the area of Plzeň brewery where you can find wide-range of these items.
Pilsner Urquell Shop is open every day from 10 am till 7 pm.
Don´t have the chance to visit Pilsner Urquell Gift Shop? Then you can also
buy Pilsner Urquell beer and gifts online here »
7. Pilsen Brewery Museum in Plzeň
Get the Brewery Museum Entrance including a Glass of Beer here.
Pilsen Brewery museum uses the same entrance as Pilsen Historical Underground. It is located in Plzeň City Centre, only 400 meters far from Pilsner Urquell Brewery. It is easy to walk by following marked path from Pilsner Urquell Brewery. You can download the free Tourist Map (pdf) of Plzeň City Center here.
The exposition of Pilsen Beer Museum will take you through the history of Plzeň beer production. In the atmosphere of the Middle Ages you will learn how Pilsen beer is brewed, how to serve and drink it. You can even taste Pilsner Urguell, of course if you are older than 18.
Pilsen Brewery museum reminds the time when started the production of Pilsner Beer.
Veleslavínova 6, Plzeň
Open daily: 10 am – 6 pm
Web page of Plzen Beer Museum
8. Hotels near Pilsner Urquell Brewery
Just in front of Pilsner Urquell Brewery you will find very pleasant hotel Vienna House Easy Pilsen. It is an excellent place where you can stay overnight because it is situated close to Pilsner Urquell Brewery and also very close to Pilsen Old Town. The railway station is only 300 meters far. Click here to check out prices and book your stay.
Vienna House Easy Pilsen isn´t of course only one hotel near Pilsner Urquell Brewery. I prepared for you the list of 11 best hotels in Plzeň. Now, the choice will be easier for you. Read more about hotels in Plzeň here »
Pilsner Urquell Brewery isn´t the only one Plzeň Brewery. During your visit to Plzeň you can taste also craft beer and have a beer spa in a local microbrewery Purkmistr:
9. Purkmistr: hotel, brewery, restaurant and Plzeň beer spa
Purkmistr brewery is a great place where you can spend a whole weekend with your partner, friends or family and we guarantee that nobody will get bored.
This Pilsen brewery is located in the suburban part of Plzeň-Černice. The large newly renovated farmhouse includes a beerhouse with a brewery, a restaurant, a hotel Purkmistr with spa, wellness and a bowling alley.
It brews own beer under Purkmistr brand: PURKMISTR lager (classic Pilsner style lager), semi dark and dark 12% lager, PÍSAŘ wheat beer (top-fermented wheat beer with a characteristic fruity component), RADNÍ (amber semi-dark special with a prolonged maturation time) etc. There is also a wide variety of beers flavored with fruit and herbal flavors.
Restaurant is open: Mo-Th: 11am-11pm, Fr-Sa: 11am-12pm, Su: 11am-10pm.
Selská náves 21/2, Plzeň - Černice.
Book your stay in Purkmistr here.
Brewery and beer spa Purkmistr in Plzeň.
The beer in Purkmistr house is brewed using traditional recipes, several types of high quality malting barley, hops from the Žatec region and a famous Pilsen’s soft water. The beer is served unfiltered and unpasteurized, so all the original nutrients are preserved and thanks to this it contains exclusively natural substances: a high vitamin B content, sugar, yeast, etc. So it has many benefits for your body.
Former farmhouse was reconstructed and serves as a brewery now.
What makes this brewery exceptional?
- a wide range of activities as Pilsen brewery tour, bowling, yoga lessons, wellness with sauna and massage
- a beautiful and quite place of the former farmhouse
- Pilsen city center very easily reachable by trolleybus No. 13
- Czech traditional cuisine
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Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour is one of the most popular things to see and do in Pilsen.
Visiting the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour can be an interesting and also educational experience for anyone who is interested in the history and process of brewing beer.
You can learn about the history of Pilsner Urquell beer and how it has evolved over the years, as well as see the traditional methods and equipment that are used to brew this famous beer. 🍺
I think that you are already looking forward to visit Pilsner Brewery Tour.
Are you looking for accommodation in Plzeň? Here are the best deals for today »
Written by Šárka Novotná
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Šárka Novotná
Hi, I'm Šárka and I'm so glad you've found this Website! I was born in Plzeň and from the love to my home city I launched PlzenGuide.com.
I hope you will find important information and ideas about how to spend an incredible time in Pilsen Czech Republic.