Pilsner Urquell Factory

Pilsen beer is famous all over the world; Budweiser, Pilsner Urquell, and the Pilsener-type beer all come from here. It’s no surprise that Pilsen’s number one tourist draw is the Pilsner Urquell beer factory! Thankfully, the tour’s popularity hasn’t made it overly corporate or kitschy. The two-hour long tour is surprisingly informative with guides first taking visitors through a brief history of Pilsner beer, and then through a tour of the modern bottling facilities, the brewing tanks, and underground storage rooms where barrels of beer are fermented, just the way they used to be when the brewery first opened in 1842.

Learn about the beer brewing process, from malt roasting to the mash boiling, from the hops flavouring to final fermentation, and then go see the whole process in person. The guide will show you around the interiors of genuine copper mash boiling kettles, and the ice rooms and tanks where the beer is fermented. The factory is the proud bearer of several records; it is capable of producing 120,000 bottles and 60,000 cans of beer an hour, and bizarrely enough, operates the largest elevator in the Czech Republic. The tour concludes with a free Pilsner Urquell beer tasting straight from the barrel, naturally considered by most to be the best part of the visit!