Pilsner Urquell Brewery: Where the World's First Pilsner Was Born

Every pilsner in the world — every single one — traces its origin to a single brewery in a single Czech city. On 5 October 1842, a Bavarian brewer named Josef Groll poured the first batch of golden lager in the cellars of the Citizens' Brewery in Plzeň. It was lighter, clearer and more refreshing than anything Europe had ever tasted. Within a decade it had conquered the continent. Today, more than two thirds of all beer produced worldwide is brewed in the style that was born here — and the brewery that started it all is still standing, still brewing, and open to visitors.

The Pilsner Urquell Brewery is one of the top ten most visited tourist attractions in the Czech Republic. A private day trip from Prague takes you to the source — door-to-door from your hotel, with a licensed guide who has 17 years of experience and over 10,000 happy guests.

The drive to Plzeň

Plzeň is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of Prague — around one hour and fifteen minutes by private car. The drive takes you through the rolling Bohemian countryside, past fields, forests and small towns that look much the same as they did a century ago. Your guide will use the drive to set the scene — the story of Czech beer, why Bohemia became the brewing capital of Europe, why Czech hops are considered the finest in the world, and how a group of frustrated citizens in Plzeň famously dumped barrels of bad beer in the town square and decided to build a brewery that would change the world.

That brewery became Pilsner Urquell.

The brewery tour

The guided tour of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery lasts approximately two hours and has been named the best brewery tour in Europe at the World Travel Awards in 2024.

You begin at the Visitor Centre, then travel by brewery bus to one of the most modern bottling plants in Europe — processing 120,000 bottles per hour. From there, you enter the brewhouse: the historical copper kettles from 1931 and the modern brewhouse from 2004 with a daily capacity of nearly three million beers. A panoramic cinema tells the story of the brewing process, and a new Ingredients Exhibit lets you touch, smell and taste the raw materials — Bohemian Saaz hops, Moravian barley malt, the soft Plzeň water that gives the beer its character.

But the highlight comes at the end. You descend into the brewery's lager cellars — nine kilometres of underground passages, kept at a constant 5°C, where beer has been maturing since the 19th century. Here, in the cool darkness beneath the brewery, you taste unfiltered and unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell poured straight from an oak barrel. This beer is available nowhere else on earth — not in any shop, not in any bar. Only here, in the cellars where it was born.

After the tour

The tour ends in the best possible way — at the Na Spilce pub, built in the former fermentation cellars where Pilsner Urquell once matured in oak barrels. Today it is one of the largest pubs in the Czech Republic. Order unfiltered Pilsner Urquell straight from the tank, sit down to a hearty Czech lunch, and take your time. There is no rush. Your guide will take you back to Prague whenever you are ready.