The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival returns for its milestone 60th edition from July 3–11, bringing together more than 130 feature films, world premieres, major international guests, and thousands of visitors in the Czech Republic’s best-known spa town.
This year’s anniversary edition is also one of the festival’s biggest yet. Hollywood stars including Dustin Hoffman, Juliette Binoche, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeffrey Wright, Harvey Keitel, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick will join filmmakers and audiences in Karlovy Vary, while several new venues, exhibitions, and public events have been added to mark the occasion.
The celebration actually begins before opening night. On July 1, the festival returns to Mariánské Lázně—where the first edition was launched in 1946—for a special preview screening of Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas, reconnecting the anniversary festival with its historic roots.
Whether you’re attending for the first time or returning for another year, here’s everything you need to know before heading to Karlovy Vary.
How to get there
Karlovy Vary is located about 130 kilometers west of Prague and can be reached in around two hours by car under normal traffic conditions. Parking in the city center becomes limited during the festival, however, so visitors driving should plan ahead and expect congestion around the main venues.
Most festivalgoers travel by bus. RegioJet and FlixBus operate frequent daily services from Prague’s Florenc bus station, with additional departures added during the festival period. Booking tickets in advance is highly recommended, especially for weekend travel.
Trains operated by Czech Railways also connect Prague and Karlovy Vary, though the journey is generally slower than travelling by bus. Once in Karlovy Vary, most festival venues are concentrated around Hotel Thermal and the spa center, making it easy to explore on foot.
Where to stay
Accommodation can be one of the biggest challenges during KVIFF. Hotels throughout Karlovy Vary typically sell out months in advance, particularly those within walking distance of the festival center.
Grandhotel Pupp remains the city’s most famous address and traditionally hosts many of the festival’s VIP guests and international delegations. Hotel Thermal, meanwhile, serves as festival headquarters and sits directly above the main cinemas.
Visitors booking later should also consider apartments, guesthouses, or accommodation in nearby towns connected by public transport. A festival campground is also available on the outskirts of the city.
New for 2026 is an affordable festival hostel at I. P. Pavlova 7, just a short walk from Hotel Thermal. The hostel offers simple accommodation with a 24-hour reception and capacity for 50 guests per night, providing a budget-friendly alternative close to the festival’s main venues.
It complements the existing festival hostel at the Primary School on Dukelských hrdinů, where classrooms and the gymnasium are converted into rooms for hundreds of festival guests.
Tickets and Festival Passes
The easiest way to experience KVIFF is with a Festival Pass, which allows visitors to reserve tickets, join standby lines for sold-out screenings, and access additional festival benefits.
Festival Pass holders may reserve up to three screenings per day through the official festival app, with tickets becoming available beginning at 7 a.m. for the following day’s screenings. Individual tickets are also sold through festival box offices, although popular screenings often sell out quickly.
Even without a reserved ticket, pass holders can queue in standby lines outside cinemas. Any unclaimed seats are released shortly before screenings begin, giving audiences a chance to see even the festival’s most sought-after films.
The official Vodafone KVIFF Guide app (available on the App Store and Google Play) remains the easiest way to browse the schedule, reserve tickets, and navigate venues throughout the week.
Getting around the festival
One of Karlovy Vary’s greatest strengths is that almost everything is within walking distance. The main festival venues—including Hotel Thermal, Grandhotel Pupp, the Municipal Theatre, and many cinemas—are all located within the spa district.
Festival Pass holders can also use complimentary festival shuttle buses operating throughout the city, as well as bicycle rentals available at designated stations.
Comfortable shoes are highly recommended. While distances are relatively short, Karlovy Vary’s steep hills and staircases can make for surprisingly long days between screenings.
Where to see the stars
The best opportunity to catch a glimpse of this year’s celebrity guests is outside Hotel Thermal, where the festival’s famous red carpet ceremonies take place before gala screenings.
For the anniversary edition, organizers have redesigned the arrival area with a longer and wider red carpet running alongside Hotel Thermal, creating more space for spectators and better views of arriving film stars. New hosts will also provide live commentary during arrivals.
This year’s guest list includes Dustin Hoffman, Juliette Binoche, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeffrey Wright, Harvey Keitel, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Sosie Bacon, Travis Bacon, and cinematographer Robert Richardson, alongside dozens of filmmakers presenting their latest work.
Grandhotel Pupp is another popular location for celebrity spotting, as many international guests stay there during the festival.
What’s new for KVIFF 2026
The festival has introduced several new attractions to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Opening night will conclude with the Vary Special Show, a free concert created especially for the anniversary edition by DJ and producer NobodyListen. Instead of the traditional fireworks, audiences will be treated to a large-scale drone show above Hotel Thermal.
Festivalgoers will also find several new public spaces. Baden opens inside Zámecké Lázně as a new daytime café and evening music venue for Festival Pass and accreditation holders. Nearby, the Allwyn Terrace above Hotel Thermal will be open to the public for the first time, offering food, drinks, relaxation, and daily entertainment beginning each afternoon.
Another new addition is the Zalando Booth, where visitors can browse festival merchandise, enjoy refreshments, and create personalized postcards as souvenirs.
To mark the anniversary, KVIFF has also launched KVIFF Since 1946, a series of short videos exploring memorable moments from the festival’s history, alongside the outdoor photo exhibition KVIFF 60/80 (1946–2026) stretching between Grandhotel Pupp and Hotel Thermal.
Visitors can even take home anniversary-themed products, including the new Cinephile perfume by Czech brand Alexmonhart, the Don Red Carpet cocktail, and the Mattoni60 alcohol-free drink.
Beyond the movies
Although films remain the main attraction, KVIFF has long evolved into much more than a film festival.
Throughout the week, the Thermal area comes alive with concerts, DJ sets, outdoor gatherings, exhibitions, talks, industry events, and late-night parties. Many activities are free to attend, creating a lively atmosphere that extends well beyond the cinema schedule.
The city’s cafés, restaurants, spa colonnades, and parks also make it easy to take breaks between screenings, while many visitors combine the festival with exploring Karlovy Vary’s famous mineral springs and historic architecture.
What to watch
This year’s program includes more than 130 feature films across a wide range of sections.
The Crystal Globe Competition remains the festival’s centerpiece, while Proxima highlights emerging voices in world cinema. Horizons brings many of the year’s biggest international festival titles to Karlovy Vary, including award winners from Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Sundance.
The anniversary edition also expands the festival’s historical programming through the new Special Screenings – Classics section and the Out of the Past – KVIFF 60/80 retrospective, dedicated to landmark films that have shaped the festival’s identity over eight decades.
Genre fans can head to the Afterhours lineup for horror, thrillers, and cult cinema, while Imagina once again showcases experimental filmmaking from around the world.
For recommendations on where to start, see The Prague Reporter‘s guide highlighting ten of this year’s must-see films.
Final tips
Book transport and accommodation as early as possible, especially if you’re attending during opening or closing weekend.
Download the official festival app before arriving, leave enough time between screenings to navigate the city’s hills, and don’t be discouraged if your first-choice film sells out—many of the festival’s biggest discoveries happen by chance.
Above all, embrace the atmosphere. During one week each summer, Karlovy Vary transforms from a historic spa town into one of Europe’s great celebrations of cinema, and the festival’s 60th anniversary promises to be one of its most memorable editions yet.
