Lovers of fine foods and wines looking for a winter getaway next year should consider a trip to the Czech Republic, where the nation’s finest restaurants will be participating in a month-long festival celebrating the best of the country’s culinary offerings.

The Grand Restaurant Festival is set to take in various regions around the Czech Republic, including Prague, Karlovy Vary, Bohemia and South Moravia. The festival runs from 15 January, and continues until 15 February 2012, providing visitors with many opportunities to sample the finest food and wine from some of the country’s top chefs and restaurants. High-end restaurants will be offering visitors reduced-rates offers to try their dishes, many of which are ranked in the country’s Maurer’s Restaurant Guide – a kind of Czech version of the Michelin Guide.

After becoming a hit at the 2011 festival, the Yummy Bus will return in 2012, giving visitors a guided bus tour of Prague’s restaurants, giving them the chance to work through a number of different tasting menus, as well as arranging meetings with some of the city’s top chefs. Pavel Maurer is the founder of the event, and also publisher of the Maurer guidebook, and he highlighted the unique opportunity the festival gives to sample the country’s best food at low prices.

“The festival is an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in outstanding cuisine to visit the best restaurants in the country while paying token prices,” said Mr Maurer.