Karlovy Vary, also known by the German name Karlsbad, is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá rivers. Karlovy Vary is named after Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Bohemia, who founded the city in the 14th century. The city is the site of numerous hot springs. The city grew into a spa resort in the 19th century and was a popular destination for the European aristocracy and other luminaries. Karlovy Vary's rapid growth was brought to an end by the outbreak of the First World War. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Karlovy Vary once again became a major tourist destination.

Karlovy Vary is notable for its large concentration of monuments and architecturally valuable buildings. Most of them originated in the city's spa tradition. Since 2018, the spa center of the city along the Teplá River and the wider surroundings with the spa cultural landscape have been protected as an urban monument reservation. As part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, Karlovy Vary became a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its spas and architecture from the 18th through 20th centuries.