Cheb is a West Bohemian town close to the German border. It is still known by its old German name, Eger, and that borderland history gives the centre a different mood from the grand spa towns nearby. The industrial edges are plain, but the old core is compact, walkable, and worth a real stop.
Start on King George of Podebrady Square, where merchant houses and the odd little Spalicek block make the town feel older and stranger than its size suggests. From there, lanes lead toward Cheb Castle, with its black tower and Romanesque chapel.
Cheb is not polished like Cesky Krumlov, and that helps. It is a good one-day town for travellers moving between Prague, Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne, and Germany: enough history to reward a walk, enough roughness to feel lived-in.