Beroun to Nižbor via the Děd tower, returning along the Berounka – a 22 km circular tour

• The town of Beroun lies 20km to the west of the center of Prague and for walkers it is perfectly positioned directly between two of the best Protected Landscape Areas for hikes – Český kras and Křivoklátsko. Beroun itself has an attractive main square which is worth visiting with several historical buildings, some well preserved 14th century town walls, an interesting town museum, a number of good restaurants and even a new Italian gelaterie…
• Several walks can be started directly from Beroun mainline train station (which has a large Park & Ride for drivers). To the south and east, walks head into Český kras and include trips to the Tetín historical site, Koněprusy caves, Svatý Jan monastery and Karlštejn castle. All these walks feature elsewhere in this guide. Heading north and west, walkers can enter the Křivoklátsko area either along the picturesque Berounka river or by climbing up into the hills that surround the town.
• Ten kilometers along the river to the northwest of Beroun is the historical village of Nižbor. Looming above the village is the photogenic Baroque chateau which houses a well organized Celtic museum, a consequence of the famous Stradonice oppidum which was built by Celtic settlers on the hill above Nižbor in the second century BC. The short walk that explores the hillfort is covered separately on this page.
• Nižbor is a good target for an excellent 22 km circular walk from Beroun (including a short diversion to the chateau), taking the longer approach through the hills for the outbound route, and back on the flat paths along the Berounka for the return journey. The outbound route traverses the hill of Děd (493m) with its famous lookout tower, built in 1893 (and was the first one constructed in the country by the Czech tourist club). The path circles beneath the famous Celtic hillfort.
• The return journey directly follows the Berounka river downstream using the cycle routes, which are mostly quiet lanes. The route crosses the river twice before re-entering the Beroun main square through the 14th century Prague gate (immediately after passing through the gate, the excellent Italian ice cream shop is on the right side). The Berounka river is one of the most scenic in the country, with different many different moods depending on the weather.
• Most of the paths are wide forest tracks with short sections on the road – there is one quite steep section up to the ridge from Beroun streets, but otherwise the paths are easily graded. There is a total of 320m of height gained-lost over the course of the tour. Most of the height is gained during the climb to the Děd tower. There are several refreshment options in Nižbor, including the famous railway pub on the opposite side of the river, next to the train station (this requires a 600m diversion to reach).

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Start the walk in the main town square, where there are parking spots – free on Sundays and public holidays. If travelling by train, follow the GREEN (or RED) hiking trail for 700m to reach Husovo náměstí (the main squre)
• From the main square follow the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Děd. After climbing out of the town the path leaves the residential streets and climbs steeply to reach the chapel of Panny Marie Bolestné in 1.7 km. There are several viewpoints back over the town
• From the chapel, continue along the BLUE trail onto the ridge and along to reach the viewing tower of Děd after 2.1 km
• After climbing the tower, join the GREEN trail in the direction of Zdejcina. After 300m at the Děd junction, turn onto the RED trail in the direction of Lísek
• After 2.3km reach the Lísek junction and join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Nižbor
• The trail passes under the hillfort of Stradonice before reaching the center of Nižbor after 5km
• In Nižbor if wanting to visit the chateau and the Celtic museum, at the Nižbor – u lípy junction turn left onto the RED trail in the direction of Roztoky up the steps. The chateau is reached after 300m
• If wanting to visit the railway pub, cross the road bridge following the YELLOW trail to the train station for 600m, and then return back to Nižbor center
• From Nižbor, join the cycle trail which runs under the bridge heading downstream. Continue on this path for 6.5 km until reaching the the footbridge over the river. Cross the bridge and turn right onto the BLUE trail heading in the direction of Beroun
• Continue along the river following the BLUE trail, and re-cross the river using the footbridge and enter the town square through the Prague gate (immediately after passing through the gate, the excellent Italian ice cream shop is on the right side)