*A walk around the fairy-tale chateau and park at Hluboká nad Vltavou: 5 km*

• Just looking at photos of the Hluboká chateau one might be be forgiven for thinking this is a creation at one of Disney’s theme parks. In reality, the chateau is one of the most spectacular examples of neo-Gothic architecture in the country. The chateau and its surrounding English park area are well worth a visit. It is a very popular tourist attraction, so to avoid the crowds visit out of season (the chateau and park are open year round).
• Hluboká castle was originally a royal castle, founded in the 13th century by Ottakar II. Its original Gothic appearance was transformed firstly into a Renaissance castle, then into a Baroque chateau after ownership transferred to the noble house of Schwarzenberg in the 17th century. The final transformation into its current neo-Gothic form took place in the mid 19th century, apparently modelled on the English royal castle of Windsor.
• The chateau is perched on a rocky crag above the attractive town of at Hluboká nad Vltavou, with views over the Vltava river. The English-style park area extends over the crag and down towards the river. There is a circular nature trail of around 3 km in the park, following the main path (it is not marked, but has several information boards and runs in a clockwise direction generally following the widest of the many footpaths that cross the park).
• A complete tour starting and finishing in the town center, circling the chateau and then following the nature trail, is around 5 km long, with just over 100m of height to ascend-descend. The route can be managed with a stroller. There are several good refreshment options in Hluboká nad Vltavou. Try the popular 17th century pub, Solidní Šance on the main street, or the nearby JeštěKAFE for excellent coffee and homemade cakes.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Hluboká nad Vltavou can be reached by frequent bus and train connections from České Budějovice. There are various small parking areas below the town (mostly paid)
• From the town center, follow the signs up the hill to the chateau (zámek)
• Once at the top of the hill, tour the chateau area and then follow the nature trail around the park, which broadly runs in a clockwise direction (to follow it exactly it is best to use the mapy.cz application as there are no route markings in the park)