Walks along the Labe river between the historic towns of Kolín and Poděbrady: 19 km to 39 km

• There are hundreds of kilometers of footpaths and cycle tracks that follow the course of the Labe river on its long journey from the Krkonoše mountains across the Bohemian plain and into Germany (where it becomes the Elbe), before finally flowing into North Sea. Quite a few stretches of footpath are already included in walks appearing in this guide – just do a search using the tag ‘Labe river‘ to see the selection!
• Several good walks are found on the stretch of the river to the east of Prague, partly because a number of historically important towns were established on this major trade route during the medieval period. Two such towns are Kolín and Poděbrady. Both towns have interesting histories and architecture. Click on the links to view two short walks around these interesting towns.
• There are attractive footpaths along the Labe river between these two towns, both of which have frequent mainline train connections with Prague. This makes a one-way walk between the two towns logistically simple. The one-way walks are between 19 km and 22 km long depending on the starting point and which side of the river is chosen.
• The full circular route is around 39 km and an excellent long trip for those who enjoy flat walks on good paths in a scenic riverside landscape. The route shown below assumes a start and finish at Poděbrady station – primarily because this gives the opportunity to walk twice through the attractive spa area and main square in Poděbrady, where there are a number of good cafés and restaurants.
• For those preferring the one-way option, the footpath on the left bank (west side) is slightly more direct and stays closer to the Labe river than the right bank path (east side) which diverts along the Cidlina river and has more sections in the forest. The right bank path does, however, pass the historically important Slavic fortress site at Libice.
• The paths on both sides of the river are a mix of concrete pavement and forest footpath (the 5 km section between Libice and Poděbrady is an asphalt cycle track) – the forest sections can be muddy after wet weather. The route is entirely flat.
• There are many good refreshment options in the center of Kolín and Poděbrady but if wanting to stop somewhere on the river between the two towns, choose the right bank (east path) café. In Kolín, try the café Tradice 1894, just off the main square (map point 4 below).
• In Poděbrady, try the Cucina jídlo&víno restaurant in the pedestrian spa area or the boutique café on the main square located in the highly rated Design Pension Twenty. If the weather is good, there are also a couple of outdoor bistros directly by the river, including U Přívoz (at the junction of the Cidlina and Labe rivers, just 2 km from Libice) and close to Poděbrady, the popular modern U Lupiče.

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

• Starting from Poděbrady train station, head in the center of town by walking through the park in the middle of the spa area. The min square is reached in 900m
• From the main square, the BLUE trail leads to Kolín along the left (west) bank, while the RED trail follows the right (east) bank
• If taking the BLUE trail, this switches to the GREEN at the Oseček  ferry stop, 6.6 km after leaving Poděbrady square
• On the approach to Kolín there is an option to take a short cut (saving 1.5 km) using the footbridge which crosses Kmoch Island to reach the right bank. However, this skips Kolín main square which is worth traversing if not visited on a previous trip
• From Kolín center, join the RED trail and cross the road bridge – there is an option to join the embankment cycle track on the first section of path back towards Poděbrady on the right bank. This is a more pleasant option than the RED trail along the side streets
• The RED trail leads back along the river, with some sections in the forest areas before reaching Libice, 13 km after leaving Kolín
• In Libice, take a moment to visit the Slavic fortress site on the edge of the village – it is well signposted
• From Libice, the RED trail leads directly back into Poděbrady main square after 5 km