An easy walk around the pretty historical center of Pardubice: 3 km

• Pardubice might be overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Hradec Králové, but in some ways Pardubice is the nicer of the two eastern Bohemian cities to stroll around. The compact old town is filled with architectural gems, many dating from the Renaissance period.
• The highlight of any visit to Pardubice is the castle. Originally a moated fortress dating from the 13th century, it was redeveloped into an early Renaissance castle by Vilém of Pernštejn, one of the most prominent Czech noblemen of the late 15th-early 16th century. Today, the castle is possibly unique, with the original medieval fortification elements clearly and integral part of new Renaissance form. Of its type, there are no larger or better preserved early Renaissance castles in Central Europe. The castle is open for tours and also houses key parts of east Bohemia museum. The grounds may be freely walked around.
• Vilém chose Pardubice as his family seat, transforming the small town into a major center in 16th century Bohemia. The city has named its historical walking tour after this important Renaissance nobleman. It is a 2.5 km route firstly touring the old town and then castle area. There are 10 information panels along the way. The route begins next to the Green gate, whose 60m Renaissance tower is a dominant feature of the Pardubice skyline.
• The route is basically flat and can be managed with a stroller. There are many good refreshment options in Pardubice, but for an interesting retro style café, try the chocolate café Bajer on the right side when going through Green gate.

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

Directions

• Pardubice has good bus and train connections, including directly with Prague, but the main bus and train stations are 1.5 km from the old town, so catching a bus to Náměstí Republiky might be advisable for those just wanting a short walk around the old town. There are several paid parking options closer to the town center
• From Náměstí Republiky, pass through the Green gate (Zelená brána) to pick up the educational trail, which then crosses Pernštýnské náměstí and loops through old town streets to reach the castle
• After touring the castle, the trail circles around the walls before returning to Pernštýn square