*Walks in the Prague parks (VII) – the Royal Garden and Stag moat at Prague Castle – 1 km to 4 km*

• The Royal Garden and adjoining Stage (or Deer) moat are situated directly beside the Prague Castle complex and can be included in a longer tour of the complex or simply enjoyed as a standalone easy ‘Park Walk’. The Royal Garden, in particular, offers superb views over the Castle. The Garden was created in 1538 for Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I on the site of a former vineyard. Today, the Garden includes an arboretum with helpful signs identifying the trees and their origins.
• Within the Garden itself there are a number of important historical buildings, including the beautiful Queen Anne summer House which was finished in 1560 and is considered today one of the purest pieces of Italian Renaissance architecture outside Italy. Other buildings include the Renaissance Ball Game Hall, richly decorated with sgraffiti and the Villa of Edvard Beneš, which was the residence of Czech Presidents until the mid 1990’s.
• The Garden can be accessed from either the eastern or western ends (the latter is the closest to the Prague castle). The eastern access is directly opposite the Královský letohrádek tram stop.
• Below the Royal Garden a natural ravine has been turned into a small park area, called the Jelení příkop (Stag or Deer moat). The name derives from its use as a breeding ground for deer during the 17th and 18th centuries. A path runs along the middle of the ravine for approximately 1 km. It is a shady area, good for escaping the summer heat. Both the Royal Garden and the Jelení příkop are usually only open from April to October.
• The walk around the Royal Garden is only around 1 km long, which can be extended to up to 4 km by including the Jelení příkop. There are several access points to the Jelení příkop, but the easiest route (and definitely the best if walking with a stroller) is to take the gate in front of the Castle (map point 6).
• There are no refreshment spots directly in the Garden or in the Jelení příkop, but outside the western entrance to the Garden the Lví dvůr restaurant (map point 9) offers a nice panoramic terrace. For an interesting café, try the Písecká brána café (map point 12) inside the former gateway, which was part of the massive fortifications created around Prague in the 18th century.

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

• Starting at the Královský letohrádek tram stop, enter the Royal Garden through the (eastern entrance) gateway
• After exploring the Garden, exit through the western entrance and turn left to head towards the Castle. The entrance to Jelení příkop is found after 200m
• After walking as much of the length of the ravine as desired, return back the same way to the tram stop