*Exploring Průhonice Park: a UNESCO gem near Prague (3 km to 11 km routes)*
- Průhonice park is a remarkable 250ha landscaped area situated some 15km southeast of Prague. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site ( included as part of the Prague listing) and offers a range of lovely walks through its varied terrain of mixed woodland, lakes and organized gardens. In the background is a fairytale Neo-Renaissance chateau, constructed in the late 19th century, on the site of a medieval Gothic fortress, by the park’s creator – Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca.
- The park is open year round (but an entrance fee required). The park is recommended in all seasons, although the colorful rhododendron groves are particularly attractive in May. There are a number of potential routes around the park – a leaflet is available at the entrance (and an online version) showing some alternative routes. There are waymarks throughout the park with points of interest (note: travelling to each of the waymarks in their exact order involves a very convoluted tour and so is not the ideal route). The interactive plan on the homepage of the park site gives a good sense of the scope of the park.
- A full tour of the park, taking in all of the main viewpoints and sites, is around 11 km in length, and is highly recommended as it visits the quieter areas of the park including circling around the largest lake, rybník Bořín. Other highlights include the recently remodeled Alpine garden and the smaller ponds filled with Water lilies and lined with Irises. Look out for the 19th century thatched cottage (map point 16) which has a small exhibition of all the fairytales that were filmed featuring the house.
- The paths are all good and most routes can be managed with a stroller (although there are a couple of step sections on the longer routes). There is approximately 100m of height gained/lost on the 11km route.
- There are no refreshment options inside the park, but there is an excellent cafe in the chateau, and various restaurants a short walk from the entrance, including the stylish Paloma Průhonice and the popular terrace at Pizzeria Grosetto. However, probably the nicest all round choice in town is the Babiččina zahrada, a Hejlík recommendation, which is on a residential street a few hundred meters from the chateau entrance.
- There are two (paid) parking areas close to the main entrance to the park, next to the chateau. Both fill up very quickly at weekends and during holidays. Other options for parking include the small area located at the midpoint of the park on a side road 3 km from the village, or (if doing some shopping) the Lidl car park, just off the D1 highway, approximately 600m from the park entrance. There is also a regular bus service to the park entrance from the Prague metro stop Opatov.
Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.cz’ to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.
Directions
- After purchasing entrance tickets at the kiosk (and collecting the leaflets showing the main routes), head around the first courtyard and enter the chateau area through the main gate, to reach the terrace overlooking the park. On the right side is the cafe/tea room.
- From the terrace, descend on the steps to reach the paths that lead around the first pond (Note: to avoid the steps, there is an entrance to the park directly from the circular courtyard)
- The recommended route around the path is to travel clockwise – which means heading first towards the Alpine garden area and then generally staying on the eastern side of the park until reaching the rybník Bořín
- After circling (clockwise) around Bořín, return back towards the chateau along the western section of the park
