Veltrusy chateau and its English park – 5 km to 10 km easy walks

• Veltrusy is one of the most important and original Baroque chateaux in Bohemia. It was designed in the early 18th century by an Italian architect for the Chotec family, which had close ties to the Habsburg court. The chateau was designed with an oval core and four wings arranged in the shape of a Ondřej cross. In August 1754, Empress Maria Teresa was invited to see the newly constructed Veltrusy chaeau and to view a unique exhibition  “The Grand Fair of the Goods from the Czech Kingdom” – the first time in the world industrial samples had been exhibited this way.
• The Chotec family continued to develop the Veltrusy estate throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, creating a large English-style park with its many romantic monuments, classicist pavilions, waterways and bridges. This attractive park area is worth spending some time exploring. There are several trails, all of which can be navigated with a stroller. The park is essentially flat.
• The suggested walk outlined in the map is 8.5 km long and visits most of the monuments and bridges in the park. It can be shortened at various points, or extended to detour into Veltrusy village – where there are several restaurants and cafes, including the excellent Kafe z Ruky, which is close to the south entrance of the park. There is also a cafe-restaurant in the chateau complex (not yet sampled).
• If driving to Veltrusy there are several parking options in the village, but the carpark closest to the chateau is located next to the river. For those traveling by public transport, Nelahozeves train station, which has direct trains from Prague, is a 1.2 km walk from the western entrance to the park. For a longer walk, an exploration of Veltrusy park can be combined with a walk along the Vltava to the imposing Nelahozeves Renaissance chateau of Nelahozeves. For more details of this walk see here.

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

• If travelling by train to Nelahozeves station take the BLUE hiking trail from directly in front of the station. The entrance to Veltrusy park is reached in 1.5 km (crossing the Vltava on the road bridge). The BLUE trail also passes through the closest car park to the chateau.
• From the car park follow the BLUE trail into the park area along the northwest driveway, heading directly to the chateau, which is reached in 900m
• From the chateau start the tour of the park area by walking along the tree-lined main driveway which heads north in a straight line across the park
• At the furthest edge of the park, 2.1 km from the chateau, the Maria Therese pavilion can be found in a shallow amphitheater bowl
• From the pavilion return back to the main driveway, but then turn towards the artificial ruin (the Egyptian pavilion) on the small hill. The pavilion was designed to allow boats to pass into the tunnel under the stone bridge with a sphinx
• From the Egyptian ruin, either follow the path along the stream (crossing several ornate footbridges) or the tree-lined alley which runs around the eastern edge of the park
• At the south east corner of the park (2 to 2.5 km from the Egyptian temple, depending on the path chosen) another 18th century pavilion was constructed on a slightly raised terrace – the Chrám Přátel venkova a zahrad (the Temple of Friends of the Countryside and Gardens) which was modelled on a building in Kew Gardens, London
• From the temple, return back towards the chateau along the main path. Just before reaching the chateau, turn left away from the chateau to circle around the southern section of the park, passing the small pond with its classic view of the chateau (see the last picture below)
• The walk can be extended through the southern entrance to the park to visit the village of Veltrusy (various refreshment and restaurant options) or complete the circle around the chateau to return back to the western carpark or to the BLUE trail to the station.