A circular walk through Zbraslav, combining both Vltava and Berounka riverbanks – 10 km

• The town of Zbraslav is picturesquely situated at the confluence of the Vltava and Berounka rivers, just 20km from the center of Prague. It is an important historical site with one of the country’s most important (and visually impressive) monastery complexes. Curiously, however, Zbraslav rarely gets mentioned as a tourist destination, despite it being a good start point for several walks.
• The Cistercian monastery was founded in the late 13th century by King Václav II on the site of an unfinished royal hunting court. It became the main burial place for the Přemyslid dynasty during the 14th century and for a period was probably the most important religious site in Bohemia. The monastery was severely damaged during the Hussite Wars of the 15th century.
• It was not until the early 18th century that the monastery regained its prominence following a reconstruction planned by legendary Czech/Italian architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. The high Baroque architecture is some of the most impressive in the country. Sadly, the interior is not accessible to the public, but a section of the park can be visited. Zbrasla remains an important pilgrimage destination.
• Zbraslav is also notable for a number of famous art deco mansions. A visit to the town can be combined with a circuit along the paths that run beside the Berounka and Vltava rivers, using several bridges to create an easy circular walk, offering good views of the rivers.
• The route shown in the map below mostly follows the cycle tracks (apart from a short section on a footpath up the hill to a viewpoint overlooking the monastery). The route is just over 10 km long with under 100m of height to ascend/descend.
• There are many refreshment options in Zbraslav. Perhaps the most well known (and popular) is the Barabizna restaurant serving Latin American food (map point 3). A reservation is often needed to get a table. There is also a microbrewery/restaurant in Radotín, the Pivovar Horymír (which serves excellent unfiltered beer) or try the Kavárna Pelíšek, serving good coffee and cakes.

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

• The circuit can conveniently be started either from Zbraslav or Radotín, both having good train and bus connections with Prague. If driving, there are several parking areas available, including on Zbraslav main square
• If starting in Zbraslav, after visiting the park area next to the monastery, join the RED trail in the direction of Radotín
• The trail climbs up to a viewpoint with a 19th century gazebo and then follows a road to reach the footbridge over the Berounka at Radotín in 3.2 km
• Cross the footbridge and turn right to follow the cycle trail downstream for 2.3 km until reaching the road brodge over the Berounka
• Recross the Berounka following the cycle path and then after 1.8 km cross the Vltava also using the cycle track next beside the road bridge
• Follow the cycle path for 1.5 km beside the right bank of the Vltava until reaching the road bridge near Ybraslav train station
• Cross the road bridge rejoining the RED hiking trail, which leads back to Zbraslav center in 1 km