Chateau gardens and parks within an hour of Prague

Průhonice Park: A UNESCO jewel on the edge of Prague

This picturesque oasis of peace and quiet can be found just a few kilometres from the centre of Prague. Průhonice Park offers an enchanting and diverse range of attractions! Masterfully designed and often unexpected vistas through stands of trees and bushes, meadows, ponds, streams, the variety of the trees in the different seasons and, to top all this off, a charming castle - all this comes together to form one large, sophisticated, romantic and harmonious place to visit. So unique that not only is it a National Cultural Monument, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can enjoy its beauty along any of three routes, the longest of which runs for 10 kilometres.
 

Kačina Chateau: Take a picnic in a park laid out by the director of the imperial gardens in Schrönbrunn

Treat yourself to a picnic in a charming park designed by the director of the imperial garden at Schrönbrunn Palace in Vienna! Pick up your picnic basket packed with goodies from the café of the Empire Kačina Chateau. You can then chill out with a glass of bubbly in the adjacent English-style park, which is even older than the chateau itself. Stretch out on your blanket and admire the view of the summer houses, the orangery, the ponds with their little islands, the charming avenue of trees and more than a hundred botanical plant species. The chateau peacocks will keep you company. And, after you’ve relaxed for a while, you can also visit the greenhouse and the herb garden, not to mention the chateau itself.
 

Get lost! In the mazes in the park at Loučeň

Besides being the perfect place to relax, the park around Loučeň Chateau also has lots of fun things to do. After all, it has twelve labyrinths and mazes! Every one is different, from a yew-tree maze, a paved maze, palisade and rope mazes, labyrinths made from light, stone and letters, even a finger labyrinth, but they all have the miraculous power to restore lost energy. And to really top up your batteries, enjoy a picnic provided at the chateau. There are three different picnic baskets to choose from! You can visit the park and the chateau any time you want, as both are open all year round. The picnic baskets, though, are only available from April to October.
 

A night-time visit to the greenhouse in the park at Konopiště

There is a nature trail leading through the wooded parts of the park surrounding Konopiště Chateau. It offers information about the history of the park, gamekeeping, and the fauna and flora in the forest there. The estate was acquired in the 19th century by the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand d'Este, who had the chateau altered in the romantic style. A park was also established during his era, which includes a rose garden with a large greenhouse. As in the days of the archduke, it is home to palm trees, orchids, tree ferns and other exotic plants. And, on certain days, you can also look around it after dark. The greenhouse has its own magical atmosphere in the glow of lamplight…
 

To Vlašim for a picnic in one of the Czech Republic’s most beautiful chateau parks

Around the chateau in Vlašim lies one of the most beautiful Czech parks, the perfect place for a picnic. You don’t have to worry about bringing a blanket or food – you can get yourself a picnic basket packed with goodies at the information centre in the chateau courtyard. All you need to do is find the nicest spot to eat. And there’s nothing hard about that, as the park has countless places tucked away, full of little buildings and all connected by a nature trail. You could spread your blanket near one of the park’s main landmarks – the exotic Chinese pavilion. And if the weather’s not ideal for a picnic or a walk, you can learn about its history at the chateau museum.

 
To the park of the chateau in Lány on the trail of the Czech presidents

Take a stroll in the footsteps of the Czech heads of state! Take a trip to the French flower garden of Lány Chateau, the summer residence of the Czech presidents, which blends smoothly with an English-style forest park with almost endless promenades. Or stroll over to the exotic palm greenhouse, designed by the court architect of Masaryk, Czechoslovakia’s first president. The fenced-off part of the Křivoklát forests, formerly used used as a hunting ground for the cream of the aristocracy, is now a reserve for rare animals.
 

Enjoy a delicious picnic in the gardens of Jemniště Chateau

The Baroque Jemniště Chateau is surrounded by a beautiful rose garden and an extensive romantic park. The original formal French garden was established back in 1725, although it was later redesigned and extended with the addition of a natural landscape park. You can admire its charms not only during a walk, but also on a picnic. The picnic baskets prepared for you at Jemniště are packed with the finest delicacies! How about some venison, or perhaps you prefer smoked leg of pork…? The choice is yours.

 

Feed the white deer in the chateau park at Žleby

Cross the little bridge over the waterfall, listen to the rush of the water at the weir and admire a variety of buildings from turrets with battlements to watchtowers and gates that look like something straight out of the Middle Ages, all in the romantic park of Žleby Chateau. But don't be fooled. This park, made all the more dramatic and charming by its steep slopes and canyon-like river meander, dates back to just the 19th century. It’s certainly worth taking a walk into the neighbouring Žleby game reserve with its white deer. These are kept in just four reserves in the Czech Republic and the one in Žleby is the only one open to the public. Don’t miss watching the deer being fed, and the regular bird of prey demonstrations are just as fascinating.

 
Handicapped animals are taken care of in the chateau park in Dobříš

The grounds of Dobříš Chateau are the perfect example of the symbiosis of architecture and the skill of the master horticulturists and landscape gardeners. Besides visiting Dobříš Chateau, you can also enjoy a stroll in the English-style park, which includes a mini-zoo with handicapped animals from a rescue station, as well as in a gorgeous French park. This is a rare example of Rococo garden architecture. It’s impressive for its rigidly symmetrical layout in three terraces, with an orangery and some stunning sculptures.
 

Through the park of the chateau in Veltrusy on a bike or in a horse-drawn carriage

The park surrounding the chateau in Veltrusy is one of the largest in the Czech Republic. Strolling round it you can enjoy views of the charming Baroque chateau as well as some allegorical statues, the work of Matyáš B. Braun, the sculptor of the amazing works in the unique Baroque hospital at Kuks. With a bit of luck, you’ll also see some fallow deer, roe deer, hares and pheasants. Enjoy cycling? So take a bike tour through the park. Or a ride in a horse-drawn carriage is also a magical experience.