Prague - Krakow

This day is yours to explore Prague, the "Paris of the Central Europe" Relax, stroll or treat experience a unique Prague-by-bike tour (see more in our Prague-by-bike section). Do not hesitate to ask us for this extra tour – it is our clients favorite! If time is not your worst enemy, we do propose you stay in Prague more days to fully explore its beauty and hidden corners. Feel free to ask us about more nights or other attractions!

Hotels: Night in Prague is not included as most of our guests prefer to stay more nights. We recommend to use one of our standard partner hotels (3/4/5* Standard) as our route description, GPS files, maps etc. starts from there. If you decide to book your own hotel additional 20 € administration fee will apply.

Please note we require hotel with 24/7 reception + bike storage room. We do not accept Air B&B accommodation and it will be your responsibility on day 1 to find way by bike to our starting point.  

Prague's urban planners were certainly forward-thinking – part of our bike route follows right atop the metro tunnel! Escaping Prague,we bike north east towards the fertile Polabí region, stopping on the way in the old towns of Čelákovice and then Přerov nad Labem, home of the oldest village culture museum in Europe.  On a hot day, take the chance to swim in a local lake before we arrive at the old royal town of Nymburk with ancient walls bordering the Elbe,  While here we must taste the local Postřižiny beer to commemorate the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal who grew up in the local brewery!

On a pleasant and easy bike trail we'll roll along the river to the spa town of Poděbrady and continue to the royal town of Kolín with its ornate Renaissance synagogue. From Kolin we will leave the Elbe River and bike to one of the UNESCO Heritage sites on our "to-do list" – the old silver mining capital, Kutná Hora. Through the Middle Ages it was one of the most important towns in Europe, extremely rich due to its mines, coin mint and location on trade routes. Thanks to all this we can relax in the cozy old town comprised of fascinating Medieval and Baroque structures. Crowning it all is the stunning St Barbara's church – a real jewel of Gothic architecture!

Before we leave Kutná Hora we will visit an extraordinary venue – the Sedlec ossuary, whose decorations were created using the bones of more than 30 000 people, making it a curious and macabre exhibition. Just before we return to the Elbe, we can visit a lovely Classical-style chateau, Kačina. Rejoining the river we pedal to the Kladruby national stud farm, which has produced exceptional horses for the Habsburgs since the 16th century.  In the afternoon we'll bike along the Buňkov lake, taking a pause to relax on the beach or even swim . Today's last stop is the medieval town of Pardubice. A charming, quiet old town with a nice chateau and old lanes, but home of the SEMTEX plastic explosive too. For those looking for something sweet - you've found it! -  Pardubice is the Czech capital of traditional gingerbread.

As we leave Elbe river, we meet our first gentle hills and the mighty castle Kunětická Hora. Little detour and climb up the majestic hill is definitely worth a try!  After a pause we reach the river Loučná, following it to the village of Vraclav and its memorial to the Vršovec noble family. Next stop is the town of Vysoké Mýto:  Today the hub of bus construction, its much longer history is displayed by a beautiful town square and nicely preserved city gates. Today's lodgings are in the UNESCO-protected town of Litomyšl, home of a fantastic Renaissance chateau with stunning gardens. Litomyšl is also the birthplace of the renowned composer Bedřich Smetana, a man celebrated every year with a classical music festival - a highlight of the Czech cultural calendar.

This day we say good-bye to Bohemia,crossing the historical border to Moravia as we bike the gap between the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the south and the Eagle Mountains in the north. We can admire the Renaissance town of Svitavy with its beautiful square and explore the history of its most famous resident, the locally-dislike Oskar Schindler. From here we do have to climb over the Hřebeč range, but our route soons descends easily towards our lodging in the town of Moravská Třebová.  This little town has a fantastic Renaissance chateau, one of the best examples of that in the whole Moravia.

Our day starts nice and easily on the River Třebůvka, Still skirting the old border between Bohemia and Moravia, there is a high density of castle ruins, mostly just a couple of stones today.  But when we do leave the river we meet the biggest of today castles – Bouzouv, one of the most romantic places in the Czech Republic.  Shortly afterwards we leave the highlands and descend to the River Morava which more or less guides us through the rest of the day.  If you are interested in reaching our lodgings more quickly in the UNESCO city of Oloumoc, feel free to take the train; otherwise enjoy the bike route along the meandering river.  The ancient capital of the Moravia Empire, Olomouc rewards it visitors with fascinating sculptures, dramatic churches, and a communist-era astronomical clock.

 Today we follow the Bystřice river. First we reach the Tršice region with its beautiful views of Svatý Kopeček (Holy Hill).  Arriving in Přerov we reach the Bečva river and following the nice bike trail upstream. In Lipník we can admire the town center complete with a castle and extraordinary gardens, or we can make a detour up the hill to the mighty Helfštýn castle. Further upstream we reach the town of Hranice with its Renaissance square. On the other bank of Bečva we can relax in the local spa Teplice nad Bečvou.

This day is one of the most demanding but interesting of our whole tour. The closer we get to Czech-Polish-Slovakian border, the more castles, castle ruins and historical towns we will meet. In the morning we follow the Bečva river for some last kilometers before the route turns uphill to discover some nice views of Starý Jičín and its castle ruin. Next stop is Nový Jičín with its picturesque old town and funny fountain on the square. From the town we continue up and down with some early views of the Beskydy mountains till we get to Štramberk. This lovely little town, with wooden houses and a mighty castle tower above it, is know for it's gourmet Štramberk Ears!

Distance: 64 km / 40 miles

Description of the day: Right after we leave Štramberk we enter the small town of Kopřivnice - home of the famous Tatra trucks. Next stop in this rather hilly morning is Hukvaldy, a small town overlooked by a mighty castle. Most of all the town is known as birthplace of the innovative 19th-century composer Leoš Janáček, whose house borders the bike route! After that we follow the small river Ondřejnice to the twin town of Frýdek-Místek just in time for lunch.  In the afternoon we bike along the Žermanice lake, a nice spot for a swim! Arriving even before we dry out, we stay in the border town(s) of Český Těšín/Cieszyn.

In the morning we cross the border and start the Polish part of our journey. The small roads gently meander away from the mountain views behind you. First stop is the small town of Skoczow where we join the Wisla river. From there on we bike through a land of lakes crowned by the mighty Goczalkowicke dam to the historical town of Pszyna. Here you can visit a  nice chateau and the regional museum or the Zubr (European buffalo) nature park. 

We will conclude our day in nice historical town of Oświęcim, sadly known for the nearby WWII concentration camp Oświęcim/Auschwitz. 

This day ranks among the longest ones but no need to be worried.  Most of the day you will spend biking by the Wisla river on flat newly built bike trails with wonderful views at meandering river! As an extra to avid bikers you can take a detour to Lipoviec(Babice), where you can climb to a majestic castle ruin, visit the town's open air museum or just enjoy traditional lunch! Shortly before arriving Krakow we highly recommend to visit Dominican monastery at Tyniec, which with more than a 1000 year history is the oldest monastery in Poland. 

We will conclude our day and whole tour in the historical town Krakow, known as the seat of Polish kings and archbishops. 

 TIP: Those willing to visit memorial site and museums in concentration camp Auschwitz can shorten or skip their bike ride with a train transfer to Krakow.

We highly recommend you take time to tour this magnificent city, the former capital of the Polish kingdom full of picturesque places and buildings.

If you have more time, we highly recommend trip to impressive historical salt mines, located only short ride from the town!