Karlstejn is definitely the most popular and maybe also the most beautiful castle in the Czech Republic. This is saying a lot because Czech is known for being the “King of Castles” with over 200 castles and chateaus! After visiting the castle we can say that this is absolutely true.
Walking up the streets and paths towards the castle will bring your imagination back to the medieval days. It almost feels like a fairytale walking up to this enchanted castle if you take away the tourist shops that have popped up over the years.
One of our favourite parts about visiting Karlstejn is that it is out in nature and gives you a completely different experience than the one in Prague. We love Prague and have a list of 38 things to do in Prague you can check out – but it is also fun exploring outside of the city sometimes! Being able to take a train for 50 minutes to end up in such a gorgeous place is just another reason why we love exploring the Czech Republic.
This ends up being a perfect day trip because along with the castle tour, and exploring the area you can even go for lunch at one of the delicious restaurants down below and see some of Czech’s beautiful countryside. In this post, you’ll find all the information that you need for this day trip from Prague to Karlstejn Castle!
How to get to Karlstejn Castle.
One of the reasons why going to Karlstejn is one of the best day trips from Prague is because of its proximity to the city. With public transport, it is less than 1 hour from Prague to Karlstejn. The easiest way to go there is by hopping on a train from the central train station (Hlavní nádraží) in the direction of Beroun.
To buy your tickets, we recommend using an app called Muj Vlak or the one called IDOS. You can also go to the main train station beforehand and purchase your tickets at the office there. We find using the app much easier though.
The trains from Prague to Karlstejn and Karlstejn back to Prague run quite frequently so whenever you get to the station you rarely have to wait for more than 30-ish minutes. During the day and on weekends the train runs every 30 minutes or so. In the evenings it’s less frequent. You can check the train times on Google Maps on your phone or on České dráhy right here.
One of the reasons why going to Karlstejn is one of the best day trips from Prague is because of its proximity to the city. With public transport, it is less than 1 hour from Prague to Karlstejn. The easiest way to go there is by hopping on a train from the central train station (Hlavní nádraží) in the direction of Beroun.
To buy your tickets, we recommend using an app called Muj Vlak or the one called IDOS. You can also go to the main train station beforehand and purchase your tickets at the office there. We find using the app much easier though.
The trains from Prague to Karlstejn and Karlstejn back to Prague run quite frequently so whenever you get to the station you rarely have to wait for more than 30-ish minutes. During the day and on weekends the train runs every 30 minutes or so. In the evenings it’s less frequent. You can check the train times on Google Maps on your phone or on České dráhy right here.
The stop you will get off at is called Karlstejn so that makes it easy. From there we got you covered down below! =)
Here are the directions to Karlstejn Castle
- Once you get off the train, turn right.
- Follow the trail across the bridge.
- Turn right again and follow the road into Karlstejn.
- From there you can take the road up towards the castle.
- Here are the exact directions from the train station up to the castle. It’s a nice 2.1 km / 1.3 mile walk up to the castle.
Make sure when finding the train tickets, that you search from Praha hl. n to Karlstejn. The train ride should cost 59 CZK or just under $3 each way. So for $6 you can get to Karlstejn Castle and back into the city. Not too bad for a gorgeous day trip.
Information about Karlstejn Tours
Tours run quite frequently Tuesday through Sunday. There are a few different tour options that you can see here. They run more frequently during the summer months and when the tourism season is high.
There are a few different tours you can pick from and the price is slightly more expensive for the tourist (English) version of the tour.
It’s definitely worth it if you love castles and history but we actually found exploring the grounds and the city of Karlstejn was enough for us and we didn’t even need to take a tour to experience the beauty of the castle and the area.
So don’t feel like you’re missing out if you don’t want to take a tour of the inside of Karlstejn. If you do though, do feel free to comment on the post and let us know what you think! Either way, whatever you decide you will have a great time we’re sure.
Exploring the area around Karlstejn Castle
The town of Karlstejn is beautiful in itself and gives such a fairytale vibe to it. We definitely recommend exploring the town and wandering around the streets to try and get a unique picture of the castle. We roamed around and even found a pet pig in one of the backyards (for real).
One thing we wanted to share with you is the backside behind the castle where lots of tourists don’t really visit. There’s a super cool area to explore and also a delicious traditional Czech restaurant that is absolutely worth visiting!
We actually just randomly stumbled upon the path to the restaurant and it’s quite easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. The path is marked with a green diamond. You can see the exact directions towards the restaurant here. It’s a short walk through the forest on this gorgeous path that gives you a feel for medieval times.
You can enjoy lunch at the restaurant mentioned above: Penzion Pod Skalou Restaurant before heading back up to town and back towards the train station. The restaurant even has wifi so it’s a good place to check the train times back to Prague and anything else you may need to do 😉
To get back to the train station, you can take the main road back from the restaurant towards where you started the day trip. To make sure you don’t get lost here are the directions. Or else you can take the marked trail back up to the castle and then back down to town.
Some history about Karlstejn
Here is also a little bit of info you may be interested in before embarking on your day trip from Prague.
- Karlstejn was founded in 1348.
- Served as a place for safekeeping valuable jewels and artifacts.
- This castle is the 5th most visited castle in the Czech Republic.
- Over 200.000 tourists visit the castle every year.
On top of all this, if you go on a tour, you’ll learn a bunch of interesting facts on who ruled the castle during certain eras and the purpose of the castle.
Conclusion
If you didn’t know already, Prague is the perfect place to take day trips from. Now you’ll have another day trip to add to the list. Karlstejn is honestly one of our favourites because of how close it is to Prague and the nature surrounding the area.
In one afternoon you can go see a magical castle and also go explore some beautiful countryside while enjoying authentic Czech food. By the time the day’s over, you’ll only have a short train ride back to the city!
Now you should hopefully have all the information you’ll need to have a fantastic day out in Karlstejn. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the journey or want any other tips for things to do in the area. We’re always looking forward to sharing information with fellow adventures.
Have fun!
Dom & Jo
Red White Adventures
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