Quite a short ride in Prague will take you through the largest park Stromovka, across the new bridge over Vltava and around botanical garden and ZOO, which are right now closed to the public. Reasonable starting point is the lot behind Písecká brána, where the parking is free for the weekends. Ride is simple mix of bike paths and roads. The only trickier piece is downhill from point 9 to 10, where the surface is pretty rough. Part before point 5 is steep uphill, but nothing the E-bike cannot handle. We do not recommend to hang around point 5 too long as it is one of the nicest camps of homeless population of Prague. Do not worry about the path between 19 and 21 marked (only on the map) as closed for bicycles. In reality there is no restriction. At point 22 you may walk the bike up very short flight of stairs.
On this trip you definitely should not miss the moon landing module of Apollo 11 next to the Prague planetarium. Riding along the botanical garden will allow you to peek through the fence in several places. On the right hand side between point 10 and 11 you will see the African savanna of the Prague ZOO with giraffes, antelopes and ostriches. If you did not see Chateau Troja, you can ride to peek at it at point 12. Behind the castle is one of the Prague vineyards (vineyard of St. Klára) selling their own vine in the middle of the field with one of the nicest views of Prague.
From point 11 to 13 you may enjoy the nice bike path which is part of the Vltavská cyklostezka. On the left hand side you will see the Troja’s horse, a wooden structure serving as the coffee shop, gallery, and a concert location. Next to it, on the right, you will see the water canal used for various watersport competitions. (We blogged about this part earlier.) Unfortunately, this part of the ride can be pretty busy in the weekends. After crossing the bridge and riding around Vltava in the opposite direction, you will cross Stromovka again. There you can stop for a coffee at Šlechtovka and visit entrance to Rudolfova štola. This tunnel was built in 16 century just to fill the ponds in Stromovka for the entertainment of the emperor Rudolf II. The tunnel is a technical and historical marvel, unfortunately inaccessible for the public at the moment.
https://en.mapy.cz/s/pebavapose 18 km, 170 m elevation gain, GPX file. To see this ride in context, check our interactive maps.
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