Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Prague by Bike
Prague has a long way to go before it's a cycling town comparable
with big cities in Germany. Nevertheless, there's a group of hard-
core cyclists promoting commuter cycling, extending bike paths
and raising driver awareness. Their efforts are starting to bear
fruit.
Recommended Routes
Prague has a relatively complete, if disjointed, network of bike paths, signposted in
yellow, that criss-cross the city centre and fan out in all directions. Recreational cyc-
lists will probably be content just to putz around on one of the tours offered by the
bike-rental companies, but more serious cyclists should consider buying a good map,
hiring a bike and hitting the outlying trails for a day or two.
Arguably the best cycling trails lead off to the north following the Vltava River in
the direction of Germany. Someday, the Prague-Dresden run will be the stuff of cyc-
ling legend, but for now there are still significant gaps in the route. That said, the path
northward along the river is nearly complete as far as the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou
(20km from Prague; it's possible to return by rail), from where you can continue on
you back and forth across the river, and some really great trails leading inland along
the way. From the centre of Prague, start off at Čechův most (the bridge over the
Vltava by the InterContinental Hotel), ride across the bridge and up the hill to Letná.
From there, follow the signs to Stromovka and on to Prague Zoo. The riverside trail
(waymarked A2) continues northward from here.
Remember to pack water and sunscreen and always watch out for cars. Czech
drivers, inexplicably, are rabidly anticyclist.
Maps
Most large bookstores stock cycling maps
(cycloturisticka mapa)
. One of the best
maps to look out for is the latest Freytag & Berndt
Praha a Okoli
(Prague & Surround-
