# Karlštejn

The Gothic castle where Charles IV kept the crown jewels, 40 minutes by train from Prague, with a pedestrian village and a trail to flooded quarries.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/czechia/karlstejn · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Karlštejn is the castle that Charles IV, King of Bohemia and emperor, had built in the mid-fourteenth century on a hill in the Berounka valley to keep the crown jewels and the relics of the empire. It stands about 30 km south-west of Prague, in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area, and is the shortest and most classic excursion from the capital: half a day is enough, a whole day if you add a walk in the forest.

## How do you get there from Prague?

By train, from the main station (Praha hlavní nádraží) or from Smíchov, on the commuter line towards Beroun, with trains every half hour; the journey takes about 40 minutes. Karlštejn station is on the other side of the river: you cross the bridge, turn right and then left, and walk up the main street for about 20 minutes to the first gate. The line has occasional engineering closures in 2026: check the timetable for the day.

By car, it is about 40 km. The fast route is the D5 motorway towards Plzeň as far as exit 10 (Loděnice), and from there via Bubovice and Hlásná Třebaň; the pretty one runs beside the river through Radotín, Dobřichovice and Řevnice. There is just one car park, down in the village, paid by the day. The village is pedestrianised all day, bicycles included.

## What to see in half a day

The castle can only be visited with a guide. The basic tour, the imperial residence of Charles IV, lasts 55 minutes and covers the Imperial Palace and the Marian Tower; ask for the Spanish audio guide. From May to October there is also the chapels tour, of a hundred minutes and for 16 people, which enters the Church of Our Lady, the Chapel of St Catherine and the painted staircase of the Great Tower: book it in good time. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, the jewel of Karlštejn, can only be seen on the special three-hour tour.

Walk up through the village without hurrying: shops, terraces and, on the square, the Nativity Scene Museum, with a moving crib that also serves as the information office.

## And if you have the whole day?

From the castle a trail leads to the flooded quarries of Malá and Velká Amerika: about 40 minutes through the forest to the first, half an hour more to the big one, and 45 back, with a stretch along the road. They are lakes of green water between limestone walls. Have lunch afterwards at Pod Dračí skálou, next to the castle, or at the Grill Restaurant Mlýn, beside the river.

## When to go

In spring and autumn, on weekdays, there are fewer people. In summer the groups from Prague arrive mid-morning: catch the first train or go in the afternoon. From November to March the castle opens with the basic tour and on fewer days (in November, Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00), and the chapels tour is closed until May. In December the village has a Christmas atmosphere and the Nativity Scene Museum opens almost daily.

## Is it worth staying overnight?

For almost everyone, Karlštejn is half a day. Stay if you want to see the castle in the first light, do the Amerika trail without rushing or spend the first or last night of your trip near the airport: Hotel Mlýn is 15 km from it.

## How much does it cost?

The basic tour costs 300 CZK per adult and 90 CZK for ages 6 to 17; the chapels tour, 640 CZK. The train from Prague is cheap. A meal with beer comes to around 350–600 CZK per person.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Lidice (a 22.7 km), Prague (a 23.4 km), Křivoklát (a 25.1 km), Konopiště (a 38.0 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Charles IV's imperial residence, the basic tour of Karlštejn Castle** (55 min · All ages; ages 6 to 17, 90 CZK · 300 CZK adults aged 25 to 64; 240 CZK ages 18 to 24 and over-65s; 90 CZK ages 6 to 17; free up to age 5): Charles IV had Karlštejn built in the fourteenth century to keep the crown jewels and the relics of the empire, and the basic tour covers the Imperial Palace and the Marian Tower: the courtiers' hall, the knights' hall with the Chapel of St Nicholas, the deanery and the emperor's bedroom with the Chapel of St Wenceslas, with furniture from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
You enter only with a guide, in groups of up to 45 people and about 55 minutes. Guided tours are usually in Czech or English; ask at the ticket office for the Spanish audio guide (120 CZK and a 500 CZK cash deposit). Buy your ticket on the castle website to choose a time: in summer and at weekends the slots fill up. The last tour leaves at closing time.
From the car park or the station it is about 15 to 20 minutes' climb on foot through the village; you cannot drive up.
- **The chapels of Karlštejn and the Great Tower, the exclusive tour** (1 h 40 · Adults and teenagers interested in Gothic art · 640 CZK adults; 510 CZK ages 18 to 24 and over-65s; 190 CZK under-18s): The second tour enters what Karlštejn was built to guard: the Church of Our Lady and the small Chapel of St Catherine, in the Marian Tower, and the staircase of the Great Tower, with wall paintings from the time of Charles IV. Groups are 16 people at most, it lasts a hundred minutes and booking is compulsory: buy your ticket on the castle website as soon as you have your date.
It runs from May to October. If you want to see everything, the castle also offers the complete three-hour tour, almost private (six people, 1,800 CZK per person), which goes up to the floors above the Chapel of the Holy Cross, normally closed.
- **On foot up through Karlštejn village to the first gate** (20 min · All ages; with a pushchair, because of the cobbled slope): The castle cannot be seen from the station: it appears as you climb. From the train you cross the bridge over the Berounka, turn right and then left, and follow the main street uphill; from the central car park the route is the same. The whole village is pedestrianised, bicycles included, and the Municipal Police fine anyone who goes in.
The street is full of souvenir shops and terraces; on the square, the Nativity Scene Museum also serves as an information office. At the top, the castle's first gate and the viewpoint over the valley. Allow 15 minutes from the car park and about 20 from the train, unhurried.
- **Trail to the flooded quarries of Malá and Velká Amerika** (2 h · Good legs; with a pushchair, difficult because of the forest): The limestone quarries of the Bohemian Karst filled with water when they closed and today are lakes with vertical walls in the middle of the forest. Malá Amerika is about 40 minutes from the castle: before the first gate you go down the path to the road, leave the village and, 200 metres after the Karlštejn sign, climb through the forest to the oak of the Seven Brothers, where the yellow waymark begins.
From there, the same waymark passes the México quarry and in half an hour reaches Velká Amerika, the largest and most photographed, which is overlooked by a viewpoint. The return to Karlštejn is about 45 minutes, with a stretch along the Mořina road, which has traffic: take care, or at Mořina catch the bus to Prague-Zličín. The quarries are viewed from above; you do not go down to them.
- **Karlštejn Nativity Scene Museum, with a moving royal crib** (45 min · Families with children; the mechanical cribs are set going by them): On the village square, on the way to the castle. What stands out most is the Royal Nativity: 80 square metres of figures in Gothic costume that move and tell, mixing history and legend, the story of Karlštejn, with Charles IV, St Wenceslas or the painter Theodoric. There are mechanical cribs that children set going, cribs of freshly made gingerbread and, in the courtyard, an alchemist's workshop from the time of Rudolf II that also moves.
From September to November it is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00; in December, on Christmas hours, almost every day. The museum café opens from May to September. Phone: +420 721 029 362.

## Dónde comer
- **Grill Restaurant Mlýn** (Restaurant, Karlštejn, €€€). Qué pedir: the fish of the day or the roast sturgeon, ordered 48 hours ahead for four people.
- **Restaurace Pod Dračí skálou** (Restaurant, Karlštejn, €€). Qué pedir: a game dish from the menu with a draught Pilsner Urquell.

## By plane: Fly to Prague and 40 minutes by train to Karlštejn
Karlštejn is 15 km from Prague airport and about 30 km from the centre. You fly to Prague, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue on the commuter train towards Beroun, which stops at Karlštejn every half hour. You do not need a car.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Romantický Hotel Mlýn Karlštejn** (Small hotel): The house
A former mill on the bank of the Berounka, just where the river makes a weir beneath the castle, in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area. It is the most complete hotel in Karlštejn: 21 rooms, a restaurant, a terrace over the water and a private island of 2,500 m² with a barbecue and a gazebo used for weddings. It is 25 km from the centre of Prague and 15 from the airport, so it also serves as the first or last night of a trip.
The rooms
There are doubles, triples, Executive and "romantic" rooms, with period-style furniture, air conditioning, minibar, safe and wifi. One has a princess corner for girls. The whole hotel is smoke-free. The relaxation area has a Finnish sauna, a whirlpool bath and a small gym.
Getting there and parking
It has a large car park with an electric car charger, at the entrance to the pedestrian village. From Karlštejn station you walk: cross the bridge and follow the river. The castle is about 25 minutes' walk away, uphill. Check-in is from 15:00 to 20:00 and reception closes at 22:00.
- **Penzion Pod Dračí skálou** (Small hotel, desde 1600 € / night): The house
A small guesthouse above the Pod Dračí skálou restaurant, in the upper part of the village and surrounded by forest. The centre and the castle are a leisurely ten-minute walk away. It is a family house with three rooms and the atmosphere of a mountain home: breakfast is served by the lit fireplace.
The rooms
Two doubles and a triple, with wooden furniture, shower and toilet, terrace, television and wifi; it sleeps eight people, with some extra beds. The double costs 1,600 CZK per night with breakfast; the municipal tax is paid separately. From five nights half board is included. In July and August they ask for a minimum of three nights. Animals are not allowed.
Getting there and parking
Parking is free and in front of the house, something unusual in a pedestrianised village: ask when booking which way to come in. Without a car, from the station it is about 25 minutes' walk uphill. Check-in is from 14:00 to 19:00.
### Servicios
- **Karlštejn station**: Commuter trains from Prague and Beroun every half hour; from the platform to the castle, about 20 minutes' walk across the Berounka.

## Car-free: Commuter train from Prague and on foot through the village
Karlštejn is the shortest excursion from Prague without a car: the commuter train leaves every half hour and in about 40 minutes you are at the station, 20 minutes' walk from the castle. The whole village is pedestrianised.
Presupuesto orientativo: 50–110 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Romantický Hotel Mlýn Karlštejn** (Small hotel): The house
A former mill on the bank of the Berounka, just where the river makes a weir beneath the castle, in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area. It is the most complete hotel in Karlštejn: 21 rooms, a restaurant, a terrace over the water and a private island of 2,500 m² with a barbecue and a gazebo used for weddings. It is 25 km from the centre of Prague and 15 from the airport, so it also serves as the first or last night of a trip.
The rooms
There are doubles, triples, Executive and "romantic" rooms, with period-style furniture, air conditioning, minibar, safe and wifi. One has a princess corner for girls. The whole hotel is smoke-free. The relaxation area has a Finnish sauna, a whirlpool bath and a small gym.
Getting there and parking
It has a large car park with an electric car charger, at the entrance to the pedestrian village. From Karlštejn station you walk: cross the bridge and follow the river. The castle is about 25 minutes' walk away, uphill. Check-in is from 15:00 to 20:00 and reception closes at 22:00.
- **Penzion Pod Dračí skálou** (Small hotel, desde 1600 € / night): The house
A small guesthouse above the Pod Dračí skálou restaurant, in the upper part of the village and surrounded by forest. The centre and the castle are a leisurely ten-minute walk away. It is a family house with three rooms and the atmosphere of a mountain home: breakfast is served by the lit fireplace.
The rooms
Two doubles and a triple, with wooden furniture, shower and toilet, terrace, television and wifi; it sleeps eight people, with some extra beds. The double costs 1,600 CZK per night with breakfast; the municipal tax is paid separately. From five nights half board is included. In July and August they ask for a minimum of three nights. Animals are not allowed.
Getting there and parking
Parking is free and in front of the house, something unusual in a pedestrianised village: ask when booking which way to come in. Without a car, from the station it is about 25 minutes' walk uphill. Check-in is from 14:00 to 19:00.
### Servicios
- **Karlštejn station**: Commuter trains from Prague and Beroun every half hour; from the platform to the castle, about 20 minutes' walk across the Berounka.

## By car: By car from Prague on the D5 or beside the Berounka
By car it is about 40 km from the centre of Prague, between 45 minutes and an hour. What sets the terms is parking: there is only one, down below, and the village is pedestrianised. With a car you can add Křivoklát or Konopiště Castle on the same day.
Presupuesto orientativo: 60–130 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Romantický Hotel Mlýn Karlštejn** (Small hotel): The house
A former mill on the bank of the Berounka, just where the river makes a weir beneath the castle, in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area. It is the most complete hotel in Karlštejn: 21 rooms, a restaurant, a terrace over the water and a private island of 2,500 m² with a barbecue and a gazebo used for weddings. It is 25 km from the centre of Prague and 15 from the airport, so it also serves as the first or last night of a trip.
The rooms
There are doubles, triples, Executive and "romantic" rooms, with period-style furniture, air conditioning, minibar, safe and wifi. One has a princess corner for girls. The whole hotel is smoke-free. The relaxation area has a Finnish sauna, a whirlpool bath and a small gym.
Getting there and parking
It has a large car park with an electric car charger, at the entrance to the pedestrian village. From Karlštejn station you walk: cross the bridge and follow the river. The castle is about 25 minutes' walk away, uphill. Check-in is from 15:00 to 20:00 and reception closes at 22:00.
- **Penzion Pod Dračí skálou** (Small hotel, desde 1600 € / night): The house
A small guesthouse above the Pod Dračí skálou restaurant, in the upper part of the village and surrounded by forest. The centre and the castle are a leisurely ten-minute walk away. It is a family house with three rooms and the atmosphere of a mountain home: breakfast is served by the lit fireplace.
The rooms
Two doubles and a triple, with wooden furniture, shower and toilet, terrace, television and wifi; it sleeps eight people, with some extra beds. The double costs 1,600 CZK per night with breakfast; the municipal tax is paid separately. From five nights half board is included. In July and August they ask for a minimum of three nights. Animals are not allowed.
Getting there and parking
Parking is free and in front of the house, something unusual in a pedestrianised village: ask when booking which way to come in. Without a car, from the station it is about 25 minutes' walk uphill. Check-in is from 14:00 to 19:00.
### Servicios
- **Karlštejn central car park**: The only visitor car park, down in the village; paid by the day and about 15 minutes' walk from the castle.

## As a family: A real castle, a crib that moves and lakes in quarries

Karlštejn is the castle a child draws: towers, walls and a climb through the forest. The basic tour lasts under an hour and children pay 90 CZK; in autumn and in December, the Nativity Scene Museum, with figures that move, rounds off the day. With older children, the trail to the flooded Amerika quarries is the adventure.

### What works best
Basic castle tour, 55 minutes, 90 CZK for ages 6 to 17

Nativity Scene Museum, with mechanical cribs that they set going

Walk up through the village, with ice creams and shops

Malá and Velká Amerika quarries, for children who can walk

### Where to sleep
Hotel Mlýn, with triples and a room with a princess corner

Penzion Pod Dračí skálou, with a triple and extra beds

### Where to eat
Pod Dračí skálou, Czech cooking in large portions

Grill Restaurant Mlýn, with a terrace by the river

### Keep in mind
The climb is cobbled: a baby carrier is better than a pushchair

The chapels tour is not for small children: a hundred minutes of Gothic art

The Amerika trail does not suit a pushchair and has a stretch along a road

### Qué hacer as a family
- Charles IV's imperial residence, the basic tour of Karlštejn Castle
- On foot up through Karlštejn village to the first gate
- Trail to the flooded quarries of Malá and Velká Amerika
- Karlštejn Nativity Scene Museum, with a moving royal crib

## Consejos

### Buy your time slot on the website
Tours run in groups and slots; in summer and at weekends they sell out.

### Ask for the Spanish audio guide
120 CZK plus a 500 CZK deposit in cash.

### Comfortable shoes
The climb is cobbled and the Amerika trail goes through forest.

### Do not drive up
The village is pedestrianised and they fine you.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take to get from Prague to Karlštejn?
About 40 minutes by commuter train; between 45 minutes and an hour by car.

### Can you visit without a guide?
No. All tours are guided; the basic one has a Spanish audio guide.

### Which tour should I choose?
The basic one, if it is your first time or you are with children. The chapels tour, if you are interested in Gothic art; only from May to October and by reservation.

### Is it open in winter?
Yes, with the basic tour and on fewer days: in November, Friday to Sunday.

### Is the station far from the castle?
About 20 minutes on foot, uphill.

### Can you see the Chapel of the Holy Cross?
Only on the special three-hour tour, for six people, from May to October.