49.78° N · 14.66° E
The castle of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, with its trophies, the great armoury, the rose garden and a bear in the moat, an hour from Prague by train to Benešov.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Castle · 50 min guided · 300 CZK · audio guide in English or German
Castle · 55 min guided · 300 CZK · the richest armoury in Czechia
Castle · 70 min · 460 CZK · groups of eight · booking compulsory
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
April to October, when all the tours and the rose garden greenhouses are open. In November the castle opens only on Saturdays and Sundays, and in winter on a few days. The park and the bear can be seen all year.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Konopiště is about 50 km south-east of Prague. You fly to Prague, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue by train from the main station to Benešov u Prahy, 45 minutes to an hour. From the station, a half-hour walk through the park.
Without a car, Konopiště is easy: train from Prague's main station to Benešov u Prahy and half an hour's walk, the last part through the castle park. Everything else, castle, rose garden, bears and restaurant, is within walking distance.
By car it is about 50 km along the D1 motorway towards Brno and the Benešov exit, about 50 minutes. You park in the paid car parks at the park entrance. With a car you can combine Konopiště and Karlštejn in one day, or continue towards South Bohemia.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Konopiště is one of the castles that works best with children: the bear in the moat, the armoury on tour 2 and the shooting gallery with moving targets. The park is huge and can be toured with a pushchair, and both places to stay on the site are designed for families.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A 27-room hotel in the forest next to Konopiště park, with buffet breakfast, a children's playground, free scooters and pets welcome.
Why we like it: A four-star guesthouse with six apartments next to Konopiště park, designed for families, with a large playground and a motorbike museum.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the game goulash or the venison with rosehip sauce, and the Czech pancakes for dessert.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
49.94° N · 14.19° E
By planeCar-freeBy car
50.09° N · 14.42° E
By planeCar-free
49.41° N · 14.66° E
By planeBy carCar-free
49.95° N · 15.27° E
By planeCar-freeBy car
Tips
Groups are of 25 and fill up at weekends.
It is the one with the armoury and the one people like most.
The tours are in Czech.
The stroll through the park is part of the day.
Konopiště is a thirteenth-century castle remodelled in the late nineteenth century by its most famous owner: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, heir to the Habsburg throne, who lived here with his wife and children until he was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. He turned it into a modern hunting lodge, with a lift and bathrooms, filled it with trophies, weapons and images of St George, and planted a large park with a rose garden around it. It stands about 50 km south-east of Prague, next to Benešov.
By train, from Prague's main station to Benešov u Prahy, 45 minutes to an hour. From the station it is about 2–2.5 km: half an hour on foot, the last part through the park. There are taxis at the station and an infrequent local bus.
By car, about 50 km along the D1 motorway towards Brno, Benešov exit, in about 50 minutes. You park in the paid car parks at the park entrance and walk up.
The castle can only be visited with a guide, on tours of about 50 minutes in Czech, with an audio guide in English or German. Tour 1 covers the rooms of the south wing; tour 2, the oldest part, with the chapel and the armoury, the richest in the Czech lands; tour 3, for eight people and by reservation, enters the family's private apartments. If you only do one, make it number 2. In the courtyard, the archduke's shooting gallery, with mechanical targets, can be seen without a reservation.
Outside, the park: a long pond, woodland, sculptures and the rose garden with its greenhouses, from April to October. In the moat at the entrance lives a Himalayan bear, a castle tradition since the Lobkowicz.
From April to October all the tours and the greenhouses are open. In November the castle opens only on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:00 to 15:00, and tour 3 has no days. The park is free and lovely all year, in autumn too.
Konopiště can be seen in half a day. Stay if you are with children and want an unhurried day of park, scooters and castle, or if you are continuing south into Bohemia. The two places to stay in the grounds are designed for families.
Tours 1 and 2 cost 300 CZK per adult and 90 CZK for ages 6 to 17; tour 3, 460 CZK. The greenhouses, 100 CZK, and the shooting gallery, 80 CZK. The train is cheap. A game meal at Stará Myslivna comes to around 500–800 CZK per person.
Questions
From 45 minutes to an hour by train to Benešov and half an hour on foot; about 50 minutes by car.
Number 2, with the armoury, if you only do one; number 3 if you are interested in the life of the archduke's family.
No; there is an audio guide in English and German on tours 1 to 3.
On reduced days: in November, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 15:00.
Yes, a Himalayan bear lives in the moat.
By car, yes, with Karlštejn; by train, better on separate days.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/czechia/konopiste
