50.35° N · 14.47° E
A Lobkowicz castle with a winery since the fourteenth century, tastings, an ossuary and a tower above the confluence of the Vltava and the Elbe, 40 minutes from Prague.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Castle · 45 min · 230 CZK · independent or guided · Wednesday to Sunday
Winery · visit 70 CZK · sommelier-led tasting in the St Wenceslas cellar · by reservation
Crypt · 20 min · the bones of about 15,000 people, arranged in 1915–1919
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 June and September to October, with the grape harvest and the September wine festival. The castle and winery are open all year Wednesday to Sunday; Monday and Tuesday, closed.
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.
Mělník is about 30 km north of Prague. You fly to Prague, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and continue by bus from Holešovice or Ládví, on metro C, in about 40 minutes. You do not need a car.
Mělník is small and is walked: the bus drops you 15 minutes from the castle and, up top, the church, the tower, the ossuary, the square and the viewpoint are a few steps from one another. Without a car, you can also do the tasting without thinking about driving.
By car it is about 30 km along the D8 (E55) towards Dresden, leaving at Nová Ves. With a car you can link Mělník with Litoměřice and Terezín, half an hour further north along the Elbe, or with the Kokořín valley. If you do the tasting, let someone else drive.
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.
Mělník can be done with children in half a day: the tower climb, the confluence viewpoint and the castle cakes. The ossuary is small and sober; explain it beforehand or leave it for the older ones. The castle has a family ticket.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A three-star hotel from 1995 on a quiet street five minutes from the centre of Mělník, with 12 rooms, free parking and dogs welcome.
Why we like it: Rooms above the Dobrý Kanec tavern and two apartments in the house next door, in the centre of Mělník, five minutes from the castle.
Why we like it: Two apartments inside Mělník Castle, one for two people and one for eight, with the confluence and the cellars at the door.
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: a roast meat "od kosti", on the bone, and a tank Pilsner poured at the low bar.
What to order: a house cake with a coffee or with a glass of Lobkowicz wine.
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.
Tips
By phone or email with the castle, before you go.
The castle and the winery are closed.
The view explains where you are.
If you are going to drink wine, leave the car in Prague.
Mělník is a small town on a promontory about 30 km north of Prague, just above the spot where the Vltava, coming from the capital, joins the Elbe. It is the wine capital of Bohemia: vineyards run down the slope beneath the Lobkowicz castle, which has had a winery since the fourteenth century, and pinot noir has been grown here since the time of Charles IV. In half a day you see the castle, do a tasting, climb the tower and go down to the ossuary.
By bus, from Nádraží Holešovice or from Ládví, both on metro line C, in about 40 minutes. Mělník bus station is 1.5 km from the castle: 15 minutes at a brisk pace. The train also gets there, in an hour, to a station 1.6 km away.
By car, about 30 km along the D8 (E55) motorway towards Dresden, leaving at Nová Ves and following the road for 14 km. You park on Míru Square, next to the castle.
Everything is at the top of the old town, a few steps apart. Start with the castle, on your own or with a guide, and step out onto the terrace to see the confluence and, in the distance, Mount Říp. Go down to the vaulted cellars and, if you have booked, do the sommelier-led tasting in the St Wenceslas cellar. Next door, in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, climb to the tower gallery, at 37 metres, and go down to the ossuary crypt, with the bones of about 15,000 people arranged in the early twentieth century. Have lunch at Dobrý Kanec, five minutes away, and finish with a cake at the castle's pastry shop.
In spring and autumn. In September the town celebrates the grape harvest with a wine festival. The castle, the winery and the pastry shop are open all year Wednesday to Sunday; Monday and Tuesday, closed. The castle restaurant, with its terrace above the rivers, is closed for now.
For most people, Mělník is half a day, or a day combined with Litoměřice, half an hour further north along the Elbe. Stay if you want to do the afternoon tasting without a car or if you are continuing along the Elbe cycle route. You can do so inside the castle, in its apartments.
The castle costs 230 CZK per adult, with a family ticket of 590 CZK; the cellar visit, 70 CZK, and the tasting, priced separately. The bus is cheap. A meal in a tavern comes to around 300–450 CZK.
Questions
About 40 minutes by bus from Holešovice or Ládví; about 40 minutes by car.
Yes, by phone or email with the castle.
Wednesday to Sunday. On weekdays, guided tours at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00; at weekends, every hour from 10:00.
A crypt beneath the Church of St Peter and St Paul with the remains of between 10,000 and 15,000 people, arranged between 1915 and 1919.
Yes, by car or by bus: Litoměřice is half an hour to the north, next to Terezín.
From the castle terrace and the edge of the promontory, next to the church.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/czechia/melnik
