Castles · Tour

Twenty Minutes Uphill, and the Holy Cross Chapel Is an Extra Tour

Czechia has more than a thousand castles and châteaux. If you are only going to see one, Karlštejn has the strongest claim: a 14th-century castle built for a purpose no other in the country shared, to hold the crown jewels, the royal treasure and the collections of holy relics. A private guide and driver collect you in Prague. The drive takes 45 minutes to Karlštejn village, and from there it is about 20 minutes on foot up to the castle, climbing some 170 feet, which is worth knowing if anyone in the party finds hills difficult. The price covers the courtyards and the one-hour public guided tour of the Imperial Palace in English, the seat of the emperor and his court. That tour joins a scheduled group. The tour of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which runs 100 minutes, is separate and optional. Opening is limited: the castle closes on Mondays, shuts for the winter months, and runs a reduced programme in spring and autumn. Check your date before you book anything else around it. Lunch is traditional Czech cooking, and the guide will bend the day to what you want from it. One of the stories attached to the place: that the castle was built for the king's secular and sacred business alone, and that women were kept out so he could meditate undisturbed.