Relaxed Riding, Fascinating History & Brilliant Beer from Prague to Dresden

That was a long time ago and I was keen to go back, as well as to explore a part of Europe that I hadn’t been to before, on our Prague to Dresden Bike Tour. This time I took my family, including my son, who has just finished his first year at university! And, of course, there is no better way to see somewhere than by bike.

We flew from Heathrow to Prague with BA and were met by a taxi driver with a sign with our names on it for the journey into the centre of the city. It’s always a nice way to start a holiday when you don’t have to think too much about getting to the first hotel.

We checked in and walked straight to Charles Bridge, the centrepiece of the city. It was a beautiful afternoon and the river was strewn with people in pedalos, which seemed the perfect way to get the legs going before a cycling tour!

After a good breakfast I checked over the bikes that were waiting for us in the hotel’s storage area and read through the information on the tour and the route in the packs we’d been given at check-in. All was in order for the ride the next day, so we were ready to see Prague.

Prague is a great city to explore on foot with the Old Town and its medieval Astronomical Clock and gothic Church of Our Lady Before Týn on one side of the river and Prague Castle and the Lesser Town on the other. The famous Charles Bridge links the two and is the focus for the many tourists who visit the city.

There is no escaping the fact that the central areas are touristy but it actually felt good to see so many people out enjoying themselves, many probably for the first time since the pandemic. We joined the throng and took a boat trip to see the main sights from the river.

In the evening we had a tip about a local restaurant outside the central area. A 20-minute walk brought us to U Veverky, a neighbourhood, pub-style restaurant with wood-panelled walls and bench seating. We tucked into pork knee and schnitzel, washed down with good Czech beer!

After dinner we walked back to the hotel via the Castle, which is open to walk through until 10pm - it was deserted and great to see it lit up and without the crowds.

Feeling well-fed and watered we were ready to set off on the ride. The route out of the city is very easy and it’s only a few minutes before you are on the cycle path running beside the Vlatava river, leaving Prague behind you.

An interesting sight early on was at the Prague Canoeing Centre where the white water was running and teams of kayakers from around the world, including the UK, were practising their manoeuvres. The pedalling was certainly a lot easier than the paddling looked!

There is only one proper hill on this tour and it’s on the first day as you come away from the river at Klecany. It’s not too steep and we got to the top with only a little huffing and puffing.  The reward is that after a few kilometres of flat riding there is a lovely descent through a wooded valley back down to the river.

The rest of the day is flat riding, past Veltrusy Chateau and finishing at Mělník where the Vlatava meets the Elbe. We stayed in a very nice apartment here in a building with a lovely garden which produced delicious apricots that we had for breakfast the next morning.

We were getting into the routine of the holiday by now and covering the daily distance felt very comfortable. The main issue was deciding where to stop along the way for a coffee, an ice cream, or a beer - the route has plenty of small shack-style cafes, perfect for pulling up for a rest and some refreshment. Some are even self-serve!

There’s also a boat crossing along the way. If the boat’s not there when you arrive, just ring!

My main memory of this day however was our visit to Terezín Concentration Camp, which is just off the route before you reach Litoměríce. You can walk around on your own or take one of the regular tours. It’s an extremely powerful reminder of the history of this area and it was interesting to see how my kids were visibly affected by the experience. Highly recommended.

The weather worsened for our third day beside the Elbe, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying coffee from a deckchair and lunch with a view. This restaurant was perched on a rocky outcrop beside a castle. It was a short diversion off the route up quite a steep hill, but we were up for the challenge!

After lunch the moody skies slowly cleared and by the time we arrived at the hotel in Děčín, we were back in the sunshine.

This was a very short easy day of riding. Sadly the Saxon Switzerland National Park, home to Pravcicka Brana, the largest rock arch in Europe was closed due to forest fires and helicopters were busy picking up water from the river to douse the flames. Normally you can cross the river by boat and spend a couple of hours hiking here to see this interesting landscape with its sculpted sandstone features. 

We pushed on and cycled the whole distance in the morning, crossing the border into Germany, before stopping for a lunch of pasta with local mushrooms in Bad Schandau. Being a spa town we naturally spent the afternoon in the town’s Toksana thermal spa complex which has both an indoor and outdoor pool as well as its Liquid Sound pool with relaxing coloured lights and music.

The final day brought a shower or two and some headwinds on the final stretch into Dresden. The sun popped out for a moment and we stopped for a final ‘kaffe und kuchen’ refuel, before making it into Dresden for a late lunch.

Dresden is a visually interesting mixture of old and new buildings and a great place for a drink overlooking the river to celebrate completing the trip.

We took a taxi to the station the next morning and caught the train back to Prague. Luckily we’d pre-booked seats as the train was busy with every seat taken - this is easy to do before you leave home. The train follows the route of the tour, so we were able to relive the ride in reverse from the comfort of our window seats. From the station we got another taxi out to Václev Havel airport and flew back to London with BA. A very successful and enjoyable trip all round!

Download the Mapy.cz app and use the GPS route for the tour - it’s very easy to use. You’ll need something to have the app on, I used my phone, as well as something to hold the phone in. The route is also very well sign-posted so I didn’t need to check the phone often, but it was useful when I did.

If you aren’t keen on cycling on roads, this is a great trip. There is very little road-time and that which there is mainly on small, single-lane roads. 

For those interested in the local history there are plenty of castles, churches and other places of note along the way and you could easily stay an extra night in one or more of the towns if you wanted to see more of these.