Cesky Krumlov Walking Question

We have the opportunity to visit Cesky Krumlov on our upcoming river cruise. The other possibility on that day is to visit Salzburg, but we have been there twice albeit both trips were many years ago.

My husband had back surgery a couple of years ago, and he has some difficulty with stairs and walking on uneven surfaces. We just got back from Sicily, and he did very well as long as i walked beside him and helped him on very uneven cobblestones and going up stairs without a bannister.

How difficult will it be to navigate the old town and a visit to the castle ?(already know we can't do the tower)

Any help would be appreciated.

We just returned and while it was a hard day of walking, I made it and was glad I did.

I had a knee injury years ago and even since have difficulty going down stairs and ramps. There are a number of them in Cesky Krumlov along with the cobblestones which are never fun. But at most places, there are bannisters and where there weren't, I made sure DH was in front of me so I could use his shoulder as one!

I think as long as you take it easy and be careful you should definitely make the effort to go as it was a great day...well except for the time on the bus:rolleyes:

I appreciate your advice.

What was involved getting into the castle for a tour? I looked at a video of the city, and the walking streets seem to be very uneven stones. The video did not show how one would get into the castle which is high above town. How steep is it? Are there steps? Or ramps?

Thanks!

My recollections from June 2014 are cobblestones, narrow streets quite crowded while the tourist buses are in town. We walked up a moderate slope to enter the castle. There were stone steps and staircases inside the castle. We don't descend stairs rapidly and would have steadied ourselves with a handrail or the wall.

It's not flat but it's not a mountain climb. I haven't been to Sicily so can't compare it to that.

We bought an English language tour at the ticket office and sat on a wooden bench till the tour was ready to depart. I can't remember if we found out the times of tours from a website or another source or just turned up.

I don't know where the tour buses park but I suspect you will have to walk a considerable distance on cobblestones from the drop-off point to town centre. I didn't see a taxi; vehicles are seriously discouraged from entering the town area.

That said Cesky Krumlov is one of my most treasured travel memories. Recalling the castle ballroom which we saw at the end of the tour still makes me smile.

On our upcoming cruise we have a choice between tours to either Salzberg & Cesky Krumlov. Which would you choose and why? thanks

Have you checked the castle's website for accessibility information? I was there in August 2015 and the entry is rather steep.

I appreciate your advice.

 

What was involved getting into the castle for a tour? I looked at a video of the city, and the walking streets seem to be very uneven stones. The video did not show how one would get into the castle which is high above town. How steep is it? Are there steps? Or ramps?

 

Thanks!

Unfortunately, we were there on a day the interior portions (or most of them) were closed...maybe a Sunday? So I can't comment on getting around inside the castle. But our Viking tour buses dropped us off at the upper part of the Garden and we made our way down to the upper level of the castle and then continued down through its various courtyards. So for me it was all downhill which was hard but like I said worth it.

Thinking back on it, the only place where I had a real concern was moving from the lower garden down to the level of what had been the horse stable. There weren't steps as horse don't do steps very well but instead a very steep ramp.

There were also a couple of places intown where I walked very carefully because of the uneven and slick (it was sort misty that day) cobblestones.

We did have a long walk to reconnect with the buses. They moved and while not as much an elevation change, it was a good 10-15 minute walk from the central square which served as the meeting point after our "free time".

But again, it was totally worth it.

We were there just several days ago and as previous poster, we were dropped off at the upper gardens as well, so everything was downhill. There is that one kind of steep horse ramp, but it's only about 20 to 30 feet long and there are walls along both sides but no handrail. But it was not slick and here the stone actually make it easier to keep from falling.

The rest of the way was just your typical European town cobblestones.

I thought Cesky Krumlov was fascinating, even though we too did not go inside the Castle here. We had combined Cesky Krumlov with a tour of Hluboka Castle, so that did not give us enough time to go in this castle as well which I regret.

For lunch I can highly recommend the restaurant at Hotel Ruze - ask for a Terrace table.

dabear, I haven't been to Salzburg so can't compare it to Cesky.

We were driving ourselves so didn't encounter the bus drop-off point above the castle. I did walk up to the gardens above the castle to enjoy the views over the river.

On our upcoming cruise we have a choice between tours to either Salzberg & Cesky Krumlov. Which would you choose and why? thanks

We just returned yesterday from a combination Avalon river cruise sandwiched between a pre and post DIY "land" portion. We did Cesky Krumlov through Avalon, and stayed in Salzburg 2 nights on our own.

Between the two, we both much preferred Salzburg. While Cesky was "quaint" and "fairy-tale" like, it was too commercial, and geared too much to tourists, IMHO. It was overrun by tourists. There must have been at least 10 buses full of people there the day we were. We did venture up into the castle tower, for a great view, and toured the castle grounds and gardens (but didn't do the castle tour, itself). Avalon parked about 2 blocks away.

In Salzburg, there is also a castle on a hill, with a beautiful view of town on one side, and the Alps on the other. It can be accessed by foot, or a funicular. The old town there is pedestrian only, as well. Since we had 2 days there, we purchased the Salzburg card, and took in a lot of the sights, but for a day trip, walking around the old town, along with the castle, would take up a day. We were fortunate enough to be there on Saturday, for their "market", and had lunch from one of the market vendors.

Robin

We have the opportunity to visit Cesky Krumlov on our upcoming river cruise. The other possibility on that day is to visit Salzburg, but we have been there twice albeit both trips were many years ago.

 

My husband had back surgery a couple of years ago, and he has some difficulty with stairs and walking on uneven surfaces. We just got back from Sicily, and he did very well as long as i walked beside him and helped him on very uneven cobblestones and going up stairs without a bannister.

 

How difficult will it be to navigate the old town and a visit to the castle ?(already know we can't do the tower)

 

Any help would be appreciated.

It depends on where you start your trip from. If you start your ascent to the castle from the old town, there are a lot of steps, and a decent grade, to get to the castle.

As far as castle tours, IIRC, they only offer one tour in English per day, and it isn't at a consistent time. I believe it lasted 60-90 minutes, and made it tough to do much else while there.

In the old town itself, there were, of course, a lot of cobblestones.

Robin

This was a very interesting trip. The very long long drive was almost as interesting as the destination. The contrast of the beautiful and well tended Austrian Countryside and farm fields change in an instant as you cross the border into the Czech Republic a former Soviet Bloc country. From bright greens and well tended to grey and dreary and a vision of a country struggling to leave that past behind.

Once at the village it was a longish walk from the Bus parking (for all the tour buses) to the base of the village. Every group we saw entered from the main entrance below the castle and the town. So it was hilly and the streets are heavily cobble stone. Anyone with health or mobility issues would find this difficult at best.

After a endlessly long day we are still glad we made the trek to the Czech Republic!

We just returned yesterday from a combination Avalon river cruise sandwiched between a pre and post DIY "land" portion. We did Cesky Krumlov through Avalon, and stayed in Salzburg 2 nights on our own.

 

Between the two, we both much preferred Salzburg. While Cesky was "quaint" and "fairy-tale" like, it was too commercial, and geared too much to tourists, IMHO. It was overrun by tourists. There must have been at least 10 buses full of people there the day we were. We did venture up into the castle tower, for a great view, and toured the castle grounds and gardens (but didn't do the castle tour, itself). Avalon parked about 2 blocks away.

 

In Salzburg, there is also a castle on a hill, with a beautiful view of town on one side, and the Alps on the other. It can be accessed by foot, or a funicular. The old town there is pedestrian only, as well. Since we had 2 days there, we purchased the Salzburg card, and took in a lot of the sights, but for a day trip, walking around the old town, along with the castle, would take up a day. We were fortunate enough to be there on Saturday, for their "market", and had lunch from one of the market vendors.

 

Robin

Welcome back! Hope it was as fun as you expected. Salzburg was great fun for us 2 weeks ago, though the weather could have been better. We had a great view of fog from the castle... :D Plenty to do, and we'd happily revisit at another time.

Some day we'd like to visit Prague and Cesky...

I'd be interested to hear about your time in Munich...if you have time, pop over to the other thread where we were discussing that, and let me know how that went.

Welcome back! Hope it was as fun as you expected. Salzburg was great fun for us 2 weeks ago, though the weather could have been better. We had a great view of fog from the castle... :D Plenty to do, and we'd happily revisit at another time.

 

Some day we'd like to visit Prague and Cesky...

 

I'd be interested to hear about your time in Munich...if you have time, pop over to the other thread where we were discussing that, and let me know how that went.

Getting ready to write a quick post.....need to download pics....then post (if I can figure out how to do that!)

Robin

We just returned yesterday from a combination Avalon river cruise sandwiched between a pre and post DIY "land" portion. We did Cesky Krumlov through Avalon, and stayed in Salzburg 2 nights on our own.

 

 

 

Between the two, we both much preferred Salzburg. While Cesky was "quaint" and "fairy-tale" like, it was too commercial, and geared too much to tourists, IMHO. It was overrun by tourists. There must have been at least 10 buses full of people there the day we were. We did venture up into the castle tower, for a great view, and toured the castle grounds and gardens (but didn't do the castle tour, itself). Avalon parked about 2 blocks away.

 

 

 

In Salzburg, there is also a castle on a hill, with a beautiful view of town on one side, and the Alps on the other. It can be accessed by foot, or a funicular. The old town there is pedestrian only, as well. Since we had 2 days there, we purchased the Salzburg card, and took in a lot of the sights, but for a day trip, walking around the old town, along with the castle, would take up a day. We were fortunate enough to be there on Saturday, for their "market", and had lunch from one of the market vendors.

 

 

 

Robin

Thank you so much for your review. It is helpful

We just returned yesterday from a combination Avalon river cruise sandwiched between a pre and post DIY "land" portion. We did Cesky Krumlov through Avalon, and stayed in Salzburg 2 nights on our own.

 

Between the two, we both much preferred Salzburg. While Cesky was "quaint" and "fairy-tale" like, it was too commercial, and geared too much to tourists, IMHO. It was overrun by tourists. There must have been at least 10 buses full of people there the day we were. We did venture up into the castle tower, for a great view, and toured the castle grounds and gardens (but didn't do the castle tour, itself). Avalon parked about 2 blocks away.

 

In Salzburg, there is also a castle on a hill, with a beautiful view of town on one side, and the Alps on the other. It can be accessed by foot, or a funicular. The old town there is pedestrian only, as well. Since we had 2 days there, we purchased the Salzburg card, and took in a lot of the sights, but for a day trip, walking around the old town, along with the castle, would take up a day. We were fortunate enough to be there on Saturday, for their "market", and had lunch from one of the market vendors.

 

Robin

Thank you Robin for your comments. I think we will choose Salzburg, as it sounds more appealing than an overly commercial "quaint" village. Also the tour will be on a Saturday so my dw will have a chance to visit the market.

A leisurely two day visit shows a perspective of any town that is very different to the quick "flybuy" offered on a tourist bus trip, ie rush through the history, glance at the view but linger in the gift shop.

Any town is better without the tourists. We stayed two nights in Cesky, DIY. We expected and we saw tour groups during the day, and enjoyed chatting over lunch with two day trippers. Cesky's beauty and history is in the buildings rising from the river away from the very commercial main street.

This medieval town (vehicle free) is at its best before and after the tourist hordes. We dined very well by the river with a gypsy band playing on the bridge and a fisherman casting for trout in the river. The gurgle of the stream lulled us of to sleep, a light breeze from the stream drifting through the window. Next morning we strolled the river bank with the mist rising and watched the town come to life.

We had time to do the castle tour and also the excellent audio-guide walking tour of the town from the TIC in the town square.

Don't judge a town by its tourists, let it speak for itself.