Průhonice Park: waterfall, chateau and a beautiful walk near Prague

After visiting Papouščí ráj, we carried on with our trip. We went to see Průhonice Park, which is located in Průhonice just outside Prague. Průhonice Park is a national cultural monument and also part of a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

We parked in the car park by the main entrance, bought tickets and also a map, because the whole area is really extensive. Průhonice Park covers roughly 250 hectares, so you can easily spend several hours there and choose a slightly different route each time. Adult admission costs 160 CZK during the main season from April to October. And the car park in front of the main entrance by the chateau costs 40 CZK per hour. If it’s full, you can also use the car park at the Hájovna entrance for 50 CZK for the whole day. You can find the current price list on the park’s website.

The map and information board we used to plan our route.

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Who created Průhonice Park?

The park’s present form began to take shape in 1885, when Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca acquired the Průhonice estate through marriage. In building it, he made use of the natural terrain around the Botič stream, meadows, ponds and the original mature trees, and added native and exotic species to them. That’s perhaps exactly why it doesn’t feel like walking through a classic chateau garden here. The paths run along the water, between the trees, over little bridges and up stone steps, and a slightly different corner appears around every bend. 🌳

Ponds, old trees and wooden footbridges – the typical character of Průhonice Park.

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First we headed to the waterfall

We followed the map towards the waterfall by the Bořín pond. And this part of the walk was actually one of the ones that caught my attention the most. The water falls over a rocky bed here, a wooden footbridge runs above it, and the whole spot is tucked away among the trees. It almost feels like a small piece of wild nature in the middle of the whole grounds. Interestingly, it’s not a classic natural waterfall. It’s actually the safety spillway of the Bořín pond. It’s usually at its most impressive in spring, when more water flows through it.

We naturally stopped here for a while and took a few photos. It’s the combination of water, rocks and the wooden bridge that makes this spot one of the loveliest corners of the whole route.

The waterfall by the Bořín pond – actually a safety spillway, but it looks like a piece of wild nature.

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Along the way among trees, ponds and footbridges

Then we carried on further. And it’s exactly on a longer walk that you start to notice just how varied the whole area is. One moment you’re walking along a pond, the next the path disappears among the trees, then you cross a footbridge or climb some stone steps.

Průhonice Park isn’t just interesting for its size, but also for the sheer number of plants. Around 1,600 species of native and exotic trees grow here, and the park is especially known for its collection of rhododendrons, of which there are about 8,000. Old oaks, limes, pines and elms grow here too, along with all kinds of maples, firs, spruces, cypresses, junipers and other species. 🌲

You don’t need to know what’s growing around you, though. What I liked most about the walk was the way the scenery kept changing. It’s not the same forest path the whole time – the surroundings and the views gradually shift.

A walk among trees, ponds and stone paths.

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And finally we reached Průhonice Chateau

We gradually made our way to Průhonice Chateau, which we’d already glimpsed from a few spots across the water. Its history goes back much further than the history of the park itself. Today’s building came about through gradual rebuilding of an original medieval seat. It was under Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca that the chateau underwent a major reconstruction between 1889 and 1893, designed by architect Jiří Stibral, and took on its Czech Neo-Renaissance appearance. 🏰

A whole range of Czech fairy tales were also filmed in the park and by the chateau, for example Princess with the Golden Star, The Third Prince, Scooter the First, The Magic Purse, Three Veterans, Long Live Ghosts!, Popelka and the series Arabela.

You can read more about its history on the chateau’s page.

Průhonice Chateau from every angle – from its reflection in the pond to the courtyard and tower.

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Today it houses the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, so most of the interiors aren’t normally open to the public. Some exhibitions and the visitor centre can be visited. We also walked through the courtyard, but for me, the loveliest view of the chateau is probably from the other side, across the Podzámecký pond. When the building is reflected on the surface and there are trees all around, it’s exactly the kind of view that makes you reach for your phone and start taking photos again.

Views from the terrace and balustrade, plus a detail of the church tower above the park.

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A trip worth setting aside plenty of time for

For a shorter visit to Průhonice Park, you can just pick part of the grounds, but if you want to walk through more of it, see the ponds, the waterfall and the chateau, and take your time, I’d allow several hours for the visit.

So in one day we combined two completely different places – first parrots, then a long walk in nature. And we really enjoyed it. 🙂

Have you ever been to Průhonice Park?