Mělník Czech Republic: Best things to see & do

Mělník, Czech Republic is a beautiful wine-producing town near the capital Prague, and one of the best places to get an introduction to the country beyond Prague.

It’s one of the best places to visit near Prague because it’s a complete ‘package’, a gorgeous historic town with several things to do, including the option of boat trips.

It also has plenty of places to eat and drink, including a quirky café in the wonderful setting of a 16th-century tower.

Other than Kutná Hora, we’ve found it’s probably the best town to visit within an hour of Prague and think it’s one of the loveliest towns in Bohemia.

Our guide takes you through all the best things to do in Mělník, with all the logistical information you’ll need including opening times and how to get from Prague to Mělník. 

Many visitors head straight for Mělník Castle, which presides on the ridge of the hill overlooking the confluence of the two rivers below.

With the exception of the post-war Communist period, it has been in the hands of the Lobkowicz family for centuries, and this Renaissance gem has been recently restored.

The Czechs call their castles ‘hrad’,meaning ‘fortress’, or ‘zamek’, meaning a fortified residence, chateau or palace. Mělník Castle is very much a ‘zamek’, with a splendid courtyard and several opulent rooms where functions would be hosted.

Although I’m not a big wine drinker, I was very intrigued by the Chateau Mělník wine cellars. You pay 50 Kc and get to wander the dimly-lit, damp and musty cellars for twenty minutes or so.

The wine vats are enormous, one holding around 130,000 liters of wine, and each vat is named after a different saint. 

The superb tower of SS Peter and Paul Church, next door to Mělník chateau, can be seen from many miles away on a clear day. The climb to the top takes you to a superb vantage point which gives you a great view over Mělník town rooftops and over to Řip Hill, a place of great significance to many Czechs.

The first church on the site is believed to have been built by the 11^th century, but the oldest surviving part is from the late 15^th century. Fires in 1555 and 1681 destroyed much of the fabric of the church, which underwent a large-scale restoration in the early 20^th century.   

There are several ossuaries around the Czech Republic, including one below the chancel of SS Peter and Paul Church.

They were normally set up in the cellars of churches (including, most famously, the elaborately decorated Kutna Hora Bone Church in Sedlec) and used to accommodate the bones of long-deceased people when cemeteries were close to capacity.

The ossuary in Mělník is believed to contain the bones of around 15,000 souls, and was arranged in the early 20^th century.

Opening hours are the same as the church and tower.

If you decide to sit upstairs, your order is placed on a tray and hoisted up to your level where you collect it.  When you’re finished, you ring a bell and the tray is hoisted back up to you.

My coffee and cake were great, and I also enjoyed the superb view across to the church and Castle.

Namesti Miru (Peace Square) is the heart of Mělník, a broad oval surrounded by some striking medieval and Renaissance architecture, including the red and yellow town hall (radnice).

The first time we visited, a festival was being held on the square, with music, dancers and a convivial atmosphere helped along by plenty of local beer and Mělník vino. It made a great setting for this, and there were some great craft stalls to browse.

On my most recent visit the square was empty on a normal weekday, but it was still a pleasure to stroll under the arches of the arcades which occupy part of the square.   

On weekends during the summer months, a tourist train takes visitors on an hour-long run around Mělník.

The circuit begins on the corner of the main square, and takes you around some of the back streets near the Castle before heading down the hill to the banks of the Elbe and back up.

It also runs a much longer circuit through the forest to Kokořin Castle, including the run up the steep winding road to the one clear viewpoint of the Castle.

Mělník is also notable as the confluence of the two great Czech rivers, the Vltava and the Elbe. After a dramatic journey from southern Bohemia, the Czech national river Vltava peters out rather anticlimactically.

The final stretch is canalised, but you still get a very impressive view from the terrace of the Castle, with both the confluence and the knobbly hills rising out of the Bohemian landscape.

The River Elbe then continues its journey to Germany, where it passes through Dresden and Hamburg before entering the North Sea at Cuxhaven. Check out my guide to the best places to visit on the River Elbe for many more ideas on where to go along this mighty river.

See Also: Vltava River In Prague and Vyhlidka Maj, the classic viewpoint over a bend in the River Vltava

In summer this church is partly hidden by the surrounding trees, so it’s easy to walk past.

It’s not always open, but if you enter the churchyard you can still admire the church’s wooden bell tower,  a very rare specimen in this part of the world.

One of the joys of wandering around Mělník was discovering its many architectural details.

There are atmospheric late-medieval vaulted arcades, some gorgeous wall decorations and motifs, and a wonderful Art Nouveau doorway just down the street from the Castle. Keep wandering, and you’ll discover even more.

You can get to Mělník by bus, train or car, and having been there four or five times we’ve found the bus to be by far the most convenient way.

The 369 bus departs from Prague Ladvi Metro station, on red line C in the north of the city.  It leaves every half an hour, and takes 40-45 minutes through the Bohemian countryside to reach the town.

Good to know: It’s best to alight at Mělník Fibichova, which is at the top of the hill a few minutes’ walk from the old town area. The Mělník bus station is at the bottom of the hill, so it’s around a kilometre back up to the top. 

Tickets cost 60 Kc (£2) per adult each way, and you can buy them from the yellow machines inside the Metro station.

Click on the ‘Prague and suburbs’ section, and then on a 5-zone ticket. You can buy the return ticket at the same time. 

When you board the bus, validate your ticket in the yellow machine near the driver. 

The train station is inconveniently situated over 2 km down the hill from the historic town centre, and there are bus transfers up the hill from there.

For bus and train times, check out the excellent idos.cz website.

Pension U Zamku is ideally situated in the heart of Mělník, on the street between the Castle, SS Peter & Paul Church and the main square. It’s also the top-rated place to stay in Mělník among visitors, and was Guesthouse of the Year in 2017.

Hotel U Rytíře is an excellent central option, right next door to the Castle and on the same street (Svatovaclavska) as Pension U Zamku. The rooms and apartment are very spacious, ideal if you’re travelling with kids.

The 3-star Hotel Olympionik is another good option, down the hill from the town centre and only 100 metres. One of our friends stayed there on a week-long bike trip from Prague to Dresden and said it was great for a few days’ stay.

Mělník Czech Republic – Final Words

We rate Mělník one of the most enjoyable day trips from Prague. It’s quite close to the capital, but hardly inundated by tourist crowds. We loved exploring the streets of the Old Town, and also taking the tourist train down to the River Elbe for the superb view of the town.

I also recommend a trip to romantic Kokořin Castle. It’s one of the most beautiful old Czech castles, in a wonderful enchanted setting, a forest with some fantastic sandstone rock formations. If you enjoy this, perhaps it’s worth checking out the stunning Bohemian Paradise region an hour’s drive east of Mělník, with its amazing rock cities and castles.

Mělník is the starting point for Elbe River cruises, which form part of some Prague to Berlin itineraries. It’s one of the most fascinating places to visit on the River Elbe, and also a popular stop for cyclists or anyone travelling from Prague to Dresden the slow way.

It’s also a possible jumping-off point for visiting Terezin concentration camp, and the gorgeous Baroque town of Litoměřice just across the Elbe from there.

Discover these other Czech Castles across the country:

• Blatna Castle – superb water castle with adjoining Deer Park
• Lednice Castle – lavish 19^th century rebuild of one of the main Liechtenstein princes’ Castles
• Hluboká Castle – extraordinary white wedding cake Castle in South Bohemia