From Dresden to Prague: Cycling Along the Elbe

The Elbe cycle path is one of the most beloved cycling routes in Europe, with the 225km stretch between Dresden, Germany and Prague, Czechia being one of the most stunning. The area around the Swiss Saxon National Park is particularly stunning, but no day along the route will leave you without a full camera card. You are almost exclusively on designated cycle paths and follow the Elbe and then the Vltava rivers the whole way.

The route is well-marked (Elbe Radweg), but you can find each day of the route here on Komoot to follow as you go. Depending on your fitness level, time, and eagerness to explore the sites along the route, you can either combine this into a two-day trip stopping in Litomerice overnight, or extend it into a week-long trip with hiking in between around the Saxon Switzerland National Park. Many people go from Prague to Dresden, downstream with the rivers, but we didn’t find the incline to be noticeable and enjoyed the excitement of cycling to Prague.

Otherwise, to do it in three days, your itinerary will look like this:

• Day 1: Dresden to Děčín (68km)
• Day 2: Děčín to Mělník (98km)
• Day 3: Mělník to Prague (58km)

Day 1: Dresden to Děčín

The first day, you’ll cycle along the southern bank of the Elbe, passing a number of cute towns on the way. Ideally, you should avoid cycling on a Sunday, as everything will be closed (Saturday afternoons are equally bleak). Pirna and Bad Schandau are worth a mini-break to take a look around the centres. While in Bad Schandau the route officially requires that you cross back to the other side by ferry, we simply retraced our route by a kilometre and returned to the path via the bridge (most people did this as well). We took our first proper break after Rathen, in Königstein (about 40km in) at Kaffeehaus Zimmermann which has excellent cakes.

If you haven’t been to this area before, it could make sense for you to spend the night in Bad Schandau so that you can take an extended break at Rathen to cross the river and visit the Bastei Bridge – a stone bridge high in the unique rock formations. There’s a beautiful 1.5 hour hike you can do here to see this and visit the Schwedenlöcher (narrow gorges).

Once you cross the border into Czechia, you’ll notice a visible change in the architectural styles. Welcome to Bohemia! Depending on how you’re doing for time, it might be worth taking the ferry over to visit Hřensko and Pravčická Archway.

From there it’s not so far to Děčín. If you choose to camp, there is a campsite – Kemp Děčín. We stayed at the Aqua Hotel which was extremely budget-friendly – the rooms were nice, the buffet breakfast was great, and there are a bunch of swimming pools free for you to use! Not to mention, they had secure bike parking.

Day 2: Děčín to Mělník

This is the longest day of the three, and if it’s hot out, make sure you get an early start. Our goal was to take our first extended break at Litoměřice, where we stopped for lunch in the garden courtyard at Kafe Doma. On the way there we passed numerous World War II pillboxes – small concrete artillery bunkers – which were quite fascinating and broke up the ride.

Litoměřice itself is quite cute and worth walking around the historic centre, though be warned that you’ve got quite a hill to climb.

From Litoměřice, the cycle path follows the north bank of the river before crossing to the south by Roudnice nad Labem. This is one of the oldest Czech towns, with a very large castle designed by Italian architects in the 17th century. The town also happens to have pretty good ice cream (right by the town square).

Overall the cycle ride to Mělník is rather flat and beautiful, but there are some sections where you need to carry your bike up steps by a dam. On the plus side, there were many wild blackberries around that were fun to eat.

Mělník itself is a historic town built on top of a particularly steep hill covered in vineyards. While I most remember it for a long walk pushing my bike to the top, it’s also known for its wine production. We stayed the night at Apartments Pension U Zámku Melnik (prebook if you want to stay here – it’s extremely popular in the summer months), but there is also a camping option at Camp Melnik.

Day 3: Mělník to Prague

On the final day, you’ll pass through a pretty flat area before you see hills again as you approach Prague. Unfortunately, one of those hills you will need to cycle up. In retrospect, cycling up the hill in the direction of Dresden to Prague is far more preferable, because though it is a relentless ascent along a road, it is possible to do without dismounting. That said, doing it in reverse, is almost impossible. Once on top of the hill you will have an extremely steep descent through a town, and will likely need to keep your hands close to the breaks to avoid accelerating uncontrollably.

There was also a section that day that was a lot closer to mountain biking than road cycling – it follows quite a narrow dirt and rocky path along the river after you cross the bridge by Veltrusy (22km in). Since you end up having to cross the bridge to get back to the north side shortly after regardless, you can spare yourself the annoyance, and stay on the north bank of the river and follow the equally rocky path there. I was surprised by the quality of the cycle path given how close one is to Prague at this point.

Despite the adventurous hills and dirt paths, there are some beautiful manors along the route. Veltrusy chateau is a baroque mansion with beautiful palace grounds – some of which you’ll cycle through. Trojský zámek is a manor just past the Prague zoo that now houses Czech paintings.

The last section of the route cuts away from the river and crosses into Stromovka Royal Game Reserve, a large urban park, before heading uphill through a neighbourhood with every embassy you can name. Depending on where you are staying for the night, your route might change here. We stayed at the OREA Hotel Angelo Praha, which was a 30-minute walk from the historic city centre, so we ended up cycling down through the historic city centre and the masses of tourists that crowded it. Since we arrived shortly after noon, we had plenty of time to still explore the city on foot!

Packing Tips

See my post on cycling the Romantische Strasse or through the Swiss Alps to Lake Como for more packing tips. In a nutshell, you want to pack as light as possible, even if it means wearing the same cycling clothes everyday. Make sure to have 1 litre of water at a minimum, if not two litres. Sports drink packets of electrolytes and sugar that you can add to your water are really helpful if you are cycling in the heat (there’s not much shade). That said, sunscreen is a must!

Bicycle Rental Options

If you don’t have your own bike, you can easily rent one, with the option of a one-way return from either Prague or Dresden.

I personally rented from Roll On in Dresden Neustadt as they were the least complicated for commencing the trip in Dresden. I rented a trekking bike for three days (30 Euros for the bike and a lock) and then paid another 35 Euros to have it picked up again in Prague. The only caveat is you should check with your hotel if you can safely keep the bike locked there for a few days since Roll On won’t immediately come collect the bike. If you don’t have your own cycle panniers (side bags that clip onto the back of the bike), you can rent these for a minimal fee. They’ve also got e-bikes available – just book early to secure one.

If you want to rent your bicycle in Prague, it’s a bit more expensive for a one-way rental pick up in Dresden, but you can do this with Praha Bike. They have trekking bikes and e-bikes available.

Alternatively, you can rent the bikes without the collection option, and return the bike by taking the train back to Dresden or Prague with your bike. Just make sure to get a train ticket for your bike.