Bezděz and Mělník, the neighbors of Houska
Houska rarely fills a whole day on its own, and two of the region's better stops lie within an hour of its gate. Bezděz is a royal castle on a steep hill where a boy king was once held prisoner. Mělník is a wine town above the meeting of two rivers, and it is the gentler way to end a day of legends.
Two very different neighbors
Two of the region's best-known sights lie within an easy drive of Houska. Bezděz Castle is about 17 km (11 miles) away, roughly 22 minutes by car. Mělník, with its chateau and vineyards above the Elbe, is about 30 km (19 miles) to the south-west and around 41 minutes away, conveniently on the road back to Prague. They could hardly differ more in mood.
Neither is part of the private Houska tour, which pairs Houska with Kokořín instead (our Kokořín guide covers that castle). With a car, both make strong additions. Our getting-there guide covers the roads into the hills and the seasonal bus.
Bezděz, a king's castle on a lonely hill
Bezděz rises out of flat farmland as a tall, wooded double hill, and the castle crowns the higher summit. King Přemysl Otakar II founded it in 1264 as a royal stronghold in the north of his kingdom. According to Houska's own website, Houska was founded under the same king at almost the same time, so the two castles are siblings of a kind. One is remembered for its walls and its kings, the other for what supposedly lies beneath its chapel.
What survives is high Gothic walls around a Gothic chapel, with wide views from the top on a clear day. It feels emptier and wilder than Houska, partly because you arrive on foot and out of breath. The history of Houska has more on the king behind both castles.
The prisoners of 1279
In 1278 Otakar II was killed in battle on the Marchfeld, fighting Rudolf of Habsburg. His son Václav was seven years old. Otto of Brandenburg, who took control of Bohemia as regent, had the boy and his mother, Queen Kunhuta, held at Bezděz in 1279. Picture the castle that year. A widowed queen and a child heir sat behind those walls while a foreign guardian ruled the country below.
The queen eventually left the castle without her son. The boy was taken on to Brandenburg and did not come home to rule until the 1280s, after which, as Václav II, he went on to wear the Polish crown as well. That is documented history, and it needs no embellishing. Bezděz has none of Houska's pit or hooded figures. Its ghosts, if you want to call them that, are a frightened child and a mother waiting for news. Climb up in the late afternoon, when the hill has emptied, and the story feels close enough.
Climbing to the gate
No road runs to the gate. Paid parking in Bezděz village costs 100 CZK a day, and from the car park in the village center the castle is about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) on foot; from the car park below the village it is 2.5 km (1.6 miles). The castle's own site calls the climb beautiful but more demanding, and part of it is on stone steps. Wear proper shoes. The path is not suitable for bikes.
- Season. Spring to autumn only, with the gate locked through the winter months. In April and October it opens Friday to Sunday and on holidays; from May to September daily except Monday.
- October hours. Friday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 4 pm.
- Tickets. The basic route is self-guided with a printed text. Adults pay 180 CZK and children aged 6–17 pay 50 CZK. Seniors and visitors aged 18–24 pay 140 CZK. Card and cash are accepted, and no reservation is needed.
- Guided tours. In October they run at weekends and holidays at 10:30 am, noon, 1:30 pm and 3 pm.
- Dogs. Allowed on a lead on the self-guided route, never on guided tours and never in the chapel.
Check the official Bezděz website for the current month before you set off, because the days change through the season. Houska's own schedule is in our tickets and hours guide.
Mělník, wine above two rivers
Mělník is a small town on a ridge where the Vltava meets the Elbe (Labe in Czech). The Lobkowicz family's chateau stands at the edge of the ridge with vineyards running down the slope beneath it, and its terrace looks out over the confluence. It is about 48 km (30 miles) from Prague's Old Town, around 43 minutes by car, and about 30 km from Houska, so it slots naturally into the drive home.
The main draw lies underground. The chateau's wine cellars cover about 1,500 square meters of historic vaults kept at 8–12 °C, and a guided cellar tour takes 60 minutes, with optional tastings of Lobkowicz wines. The prices and hours we found carried no year, so check them before you go; the schedule we saw had Mondays closed. Bring a layer, as the vaults stay cool.
Mělník's cellars with a driver
Vintura's private wine day from ~$214 per person covers Mělník tastings and a guided tour of Kokořín, with hotel pickup at 9 am and all entry fees included.
The wine tour, and what it leaves out
The Bohemian wine tour spends about four hours in Mělník. You go down into wine cellars and taste local wines, Rieslings among them, with game pâtés and smoked fish on the side. Then the car takes you 20 minutes to Kokořín Castle for a 50-minute guided tour, which ends with a 15-minute uphill walk. It is a private eight-hour day, rated 5.0 from 10 reviews.
The wine tour does not visit Houska, and it does not go to Bezděz either. One guest was picked up by the wrong driver, and the guide rescheduled. Some stops close on Mondays, so a Monday booking may bring substitutions, and the tour is not suitable for pregnant women. Since the Houska tour also stops at Kokořín, booking both means seeing that castle twice. If Houska is the reason you came, book the Houska private tour (~$923 for up to three) for one day and keep the wine for another. The day-trip guide lays the options side by side.
Fitting them around Houska
Driving yourself, you can join all three in one long day, though two is kinder. Check opening days first. In October Houska opens only on Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, while Bezděz opens Friday to Sunday from 9:30 am.
- Bezděz first. Park in the village when the castle opens and climb while the hill is still quiet.
- Houska at midday. Drive about 22 minutes to the castle car park. Tours start on the hour, and the last one leaves an hour before closing.
- Mělník on the way home. About 41 minutes from Houska, then roughly 43 minutes back into Prague.
From May to September both castles open Tuesday to Sunday, which gives you far more room. Avoid Mondays, when Houska and Bezděz are both shut. If you are short on time, choose by mood: Bezděz for a climb and a grim chapter of royal history, Mělník for wine and a river view. Those heading east instead should look at the castles of Bohemian Paradise, about an hour from Houska.