Český Krumlov Castle Tours: Which Route to Book

What the castle tour options are

The castle publishes seven numbered tour products. Three are guided: Route I, Route II and the Baroque Castle Theatre. The rest are self-guided or open access: the Castle Museum and Castle Tower, the Bellaria Summer House, the Baroque Stables, and the Castle Garden, which is free and unguided.

Every paid product has its own 2026 price table, split by full price, seniors 65 and over, youth 18 to 24, ZTP and ZTP/P cardholders, children 6 to 17, and children 0 to 5, who enter free. Groups of 15 or more get one free guide ticket, and Route I and Route II both accept the castle's annual pass.

Route I: the Renaissance and Baroque interiors

Route I is the basic tour and the one most people picture: original castle interiors from the 16th to 18th centuries, including the Castle Chapel of St. George and the Masquerade Hall. It runs 55 minutes and caps each departure at 45 people, so it absorbs crowds better than the other guided routes. The 2026 full price is 300 CZK, with seniors and youth at 240 CZK and children 6 to 17 at 90 CZK.

Reservations are needed only for groups; individual visitors buy at the castle or online. If your priority is furnished rooms and the two showpieces named above, book Route I and treat the rest of the castle as optional extras.

Route II: the Schwarzenberg gallery and the Cloak Bridge

Route II is not a shorter version of Route I. It traces the Schwarzenberg family, opening with a portrait gallery that runs from the forefather Erkinger to the early 20th century, and finishes in the corridors of the Cloak Bridge. It also lasts 55 minutes but caps departures at 20 people, so it is the harder of the two to get onto on a busy afternoon. The 2026 full price is 260 CZK, with seniors and youth at 210 CZK and children 6 to 17 at 80 CZK.

Baroque Castle Theatre: the small-group ticket

The Baroque Castle Theatre is the castle's premium circuit and its most fragile space. The official description calls it the best preserved Baroque theatre in Europe, kept in its original building with orchestra pit, stage machinery, sets, librettos, props and costumes. Departures run at fixed times (the castle lists 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00), each limited to 20 people, and reservation is required. The 2026 full price is 400 CZK, with seniors and youth at 320 CZK and children 6 to 17 at 120 CZK.

Because slots are fixed and capacity is small, this is the one product to arrange before you arrive in town. If your dates are firm, buy the theatre ticket first and build the rest of the castle around it.

Castle Museum and Castle Tower, self-guided

The Castle Museum and Castle Tower is the fallback every visitor should know about. The exhibition, opened by the National Heritage Institute in 2011, covers the Rožmberk, Eggenberk and Schwarzenberg owners of the estate, and the route takes about 55 minutes without a guide. It needs no reservation, and the 2026 full price is 280 CZK, with seniors and youth at 220 CZK and children 6 to 17 at 80 CZK.

When the guided routes are full, this is what you can still walk into the same day: buy the combined museum and tower ticket and climb at your own pace.

Bellaria Summer House and the Baroque Stables

Two small add-ons suit travelers who have already done a main route. The Bellaria Summer House is a Rococo garden building restored between 2020 and 2024; tours last 60 minutes for up to 20 people, cost 200 CZK at full price, and the castle recommends buying online. The Baroque Stables, built in the 1750s under the Schwarzenberg builder F. J. Fortini, are self-guided, need no reservation, and cost a flat 80 CZK for adults and children 6 and over, with under-fives free.

The castle garden is free and separate

The Baroque Castle Garden, founded in the 17th century and set on a hill southwest of the castle buildings beyond the fifth courtyard, is open without a guide and free of charge. It is not part of any paid circuit, so you can fold it into a walk even if every ticket is sold out, which makes the hill a sensible place to wait out a timed slot.

Which route to pick if you only have time for one

For a first visit with one slot to spare, take Route I: it delivers the chapel and the Masquerade Hall, seats 45 per departure, and at 300 CZK full price is the best value of the guided circuits. Choose Route II instead if you want the family history and the Cloak Bridge corridors, and accept that the 20-person cap means booking pressure. Take the Baroque Theatre only if you care about historic stage machinery more than painted salons, because at 400 CZK and with fixed departure times it asks the most of your day.

Practical points before you book

The castle takes payment cards and cash at admission. Groups of 15 or more should reserve ahead, and the annual pass applies to Route I and Route II, which pays off if you plan to use National Heritage Institute sites elsewhere on the same trip.

Do not read the daily availability notes on the tour page as a season calendar. They show what is running on the day you load the page, so confirm which circuits operate during your dates through the castle's reservation contact before committing a travel day.

Where the castle fits in a Český Krumlov day

The castle sits above the Český Krumlov Old Town, so the natural order is a morning circuit followed by the lanes and squares below. Route I and Route II both take under an hour, which leaves the rest of the day for the center, and the free garden slots in between without a ticket.

If you would rather walk the town first and climb in the afternoon, plan the loop on foot along the Vltava River and keep the castle for a timed theatre slot. Either order works; what matters is fixing the guided circuit before you arrive.

Book the circuit, then the day

Decide between Route I, Route II and the Baroque Theatre now, book the one that matches your interest, and leave the museum, tower, stables and garden as flexible additions. That way a sold-out departure costs you an hour, not the day.