You can marvel at the gardens surrounding the Baroque Wallenstein Palace as part of a walking tour of Prague’s Mala Straná (Lower Town) that takes in the nearby Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, or opt for a tour through the city’s top baroque and Renaissance gardens to also admire the lush Vrtba Garden and Royal Gardens. With its fish pond and aviary, the garden is a popular stop on family-friendly itineraries and provides a delightful backdrop for photography tours.
The gardens are located just below Prague’s castle in the Mala Straná (Lower Town) on the left bank of the River Vltava. Reach the gardens on foot or via line A of the metro; enter through the main entrance on Letenská, a secondary entrance beside Malostranská metro station, or directly through the Wallenstein Palace.
Visit the Wallenstein Palace Gardens on a clear, mild day to fully appreciate the estate’s elegance and an array of statuary and decorative follies. The park can be rather drab in the winter months, but is a delightfully lush spot the rest of the year.
This 17th-century palace and garden were built by military commander Albrecht von Wallenstein, who achieved great success during the Thirty Years War of 1618–48. He used his wealth to create an extraordinary garden around the palace, filled with fountains and Mannerist bronzes created by the Dutch sculptor Adrian de Vries. The grounds were completed in 1630, but Von Wallenstein was murdered four years later at the command of Emperor Ferdinand II, who felt threatened by his power.
