Online cycling map of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

About a year ago I wrote a post about Czech cycling maps. In it, I concentrated on the various series of printed cycling maps available, and I only mentioned the online Cykloserver cycling map of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in passing. However, the link I gave to this map has since become the number one exit link from my site. In other words, people click on it and never come back here.

There’s a good reason for this. The Cykloserver “Cykloatlas” contains pretty much all the information you need to plan a cycling route in either country. On top of that, it costs nothing to use and you don’t even have to register. I’m a huge fan. And no, I’m not in any way connected with the site or with the company that set it up - SHOCart.

For international visitors, one of the best things about the Cykloserver map is that it’s available in English. To toggle between the Czech and English versions, you first have to switch the header on. This you do by clicking on “Hlavička ON/OFF” (or “Header ON/OFF”) located on the far-right hand side of the blue menu bar. Then click on the British flag in the top left-hand corner of the screen to get the English language version.

To see the cycling routes, you have to zoom in to at least 50% of the maximum magnification (as indicated by the scale on the left). Marked bike paths are shown as purple lines and unmarked ones as pink lines. The lines are unbroken, dashed or dotted depending on the surface quality of the trail. The official route numbers are also indicated. A full key will appear on the right if you click on “Map key” in the menu bar. If you need any more help, try clicking on the question mark in the menu bar.

You can draw a route directly on the map by clicking on “Draw a map”. You can also add points of interest and view the length and elevation profile of your route. Other useful functions are available in the dropdown “Map layers” menu. For example, click on “Cyclists welcome” to reveal officially certified bike-friendly places to stay, eat and visit, and on “Places of interest” to display, well, places of interest. When you’ve finished plotting your route, you can export it as a GPX file. You can also import routes from other applications using the “Import” command.

To sum up, the online Cykloserver Cykloatlas is an indispensable aid to planning a cycling trip in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Just don’t forget to come back here when you’re done there!