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The flat lowlands of Polabí form a distinctive landscape, shaped over centuries by the wide flow of the Elbe River. The river brought life to the region and its nature directly influenced how local people lived and farmed. The best place to learn about their way of life is the Polabí Ethnographic Museum in Přerov nad Labem, an open-air museum composed of many traditional buildings relocated here from across the region.

The open-air museum was established thanks to Archduke Ludwig of Tuscany, who, in the late 19th century, converted an old manorial court into a traditional Czech farmhouse, furnishing it in an authentic folk style. Today, the site includes around forty historical structures: cottages, barns, granaries, a chapel, a gamekeeper’s lodge, and even a school. The interiors are furnished to reflect daily life in a Polabí village from the 18th to early 20th century.

From the Čelákovice train stop, follow the yellow hiking trail into the town center. A key architectural landmark of 5. května Square is the Neo-Baroque town hall built in 1911. Continue toward the nearby branch of the Elbe River, where you'll find a former medieval fortress, now home to the Municipal Museum, which features several exhibits about both the region's and the fortress’s history. Next door stands the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, originally a Romanesque structure from the 13th century, recognizable especially by its tower. The church was later expanded and remodeled in the Baroque style.

Continue along the yellow trail until you reach a footbridge over the Elbe, passing the first information panels of the Elbe Valley nature trail along the way.

However, both the trail and the nature path cross the river, while your route continues straight along the left bank, where only a cycling route is marked. You’ll pass under a railway bridge and reach a green hiking trail, part of the Blaník–Říp pilgrimage route. Following the Elbe, you briefly skirt the edge of Sedlčánky. Past the small hamlet of Zájezd, near the Hrad oxbow lake—a well-known fishing spot—you’ll leave the paved path for a field trail. It curves right and crosses the Budeč Dike, built in the 19th century to protect nearby Přerov nad Labem from flooding. Its role diminished after the Elbe’s regulation in the 1930s.

Walking through floodplain forests and open fields, you’ll arrive in Přerov nad Labem. Besides the open-air museum, don’t miss the romantic Renaissance château, surrounded by a moat that hints at its former function as a water fortress. Also worth visiting is the local museum of vintage bicycles and motorcycles.

The green trail then leads you back to the Elbe, which you’ll cross via the Litol Bridge. You’ll enter Litol, a suburb of Lysá nad Labem, where a significant monument of modern architecture is tucked away, waiting to be discovered.

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