Brno

The capital of Moravia, home to the UNESCO-listed modernist Villa Tugendhat, with the Lednice–Valtice landscape, karst caves, the Austerlitz battlefield and wine towns nearby.

Brno is the Czech Republic's second-largest city and the capital of Moravia, about 200 km south-east of Prague and 130 km north of Vienna. With a large student population, it feels young, prices are lower than in Prague, and its cafés, craft-beer bars and cocktail bars have a great atmosphere. The compact old town is easy to explore on foot: the Cabbage Market and its underground labyrinth, the “Brno Dragon” at the Old Town Hall, the bullet-shaped astronomical clock on Freedom Square, the ossuary of St James's Church, the Capuchin Crypt, and, on two hills, the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul and Špilberk Castle. North of the centre, Villa Tugendhat is Mies van der Rohe's modernist masterpiece and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; visits must be booked weeks in advance. Day trips abound: to the north, the Moravian Karst (boat rides in the Punkva Caves, the Macocha Abyss) and Pernštejn Castle; to the east, the Slavkov (Austerlitz) battlefield and the Cairn of Peace; to the south, the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape and the wine town of Mikulov; and Kroměříž to the north-east and Třebíč to the west each have a UNESCO site. Seasons: May–September is best, with castles and gardens fully open in summer; September–October is grape-harvest time, with wine festivals in towns across South Moravia; December brings Christmas markets. Many castles and caves close or shorten their hours from November to March, so be sure to check before travelling in winter. Getting there: trains take about 2.5 hours from Prague, about 1.5 hours from Vienna and about 1.5 hours from Bratislava; trams make getting around the city easy, and most nearby sights can be reached by train or bus (on the IDS JMK integrated ticket), though driving saves time for the caves and castles. Allow 2–4 nights.

Top sights

• Villa Tugendhat – Mies van der Rohe's 1930 modernist masterpiece, with onyx walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that lower into the floor. A UNESCO World Heri…
• Špilberk Castle – A hilltop castle overlooking the old town. Once a royal fortress, it became the Habsburgs' most severe 'prison of nations,' and its undergr…
• Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, Brno – A Gothic Revival cathedral with twin towers on Petrov Hill, pictured on the 10-koruna coin. Its bells ring noon an hour early every day at…
• Punkva Caves & Macocha Abyss – A star cave in the Moravian Karst. Walk past stalactites and stalagmites, then take a boat down the underground river out of the cave. Over…
• Zelný trh & Labyrinth – A medieval open-air market square that still operates today. Beneath the Baroque Parnassus Fountain lies a cellar labyrinth that can be vis…
• Old Town Hall, Brno – Brno’s oldest secular building. Under the Gothic portal with its crooked spire hang the legendary “Brno Dragon” and a wagon wheel.
• Freedom Square & Brno Astronomical Clock – A triangular square in the heart of the old town. A black bullet-shaped astronomical clock drops a glass ball at 11 o’clock every day, and…
• Brno Ossuary – An underground ossuary rediscovered only in 2001, where the remains of about 50,000 people are stacked in dim light. It is considered the s…
• Capuchin Crypt, Brno – A crypt beneath the Capuchin monastery, where monks and nobles lie as mummies, naturally dried by a special ventilation system.
• Mendel Museum – The monastery where Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, carried out his pea experiments. The museum tells the story of how the laws of h…
• Mahen Theatre – A neo-Renaissance theatre that opened in 1882. It was one of the first theatres in Europe to be lit entirely by Edison electric lamps.
• 10-Z Bunker – A World War II air-raid shelter beneath Špilberk Hill that was converted into a Cold War nuclear bunker. Today you can visit it, or even st…
• Anthropos Pavilion – The human evolution branch of the Moravian Museum. Highlights include a life-size mammoth model, reconstructions of Ice Age hunters and Pal…
• VIDA! Science Center – A large interactive science museum in an exhibition center, with more than 170 hands-on exhibits covering the Earth, climate and the human…
• Brno Reservoir & Veveří Castle – Brno’s summer backyard. Take a boat along the reservoir straight to Veveří Castle on the cliff, and enjoy swimming and cycling along the sh…
• Pernštejn Castle – One of the best-preserved Gothic castles in Moravia, with towers stacked on a rock. Known as the “Queen of Moravian Castles.”
• Slavkov Chateau (Austerlitz) – A Baroque palace of the Kaunitz family where Napoleon stayed after the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and signed the armistice.
• Cairn of Peace – An Art Nouveau memorial on the Pratzen Heights, the battlefield of Austerlitz. It is regarded as the first peace memorial in Europe.
• Kroměříž Archbishop's Palace & Gardens – Known as the “Athens of Hanna.” The Baroque summer palace of Archbishop Olomouc and its flower gardens are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Třebíč Jewish Quarter & St Procopius' Basilica – One of the best-preserved Jewish quarters outside Israel, inscribed as a World Heritage Site together with a Romanesque-Gothic basilica.
• Museum of Romani Culture – One of the few museums in Europe dedicated to the history and culture of the Romani people (often called Gypsies), located in an old quarte…

Where to eat

• Lokál U Caipla – A Czech tavern carrying on the tradition of an Austro-Hungarian era pub, focusing on home-style Czech food and tank Pil…
• ATELIER Bar & Bistro – A Michelin Bib Gourmand bistro tucked behind a glass-roofed atrium in the Old Town, offering a concise menu and great d…
• Borgo Agnese – A Michelin-listed Mediterranean restaurant featuring a dining area where excavated historic church walls are displayed…
• Pavillon Steak House – A steakhouse housed in a functionalist glass pavilion inside a park, specializing in dry-aged Czech farm beef.
• Pivnice Pegas – One of the earliest microbreweries in the Czech Republic, founded in 1992, serving house-brewed beers and traditional C…

Itineraries

• South Moravia Wine Region to Vienna Road Trip – Drive south from Brno through karst landscapes, UNESCO-listed gardens, and the Pálava wine region, finishing in Vienna.
• Bohemia to Moravia by Train & Bus – Explore the highlights of the Czech Republic without a car: Prague, Český Krumlov, Telč, Brno, and Olomouc.
• Czech Republic Grand Self-Drive Loop – Drive a loop around the Czech Republic, connecting spa towns, Český Krumlov, Moravian wine country, and Olomouc.