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Brno

Moravia's Capital: a Modernist Villa, Špilberk and Wine Country

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2 daysIdeal stay₹6,160From / night₹1,850Food / day₹1,540Entry

Czechia's second city and the capital of Moravia, a university town with far fewer visitors than Prague: Villa Tugendhat, Mies van der Rohe's modernist house on UNESCO's list (book the tour weeks ahead), Špilberk Castle and its casemates, the ossuary under St James's Church, the cathedral on Petrov hill, and a lively café and wine-bar scene. It is the gateway to the Moravian wine country, Lednice–Valtice and the Moravian Karst caves, about 30 km north. Trains from Prague take about 2 h 40, and Vienna is about 1 h 30 away.

Highlights

  • Villa Tugendhat, a UNESCO modernist house
  • Špilberk Castle and its casemates
  • Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul on Petrov hill
  • The ossuary under St James's Church
  • Cabbage Market and the old town
  • Moravian Karst caves and the Macocha Abyss
  • Moravian wine bars

Things to do

  • Villa Tugendhat guided tour (book ahead)Morning · 1h 30m
  • Špilberk Castle and the casematesAfternoon · 2h
  • Old town: Cabbage Market, Petrov cathedral and St James's ossuaryAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Moravian Karst: Punkva Caves and the Macocha AbyssMorning · 5h
  • Evening in Brno's cafés and Moravian wine barsEvening · 2h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Brnovia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Brnovia Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – October

  • Witches' Night (Pálení čarodějnic) — On the evening of 30 April towns and villages burn straw witches on bonfires to see out the winter; in Prague the biggest fires are on Petřín and in the parks. Family-friendly, with sausages and beer.
  • Ignis Brunensis — An international fireworks competition over the Brno dam on several evenings from late May into June, watched by tens of thousands; trams to the dam are packed.
  • Moravian wine harvest festivals — In September the wine towns celebrate the harvest with processions, music and stalls of burčák, the half-fermented new wine: Valtice, Mikulov (the Pálava harvest) and Znojmo have the biggest. Rooms in the wine country fill on those weekends.
  • Christmas markets · 28 Nov – 6 Jan — Prague's markets on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, with a tall tree lit on the opening evening, mulled wine and trdelník; Brno's on the Freedom and Cabbage squares, Olomouc's and Český Krumlov's smaller and calmer. Weekend evenings are packed, and December rooms in Prague cost the most of the year.