Why Brno, Czechia, should be your next European weekend getaway

It’s true that Prague, with its architectural masterpieces and riveting history, should be the first stop for any visitor to Czechia. But anyone who then heads east will find that the country’s second city of Brno reveals another side of Czech city culture and creativity.

The capital of the Moravia region, Brno has a cityscape that melds imperial-era facades with modernist buildings and beautiful art nouveau villas from its industrial boom days. While its many museums are stuffed with art and artifacts, the city is better known for its playful public statues and quirky sculptures. A university city, Brno is also home to more trendy bistros, bars and grassroots enterprises than you could possibly explore in one visit.

Here's why you should consider Brno for your next European city break.

Why visit Brno now?

Brno gets a fraction of Prague’s imperial-heyday-seeking visitors. So if you are looking for an immersion in Czech history and culture far from the tourist throngs, this understated, eastern metropolis is where it’s at. Brno is a very social city, with a culture-packed calendar year-round, from craft beer and food events to stall-packed Christmastime markets and various pop, jazz, art and opera festivals.

Top things to do in Brno

Whether above ground, several meters underneath or inside trendsetting neighborhoods, here’s where to find the best of Brno.

Explore the city’s numerous underground attractions

Brno’s unconventional sites include medieval tunnels, water tanks, burial chambers and wartime bunkers. The Labyrinth under the Vegetable Market is the largest of the lot – an 8m-deep, 1km-long web of wine cellars and siege-hideout passageways dating to the Middle Ages. You can also step inside Brno's three cathedral-like Water Tanks – a showcase of 19th-century architectural water supply ingenuity with huge open spaces and vaulted echo chambers.

Underground explorations get a touch macabre at the Ossuary at St James' Church, Europe's second-largest ossuary, displaying bones from 50,000 plague and war victims; and at the Capuchin Crypt, with its (naturally) mummified monks and benefactors. Then there's Brno's Cold War bunkers: nuclear fallout shelter 10-Z remained a classified secret until 1993, while Bunker Denis, a 1km network of rock-carved corridors, stretches beneath Petrov Cathedral hill.

Climb the high towers of medieval cathedrals and castles

The Old Town Hall is Brno's oldest building and a quintessential starting point when touring the city’s medieval core. You have to climb 173 wooden stairs up its clocktower to reach its high point of 63m – and the workout-like ascent is well worth it, with panoramic views over Brno’s landmarks as a reward.

Take a walk through Špilberk Park to Špilberk Castle, a 13th-century fortress that became a notorious Habsburg prison and is today a city history and art museum complex. Catch a breath – sunset is a great moment to do so – while admiring the expansive views from the castle walls; if you’re looking for the 360° city views, walk to the fortress lookout tower. You can also climb the balconies of the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul for sweeping views south of the green, rock-topped Pálava Hills.

Tour modernist and art nouveau villas

In between its numerous pastel baroque facades, Brno reveals an eye-catching blend of functionalist and modernist architecture. Highlights include the white-block, glass-fronted Moravian Bank from 1930, and the turquoise geometric Omega Palace shopping center on the fringes of Freedom Sq. But for the chance to step inside a landmark of the International Style (and of international significance), head to Villa Tugendhat, designed between 1928 and 1930 by modernist master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for a Jewish industrialist family (who had to flee the city in 1938). Impeccably restored in 2012, the villa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, accessible via a 60- or 90-minute tour ticket that sells out months in advance. When returning to the city center, walk from Villa Tugendhat’s garden and through the art nouveau Villa Löw-Beer opposite, the home of Greta Tugendhat's parents.

​​Seek out unexpected public artworks

It’s easy to get your art fix wandering the galleries of Austrian Moravian art at Špilberk Castle or the contemporary fashion and interior design collections of the Moravian Museum of Applied Arts. But you don’t have to stay indoors to take in Brno’s expansive collection of artwork – for the city is known for pushing the boundaries of the conventional with unusual, sometimes surreal open-air sculptures. Exhibit A: the Old Town Hall’s suspended stuffed crocodile, which, according to medieval legend, was a town-terrorizing dragon; and Freedom Square’s controversial astronomical clock, a phallic black stone that doesn’t actually...tell the time, but still draws crowds.

Another cool focal point is Moravian Sq’s statue of Courage, which depicts the Margrave Jobst of Moravia on a spindle-legged horse. You'll get the tongue-in-cheek view when you walk underneath it and look up toward the horse's muzzle. Download the Statues in the City map for a walking tour that will take you past all these and many more.

Wander food stalls and raise a glass in historic wine cellars

Brno’s student population keeps the vibe youthful and energetic – and you can join in the fun at specialty coffee cafes and food trucks, experimental bars and bistros. Start the day at trendy, tune-pumping Eggo Truck Brno for a hearty breakfast, or at chic, award-winning Monogram Espresso Bar. On a wander through the food stalls of Zelný trh food market (also known as the Cabbage Market), you’ll find locals stocking up on fresh produce from Monday to Saturday.

Afterward, feast on the flavors of Brno’s vibrant Vietnamese community at Cà Phê Cổ – then seek out the hidden entry buzzer (it’s behind a curtain) to Super Panda Circus, a cocktail speakeasy. Tap craft beer takes center stage at “stand-up bar” Výčep Na stojáka, while regional craft brews are the stars at Malt Worm. Seeking a sun-ripened sample of the Pálava Hills grape harvest? Step down into the historic wine cellar Vinotéka U Tři Knižat for tastings by the glass.

Where to stay in Brno

Brno’s core sights and most appealing neighborhoods are all stacked within the walkable city center, encircled by the Ring 1 road – as are its top accommodation options. Europe’s narrowest hotel, the reconstructed functionalist-style Hotel Avion, designed by Czech architect Bohuslav Fuchs, is a great choice if you like quirky and unconventional properties. A more boutique-style option is the 1850s heritage building–turned–hotel Grand Palace Brno; a more local-feeling choice would be one of the five downtown Goodnite Brno apartments. The more adventurous can try a night at the hostel set up in the former nuclear fallout shelter 10-Z Bunker.

Prices per night are cheaper if you venture beyond Ring 1 and into the Ring 2 periphery; a good public transport network of buses and trams runs within and around the city center and beyond it, closing the distance.

How to pair a visit to Brno with a trip to Prague

Prague and Brno lie at opposite ends of Czechia, but city-hopping between them is easy. Czechia's national railway operator, České dráhy, runs numerous daily trains between Prague and Brno's main train station on the southeast side of the walkable historic core; the journey takes between 2.5 and 3 hours and costs around €15 each way, 2nd class. Private operator RegioJet runs a 2.5hr direct service from €8 each way, 2nd class. Cheaper tickets can typically be found on departures before 9am and after 6pm.

Direct long-distance FlixBus routes from Prague's Central Bus Station Florenc to Brno's small bus station (opposite the Grandhotel and train station) can take up to 3 hours; if you book in advance, you can snag a ticket for under €10.