Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the way. Because the brewery workers make up the majority of customers here, don't
expect a multilingual menu or staff.
U Prazdroje 1 (just outside the brewery gates).
&
377-235-608.
Soups 25Kc ($1/50p); main courses 65Kc-219Kc
($2.70-$9.10/£1-£4). AE, MC, V. Mon-Sat 10am-10pm.
5 Moravia
Having seen its fair share of history, Moravia conjures up a different image than
Bohemia: Here, too, castles and picture-perfect town squares exist. But the people and
slower lifestyle set Moravia apart.
BRNO: THE REGION'S CAPITAL
224km (139 miles) SE of Prague; 128km (79 miles) N of Vienna
Since Brno came of age in the 19th century on the back of its textile industry, the city's
architecture, for the most part, lacks the Renaissance facades and meandering alleys of
other towns. Indeed, the main square, nám
ê
stí Svoboda, bears this out. But spend a
day or two here, and the beauty of the old city center will become apparent.
GETTING THERE
Driving
to Brno is a trade-off. Take the E50—also named the D1—freeway that leads
from the south of Prague all the way. The drive shouldn't take more than 2 hours. But
the scenery is little more than one roadside stop after another.
Brno is the focal point for
train
travel in Moravia and most points east, making it
an easy 2
3
⁄
4
-hour trip from Prague.
Trains
leave almost every hour; the majority leave
from Hlavní nádra
z
í (Main Station). The fare is 243K
c
($10/£5) first class or 160K
c
($6.65/£3) second class.
Buses
leave Prague's Florenc station to Brno every hour. The
trip takes 2
1
⁄
2
hours and costs 140K
c
($5.80/£3)
.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Turistické Informa
c
ní Centrum (TIC),
Radnická 8, Brno (
&
542-211-090;
www.ticbrno.cz), provides a plethora of information on accommodations, plus what's
on in Brno and how to see it. It's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm, Satur-
day 9am to 5:30pm, Sunday 9am to 3pm October to March; April to September
Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5:30pm.
STROLLING AROUND BRNO
The Old Town holds most of the attractions you'll want to see, so it's probably best to
start at the former seat of government, the Old Town Hall on Radnická 8. Town's old-
est secular building, from the 13th century, the
Old Town Hall
is a hodgepodge of
styles—Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque elements melding together, demonstrating
Brno's development through the ages.
Just south of the Old Town Hall is
Zeln
;
trh (Cabbage Market),
a farmers' mar-
ket since the 13th century.
Another block closer to the train station, on Kapucínské nám
ê
stí, is the
Kostel
Nalezení svatého K
r
í
z
e (Church of the Sacred Cross)
and the
Kapucínsk
;
Klá
s
ter
(
Capuchin Monastery;
&
542-213-232
).
Dominating
Zeln
;
trh
at its southwest corner is the
Moravian Regional Museum,
Zeln
;
trh 8, Brno (
&
542-321-205;
www.mzm.cz), housed in the Dietrichstein
Palace. The museum displays a wide array of stuffed birds and wild game, as well as
