The hook
The Czech second city that gets a fraction of Prague's visitors: a star fortress on one hill facing a neo-Gothic cathedral on the next, a pedestrian centre full of live music, and one of the founding buildings of modern architecture sitting quietly in a suburb.
01Why it's worth it
Brno is where Czechia goes about its business, a university and tech city rather than a stage set, and it rewards that. Villa Tugendhat is the headline for anyone who cares about design: Mies van der Rohe's 1930 house, with its onyx wall and retractable windows, is UNESCO-listed and one of the purest statements of modernism anywhere, visitable only by pre-booked guided tour. Above the city, the Špilberk fortress served as a Habsburg prison and now holds the city museum; opposite, the Petrov cathedral rings noon at eleven, a tradition from a Swedish siege. Beneath the centre sits an ossuary holding the remains of some 50,000 people, second in Europe only to the Paris catacombs. Brno is also a UNESCO City of Music, so live playing spills out of the pedestrian core most evenings, and the Moravian wine country starts just outside town. Prices are markedly gentler than Prague.
02How to experience it
Book Villa Tugendhat as far ahead as you can, that decides your dates. Otherwise: Špilberk for the view, the ossuary and the cathedral, and an evening in the pedestrian centre following whatever music you hear. Add a day trip into the Moravian Karst caves or the vineyards around Mikulov and Valtice.
From the locals
The enthusiasm from Europe regulars is unusually unguarded: "Brno, Czech Republic, is one of the best cities in the world!" one wrote, listing "incredible architecture, an imposing star fort on a hill opposite the cathedral, an awesome UNESCO heritage site (Villa Tugendhat), and the city itself is a UNESCO City of Music. You constantly hear live music as you're strolling the pedestrian-only centre."