34 Best Sights in Moravia, Czech Republic

Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1930, this austere, white Bauhaus villa counts among the most important works of the modern period and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Function and the use of geometric forms are emphasized. The Tugendhat family fled before the Nazis, and their original furnishings vanished. Replicas of Mies's cool, functional designs have been installed in the downstairs living area. Some of the original exotic wood paneling and an onyx screen remain in place. The best way to get there is to take a taxi or Tram 3, 5, or 11 to the Dětská nemocnice stop and then walk up unmarked Černopolní ulice for 10 minutes or so; you'll be able to see the modernist structure up on the hill.

Reservations for tours are highly recommended at least three months in advance and can be made online.

Holders of the Brnopas have access to a limited number of last-minute tickets at the Tourist Information Center at Panenská 1 and can skip to the front of the line at the villa. The extended tour shows some of the building's infrastructure.

The château holds the Regionální Muzeum (Regional Museum), exhibiting period furniture and local wine-making items, including a remarkable wine cask, made in 1643, with a capacity of more than 22,000 gallons. Built as the Gothic-era residence of the noble Liechtenstein family in the 13th century, this château later served as the residence of the powerful Dietrichsteins. Napoléon Bonaparte also stayed here in 1805 while negotiating peace terms with the Austrians after winning the Battle of Austerlitz (Austerlitz is now known as Slavkov, near Brno). Sixty-one years later, Bismarck used the castle to sign a peace treaty with Austria. At the end of World War II, retreating Nazi SS units set fire to it. Much of what you see today was rebuilt after World War II.

There are several different tours that can be combined in various ways.

Admirers of art nouveau master Alfons Mucha may want to take a 40-km (31-mile) detour off the main road linking Mikulov to Brno to visit the Moravský Krumlov Château, which is now the temporary home to one of Mucha’s most celebrated works, his 20-painting Slav Epic. This enormous work took almost two decades to complete and tells the history of the Slav nation. The city of Prague won ownership of the paintings in a long legal battle but is lending them back until at least 2025. The château, built as a castle in the 13th century, also offers a tour of noble chambers and access to the château tower. It is next to a large park with a plague column (a monument built in thanksgiving for the end of a plague).

Only in this Cabbage Market could Brno begin to look like a typical Czech town—not just for the many stands from which farmers still sell vegetables but also for the flamboyant Parnassus Fountain that adorns its center. This baroque outburst (inspiring a love-it-or-hate-it reaction) couldn't be more out of place amid the formal elegance of most of the buildings on the square. But when Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach created the fountain in the late 17th century, it was important for a striving town like Brno to display its understanding of the classics and of ancient Greece. Therefore Hercules slays a three-headed dragon, and Amphitrite awaits the arrival of her lover—all incongruously surrounded by farmers hawking turnips and onions. What could be more Czech?