Experience the best of Brno

Brno is the second-largest city of the Czech Republic and the historic capital of Moravia, built around two hills. On one stands Špilberk Castle, once a fortress and a prison, and on the other the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul, whose bells ring noon at eleven o'clock, a custom that goes back to the Swedish siege of 1645. The streets between hold the Cabbage Market, with its baroque fountain, and the Old Town Hall, where a stuffed crocodile known as the Brno Dragon hangs.

The Villa Tugendhat, a modernist house by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city has many other functionalist buildings. Beneath the church of St James lies an ossuary holding the bones of many thousands of people, and a Capuchin crypt keeps mummified monks. Gregor Mendel carried out his work on pea plants in the Augustinian abbey in Brno.

North of the city, the Moravian Karst has caves and the deep Macocha Abyss, while the Austerlitz battlefield lies to the east and the vineyards of southern Moravia to the south. Roast pork with dumplings and cabbage is the classic plate, and Moravian white wines are poured in cellars and bars across the region.