The
main economic centres of this eastern
part of the Czech Republic are
Brno, Olomouc
and Ostrava. Brno
also has some excellent museums
and the Villa Tugendhat. Olomouc
was an important centre of the
Great Moravian Empire in the 9th
and early 10th century. At a later
period it was the capital of the
province of Moravia. Despite its
considerable charms, Olomouc hasn't
been discovered by tourists in
the same way as Prague and the
spa cities. For history buffs,
Olomouc’s inner city is known
to have the second largest historical
monuments preserved in the country,
after Prague. Olomouc is also a
good base for several excellent
daytrips including UNESCO-listed
Kromeríž, and the Caves
of the Moravian Karst.
Moravia is noted for its viticulture,
particularly around the River Danube
in the south. With 94%
of the Czech Republic's vineyards, Moravia is
at the centre of the country's
wine industry. The areas around
the four towns of Velké Pavlovice,
Mikulov, Znojmo and Slovácko
provide more than 90% of the Czech
Republic's total wine-producing
acreage. Mikulov is a picturesque
town close to the Austrian border
and the UNESCO-listed Lednice-Valtice
area.
South-west Moravia is home to
beautiful historic towns and several
world-heritage-listed monuments.
Telc is a pretty town with an extraordinarily
preserved renaissance main square.
Trebíc is also world heritage
listed because of its Jewish history
and St Procopius basilica.
Eastern Moravia has the Beskydy
mountains and the culturally unique
region of Wallachia, famous for
its wooden architecture and unique
cakes and pastries.
Getting There
Ryanair flies direct from London
Stansted to Brno or Dublin to Bratislava,
Slovakia (1.5 hrs from Brno). Easyjet
will take you to Prague or Bratislava.
CSA (Czech Airlines) has a connector
flight from Prague to Brno.
Traveling in country, buses tend
to be cheaper than trains, but
you’re often better off comfort-wise
on the trains. Between Prague and
Olomouc, high-speed trains take
less than 2 ½ hours.
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