We took the train from Prague to Brno. It is the second city in the Czech Republic and has become quite popular recently. As we only had the afternoon to explore, we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed off.

Our first stop was Soul Bistro, a cool cafe and restaurant serving delicious food with plenty of veggie options (lunch for three including drinks and tip for 600 CZK).

We then headed to the Old Town centre and checked out the sights. We climbed the tower at the Old Town Hall (tickets for 70 CZK per person) to get great views over the city centre.

From there we checked out the Cabbage Market (the main town square) and Peter and Paul Cathedral. After wandering around in the rain a bit more, we stopped for a quick drink at the cute Jedna Basen (drinks for three for 127 CZK including tip). Then it was time to head back to the hotel and pack up again.

Brno is not as beautiful as Prague, but it is an interesting city. There’s a good amount of street art and lots of cool bars and restaurants. It is also definitely cheaper than Prague and much less touristy, so the appeal are the local places which feel more authentic and just nice places to go rather than traditional Czech places.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Go: Brno is best visited as part of a trip around the region (I wouldn’t stay more than one day). From both Prague and Vienna you can take regular trains which take less than three hours and cost less than 15€.
• Stay: We stayed at Efi Hotel (we paid 76€ for three people), which was located just off the city centre but was nice, spacious and cheap. They offered a free glass of wine on arrival and free taxi rides to the centre and back. Breakfast was also included.