Tips for Trips

Ride the new tourist train in Znojmo! The train will take you and your family anywhere around town, but we recommend starting at the Louka monastery. In 2012, there will be a new stop at the beautiful Sts. Catherine and the Virgin Mary. Also, the train has been newly renovated and now includes padded seats and a glass roof for amazing views of the area. You can go on the anytime from May to October, but the first rides on the new train start in mid-July 2012.

Want to escape from the summer sun and explore a spooky hidden city? Take the mysterious underground tour of Znojmo, which is one of the top tourist destinations in the Czech Republic and a perfect place to experience a great adventure. Explore a convoluted maze of subterranian passageways, running deep under Znojmo’s city streets. Rumors of mystical gnomes and sinister alchemists come to life. If you’re not afraid, this underground world is open daily to brave visitors only!

Visit the only functioning historic windmill in Austria and learn the history and baking techiniques directly from the professionals. The local millers will show you how the baking has been done over the years using the traditional methods and equipment. Their explanations and information are so interesting that the mill tour is sure to be an unforgettable experience.

The beautiful Renaissance-era watermill in Slup looks like a building from a fairytale. There is a new exhibition of the history of milling from prehistoric times to the 20th Century. You can also visit a functioning milling chamber run by four water wheels, as well as other exhibits about milling technology. And who knows, maybe here, you will get to see a water sprite or goblin, darting through the mill.

High above the picturesque wine village of Šatov, you can visit the Malovaný sklípek, or painted cave. This beautiful wine cellar, situated on a sandstone slope, is currently being excavated and is decorated with paintings by ancient folk artists. You will see fabulous paintings of historical scenes as ell as poems about wine and lots of funny stories included the tour‘s guidebook.

In the idyllic countryside beside the ancient monastery of Geras, a nature park offers the opportunity to see many of the animals of the region, including fallow and sika deer, in their natural environment. The Children's Zoo has an animal petting area, a lush pond landscape, a bat trail, and an observation tower. It also has several unique attractions like the buzzing stone and the wooden xylophone. To make your trip most interesting, we recommend starting your Geras adventure by taking a ride on the nostalgic Reblaus Express Train. The old-time diesel train is made up of historic, open-air cars so that you can take your bike along or sit in the wine-tasting car and sample the local wines along the way. Departures from Retz three times daily, on Saturdays and Sundays only, at 9:20, 13:20 and 16:20.

Two ships, the Victoria and Valentine, sail along the river to the town of Bitov. High above the town, you can see one of the oldest and most romantic castles in the Czech Republic. The last lord of the castle was a great lover of animals, so there, you will find the Baron Jiří Haas Zoo, which includes a large number of predatory birds, mammals and also the biggest collection of stuffed dogs in Europe. The castle’s brewery has its own dungeon filled with forest monsters and many fairy creatures, sure to please children of all ages. The boat trip and Bítov castle tour makes for a pleasant day for the whole family. For parents, we also recommend a romantic evening cruise with wine and cheese tasting.