Guide for Erasmus student
Why choose Brno?
- There are 75,000 university students in Brno – one in five inhabitants is a student. This gives the town a youthful, freewheeling spirit.
- The living costs are significantly lower than in Prague. Four-bedroom flat can be rent for €450.
- Brno is a nice town with many sightseeings, safe streets and clean environment. Both Prague and Vienna, as well as several UNESCO heritage places, can be reached within 2 or 3 hours.
Why not choose Brno?
- Most people don’t speak English. German and Russian are more popular – but only approx. half of people speak these languages.
- Only Moscow and London are served with regural air lines from Brno’s airport. It is necessary to take a bus or train to Prague or Vienna to fly to other cities.
Are there any student quarters in Brno?
Not exactly, but many students live in the northern part of the centre. Why? There are affordable flats for rent in older houses, cafés, clubs, and, of course, universities :)
So, where to live?
If you want to live next to most schools, clubs, cafés and shops, get an apartment in the centre.
If you prefer quiet, neat neighborhoods, try Masarykova čtvrt, Štefánikova čtvrt, Černá pole (with famous Villa Tugendhat) or Žabovřesky.
If you prefer to have a more affordable rent, look for a flat in Cejl, Zábrdovice, Dornych or Židenice.
Are you a diehard biker, runner or just a “sportsperson”? Quarters Kohoutovice, Líšeň, Komín, Jundrov and Bystrc are located next to beautiful woods.
How to travel in Brno
It’s dead simple: prepare your passport, small photo and an ISIC card and buy a 3-month student ticket for zones 100+101 (which is basically whole Brno and a piece of countryside around the town). The tickets costs CZK 640 (€24) (as of spring 2009) and is sold at the main train station and at 18 Novobranská st. Brno has a very well organised public transportation system, even in late night (a dozen lines of nigh buses depart from the main station every hour to all parts of the town). It takes approx. 40-50 minutes to get from one corner of Brno to the opposite corner by public transportation. It takes 10-20 minutes to reach centre from most neighborhoods.
Biking is also possible, but there are only few separated tracks for biking. Public buildings usually aren’t equipped with bike racks.
If you prefer traveling by car, it’s OK in Brno (no tolls etc., only the very historical centre is closed for cars). There’s a rush hour between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and then between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. It’s quite complicated to find a parking place in the centre and in some suburbs, namely Vinohrady and Starý Lískovec.
Where to eat in Brno
Most students prefer university canteens. The canteens offer cheap food (under €2), but the quality is not stable and the canteens are really crowded around noon. Check your university’s webpage for detailed information about locations and payments.
There are many bistros and fast foods in centre and in the bigger shopping malls. Czech students like “pizza” with onions and smoked meat sold at Česká street for €0.80, as well as greasily pie “burek” sold at Solniční street for €1 all day and night long.
Brno is full of restaurants and pubs, with prices of dinner for 2 (with wine) commonly bellow CZK 500 (€19). I personally recommend Panoptikum (Jakubské sq.) and Zelená kočka (Solniční st.) for a great quality/price ratio and great waitresses capable of speaking English.
One more tip: you will get the best donor kebab in Brno at Palackého st., next to club Fléda.
Where to meet other young people
Fléda is probably the most popular club in Brno – focused on smart music, attracting smart people. The entrance is free on most evenings. Concert tickets are usually sold for prices below CZK 200 (€7.50).
Favál, Charlies and Mersey are other popular music venues. Clubs Mandarin, Tabarin and Two Faces are kinds of a meat market – good places to go to if you have invested in a cool outfit and want to get laid.
Students of the University of Technology like to party in clubs Terč and Yacht located in a small university town at Kolejní st. (also called “Palačák”).
The best Pilsner beer in Brno is draught in pub “Bláhovka” located at Gorkého st.
If you want to party on a budget, go to one of the wine bars at Gorkého st. with a 1,5 l bottle and buy draught Moravian wine – one litre costs around €1.80 and the quality is usually much higher than the quality of bottled wines at triple price.
Where to work out
Running and jogging can be performed almost anywhere, as the quality of air in Brno is generally better than in Prague or in Ostrava. There is a nice park almost in every quater, usually next to rivers Svratka and Svitava.
Biking is somehow complicated, as there could be more separated tracks. I recommend to use the track next to Svratka river in the western part of the town and bike to the Brno dam or further to Bílý potok, nice destination approx. 20 km north-west of the town. People living in the eastern part of the town can bike along the Svitava river to the southern Moravia, poetic flat region with many wineyards.
There are three swimming pools in Brno – at Kraví Hora , at Lužánky and at Lesná . You have to check their websites to find out the exact times of free tracks (usually changing every week).
The biggest gym is called “Big One Fitness” and is located at Dornych st., next to shopping mall Vaňkovka.
Trip ideas
There are several UNESCO heritage places located close to Brno. Actually, one of these is right in the town – Villa Tugendhat, located at Černopolní street, was built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930. Now it is considered to be a masterpiece of the funcionalist architecture.
Kroměříž, Mikulov, Třebíč and Olomouc are also on the list of heritage places – all the beautiful towns can be reached by train in 90 minites.
Where to get news and find new friends online
For a list of upcoming events and other important news, follow weblog Brno Now (brought to you by the very author of this guide). If you want to meet other Erasmus students from different universities, join the Facebook group “Erasmus Brno”.
