Brno Self Guided Walking Tour Old Town and Castle

Begin at Brno's landmark cathedral on Petrov hill, whose slender neo-Gothic spires crown the skyline. Hear why its bells famously ring noon at eleven o'clock — a cheeky nod to a siege the city outwitted — before you set off into the old town.

Brno's atmospheric old market square, sloping and lined with pastel facades. At its centre stands the Baroque Parnas Fountain. This is also where you'll find the Reduta theatre and the crooked Old Town Hall Gate nearby, with its famous "dragon" and bent tower spire.

Look up at the Old Town Hall's Gothic gateway, where one of the five decorative pinnacles is famously bent — legend blames a stonemason cheated of his fee. Inside the passage hangs the "Brno dragon" (really a crocodile) and a wooden wagon wheel tied to an old wager.

On náměstí Svobody stands Brno's polarizing modern astronomical clock — a tall black granite column locals have nicknamed for its unmistakable shape. Each day at 11am it releases a glass marble to mark the 1645 defence of the city. Reach in and you might catch one.

Pause to take in its saints and gilded details before continuing toward the churches and squares of the old town.

This soaring Gothic church hides Brno's cheekiest carving high on its tower: a little stone figure baring its backside — pointed, so the story goes, straight at the rival St Peter and Paul Cathedral. See if you can spot it before you carry on.

Meet Brno's most-teased monument: a modern equestrian statue of Margrave Jobst whose absurdly long-legged, long-necked horse has earned it a string of irreverent local nicknames. A fittingly deadpan note before the climb to the castle.

Finish at the hilltop fortress that crowns Brno. Founded in the 13th century, Špilberk later became one of the Habsburg Empire's most feared prisons. Enjoy sweeping views over the city you've just explored — a dramatic full stop to your walk.