TRAVEL INFORMATION
Please read the following travel information carefully. It will save you time on your journey to Brno and moving about in the city. Currency, climate, and any travel documents you may need are also discussed. General information about the city can be found on the Venue web page.
Arriving by Plane
A limited number of direct flights are available to Brno, or you may use the large international airports at Vienna (130km) or Prague (200km). There are good train/bus connections from each of these airports to Brno. Some airlines even offer direct bus transport to Brno from the airport. Ask your travel agent about this option when buying your plane ticket.
Flying to Brno
Brno has a growing international airport (BRQ). There are regular flight connections from Prague (Czech Republic), Munich (Germany) and London Stansted (UK). If possible, we recommend flying directly to Brno. It is usually the most comfortable and flights to Brno can be very inexpensive.
Flying to Vienna
Vienna (130km from Brno) has an international airport (VIE) with many flights from Europe and overseas countries.
Information on going from the airport to various train stations can be found at the airport web page or at the Austrian Airline web page (austrian national airlines). For connections from the airport to Brno see OBB-Holding AG web pages (austrian national railways). You should fill in the folowing stations to check timetables
From : Flughafen Wien
(in
German Flughafen means airport)
To : Brno
There are also direct buses from the airport to Brno operated by Student Agency. The buses stop in front of arrival hall each day at 8:05am, 11:05am, 6:05pm, and 8:30pm and cost 300 CZK.
Flying to Prague
Prague (200km from Brno) is well connected to European countries. There are direct flights to Prague International Airport - Ruzyne (PRG) from most capitals in Europe and from some overseas countries like U.S.A. and Canada. The national airlines are Czech Airlines (CSA) which are a member of SkyTeam. Many low-fare airlines have flights to Prague, e.g. SmartWings operate from Prague.
There is no train station at the airport. Trains to Brno usually depart from Holesovice station (Nadrazi Holesovice) or from Main Station (Hlavni nadrazi). To get to the railway station, you will need to use a taxi (ask in advance for approximate price, it could be about 600 CZK) or public transportation. Connections from the airport to the train station can be found by entering the folowing stations into the Prague public transport:
From : letiste
(in
Czech it means airport)
To : hlavni nadrazi (in
Czech it means main (train) station)
or
To : nadrazi Holesovice
Information about train and bus connections from Prague to Brno can be found at Czech bus and train timetables (the system also includes public transportation in Prague and Brno).
Timetables
for direct microbuses from Airport Prague-Ruzyne to Brno (operated by
Czech airlines) are available at http://www.csa.cz/en/ (use the link
"Timetable" and select "destination" Brno - ZDN; the buses are denoted as
flights).
Reservation in advance (including for your departure) is strongly recommended.
Please note that there is a significant difference in the ticket prices if you
fly to/from Prague with Czech Airlines (about 4.5 Euro) and with another
company (about 21 Euro).
To avoid taxis or public transportation in Prague, you can also try to buy bus tickets to Brno at the airport (2nd terminal, departure hall). The buses are operated by Student Agency and departs mostly each half past an hour from 8:30am to 7:30pm (there are some missing connections on Sunday or Saturday).
Arriving by Train, Bus, or Car
Brno can be reached easily by direct EC trains from Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. You may find the train or bus connections which suit you best at Czech bus and train timetables (for information about train stations or bus stations go to the next section In Brno).
Brno is located in the southwest part of the Czech Republic, on the backbone motorway D-1 Prague-Brno-Bratislava, and the rail-road line Prague-Brno-Vienna.
Other close international airports are in Vienna (recommended) and in Prague. Brno is about 120 minutes drive from Vienna or 150 minutes drive from Prague. Take Exit 194 B (Brno centrum) and follow the signs "Hotel International".
In Brno
Useful Addresses
Conference site:
Hotel
International,
Husova 16,
659 21 Brno,
Czech republic
Phone: +420 542 122 111
The conference is organized by:
Faculty of Informatics (Fakulta
Informatiky),
Masaryk University,
Botanicka 68a,
602 00 Brno,
Czech Republic.
Phone: +420 5 49 49 6696
Fax: +420 5 49 49 1820
E-mail: info@patat06.muni.cz
Address of student hostel Astorka:
Novobranska 3, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
Phone: +420 542 592 111
Fax: +420 542 592 26
Maps
Some maps of the city can be found at Brno web server (in English, the hotel is marked by red circle), at centrum.cz (in Czech but easy to use, the hotel is marked by red pin), or at http://mapy.atlas.cz/mapa/patat06 (in Czech and again easy to use, the hotel is marked by orange arrow). You might need to know one Czech word: "Hledat" means "Search".
Taxis
Brno taxi services have better reputation than those in Prague. Still, when using a taxi, it is a good idea to ask for an approximate price in advance and make sure that the taxi-meter has been set to zero at the beginning of the ride.
The operator at City Taxi (phone number (++420-) 542 321 321) is able to speak English.
Prices for travelling from bus or railway station to the Hotel International should be around 100-150 CZK. Travelling from the airport may cost you about 300-400 CZK.
Public Transportation
Public transportation system in Brno is very good and inexpensive. One ticket will cost you 8 CZK (10 minutes of travel by 1 bus or tram) or 13 CZK (40 minutes of travel, any bus and tram changes allowed). You can buy tickets in advance at a news-stand and mark it inside the tram/bus (recommended). It is also possible to buy tickets in tram/bus from the driver but they are slightly more expensive and correct change (10 CZK, 15 CZK) is required. For details see Information on South Moravian Integrated Public Transport System. For timetables, you can go directly to http://www.idos.cz.
From Railway Station
The Brno main railway station is called "Brno Hlavni nadrazi" (sometimes used shortcut Brno hl.n.). To reach the conference site (Hotel International, Husova 16) use tram line 12 or 13 in direction "Kralovo Pole" and exit at the third stop "Ceska". It will take 7 minutes. From the tram stop, it is about 5 minutes to the hotel (the tram stop is at the junction of Jostova and Ceska streets).
The railway station is not far from the conference hotel (15-20 minute walk) and it is very close to the student hostel (5 minute walk). To get to the student hostel Astorka (Novobranska 3), we recommend you to go on foot.
From Bus Stations
There are two big bus stations in Brno: "Grand Hotel" and "Zvonarka". The first is located near the railway station. The second is located about 500 meters from railway station (over footbridge, through shopping center Vankovka to TESCO store and then through underpass).
From Brno Airport
You can use bus line 76 to reach the railway station from the airport.
How to get to
or from the Airport Brno?. The bus stops near the railway station.
General Information
Exchange Facilities and Rates
The currency used in the Czech Republic is the Czech Crown (CZK, koruna ceska, Kc). There are exchange facilities at the train/bus stations, airport and at the border. The approximate exchange rate is 24 CZK for one US dollar and 29 CZK for 1 EURO. See actual exchange rates.
Czech Crowns are available in the following denominations: 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20. We advise you to ask for 200 or 500 crown banknotes when you exchange your money as these are easier to change. Do not change money on the street.
Time Zone and Climate
The Czech Republic is on Central European Summer Time (MET DST), two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The average temperature for August is between 20-25 degrees Celsius. The weather is normally warm and sunny. See weather forecast.
Travel Documents
The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union. Visitors from most of the European countries, USA and Canada do not need visas to enter the Czech Republic. Current information about the need for visas can be found on the offficial web page of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mzv.cz, go to Travel and Living Abroad).