Three Lands Wine Tour

Znojmo is just 88 km north of Vienna with a direct train or luxury coach connection!
Znojmo nesting high over the river Dyje (Thaya) just on the border of the Podyjí NP was founded in 12th century as an importatnt military and business centre of the border regions of the Bohemian kingdom. Today it is a modern town as well and a very important wine centre! When you arrive you can visit the 12th century Rotunda of St. Catherine, the old Monastery in Louka with a exhibition of local wine. The other option is to go for a nice walk in the peaceful Podyjí NP to enjoy the nature! In the evening you will be met by a Europe bike Tours representative for a pretour meeting (in your hotel).

In the morning you take a short train transfer to Šatov. This will be actually the first visit of the Iron curtain area. Right in the village you can see an old WWII fortification nicely restored to how it was in 1938. In the area you will see a lot of remains of the Cold war time still reminding us of the ugly times… From Šatov on you bike over an old celtic route to the austrian town of Retz. Nice old town with picturesque square, nicely preserved windmill and roughly 20 km of renesaince underground catacombs used as wine storage. The rest of the day you bike peacefully between austrian cornfields, vineyards and wine cellar lanes all the way to the small spa town of Laa and der Thaya.

Today we start biking on the new „Hall Nachbar“ (Hello Neighbor) biketrail right on the CZ-AUT border. Next you change to the oldest czech greenway Prague-Vienna till you come through fields and vineyards to the town of Mikulov. This hidden gem of Moravia with huge chateau, small hills around the town with castle ruins, stations of the cross, one of the most important Jewish quarters and cemetery, beautiful renaissance square and friendly atmosphere is just the right spot for a lunch! From Mikulov you bike on the former iron curtain road with a lot of stories of the Cold war time on the border. Just stop by educational signs and try to imagine… Like change from hell to heaven is coming to the Lednice – Valtice cultural area. It is part of the former Lichtenstein family dominia. Today we can admire a lot of romantical structures placed carefully into the surroundings to enhance the beauties of the landscape. One can finish by a nice evening walk through the fantastic castle gardens in Lednice, possibly with a glass of a great local wine!

The first part of the day we can still admire the countless structures of the Lichtenstein dominia like Jan castle ruin, Břeclav castle, Pohansko chateau and the wild UNESCO protected Dyje meanders. Near Lanžhot you meet the river Morava for the first time and this river will be your companion for the next couple of days. Nowadays it is also the border line between Czech Republic and Slovakia. You then bike to the archeological site in Mikulčice. There was a huge Slavic settlement in 8th century AD which is now a candidate for the UNESCO heritage list! Next stop on the way is the border town of Hodonín, best known for renaissance chateau, a ZOO and a spa.The first place you bike through in Slovakia is Holíč with its 18th century athmosphere. Today we stay for the night in Skalica – a romantic town with an ancient rotunda, middle age city walls and a beautiful townhall built in Art nuveau. 

Today we bike along the historical border of Bohemian and Hungarian kingdoms. Tle countless fortresses and castles remind us today of the unsecure past of this area. Back in the Czech republic you bike through Plže, probably the most beautiful part with wine cellars in Moravia! The rest of the way to Kroměříž you stay on a nice new bike path. On the wayone you can admire an open air museum and chateau in Strážnice, and a chateau in Uherský Ostroh. But before you bike to Kroměříž, we stay in a different beautiful town. It is called Uherské Hradiště and it is again circled by walls and has a long history dating back to the Great Moravian times! 

Todays is with just 38km the shortest one, but there is so much to see and do and you can always make take detour! It just gives you the time to enjoy all the museums, chateaux, gardens and simply to sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy it! So should you like to take a detour, it will lead you to Velehrad – a monastery strongly connected with old Christians and a very important Czech pilgrimage spot! Otherwise, you will bike along the Baťa-Kanal – an old navigating canal built in the 1930´s and yes – Baťa is originaly a local company! Today you can choose whether to bike or take a boat on the canal! On the way you meet a baroque chateau in Napajedla and an airplane museum in Otrokovice and again a chateau in Kvasice. Nevertheless, the biggest gem awaits us by the end of the cycling part. The little town of Kroměříž is best known for its fantastic gardens and the archbiscopal chateau which both are on the UNESCO heritage list. Alltogether you can call it a perfect, complex and fantastically kept peace of European baroque. For a short period in 1848 it all served as the emperial capital when all the Habsburgs and other country delegates were here for the big congress.

The last biking day of our tour connects two of the czech UNESCO pearls  - Kroměříž and Olomouc. After you will have finished wandering around Kroměříž, you can start biking north along the Morava river. On the way you can admire the pilgrim church in Dub, the renaissance chateau in Chropyně. First you bike through the fields and then again along the Morava river into a deep forest and then to Olomouc. Of course, should you like to save time for both towns, you can always take a train instead of biking. When in Olomouc you will be amazed how much this town has to offer. It used to bet he capital of Moravia up until 19th century, so it is really full of interesting sights and places. Just to tease you – the Marian column on the main square, the archbiscopal palace, and basically the whole town centre. Same as in Prague – should you like to have a unique city bike tour through Olomouc (sometimes called Small Prague) – do ask us! It can take you as far as to Svatý Kopeček – an important pilgrimage spot outside the city with fantastic views of the whole town and the surrounding area!

The misson is accomplished! The rest of the time before you leave by car, train or with another tour is just for you to explore this beautiful town!