Activities in Znojmo and surroundings

Martin Kreil, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Thayatal National Park

≈ 22 km — via Hardegg

The Austrian half of the same canyon, declared a national park in 2000 — together with Podyjí it forms a single protected valley across the border. Trails run along the rim and down to the river, and the valley is one of the few places where the wildcat still lives.

Hardegg

≈ 22 km — ≈ 35 min by car

Austria's smallest town — a few dozen houses beneath a castle set on a rock above a bend of the Thaya, right on the border. From the castle walkways you look into both national parks at once. A footbridge crosses back to the Czech side, so you can arrive on foot and leave by bike.

The castle is usually open roughly from April to November; the town itself and the footbridge are accessible year-round.

Cornštejn ruin

≈ 28 km — ≈ 40 min by car

A sprawling ruin on a rocky ridge a short way from Bítov — walls, gates and towers you are free to wander through. Precisely because nothing has been polished back into shape, Cornštejn feels more convincing than many a restored castle. The view from the highest point is among the best in the Dyje valley.

The ruin is usually open to visitors in the summer season.