Trip advices
South Moravia and the region in the neighbourhood of Pálava Hills offer many interesting places with a wide spectrum of historical and natural attractions. Besides cultural experience there also are many opportunities for leisure activities, walking and cycling tourism or for visiting picturesque wine-growing villages. The Visitors Centre Mušov – Gateway to the Roman Empire is not necessarily your only stop in this area. The following overview contains a few tips and hints where to go in the surroundings.
Directly besides the archaeological site, the water park Aqualand Moravia is situated. The complex is known for the highest number of indoor water attractions in the Czech Republic and for an extensive wellness resort inspired by Roman baths. The water in the park is drawn from a geothermal borehole of 1.5 km in depth, producing healing sulphurous water with a temperature of 46 °C.
In immediate neighbourhood of the site there is Hotel Termal Mušov, which also uses thermal water in its swimming pool for the guests, including those who are not accommodated. The hotel comprises not only rooms, apartments and recreation houses, but also conference halls. The hotel restaurant offers gastronomic experiences with dishes prepared from local seasonal ingredients..
On the road to Pasohlávky along the shore of the Nové Mlýny reservoir extends the camping site Autokemp Merkur, which besides camping also offers cultural events and entertainment, restaurants, possibilities for sport activities or bathing on grassy-sandy beaches in two lagoons.
In front of the entrance to the camp there is Circus Mušov, a large-capacity tent intended for disco and occasional cultural events.
If you cross the water reservoirs towards the southeast, you will arrive in Pavlov, where you can visit a new modern on-site exhibition Archeopark Pavlov. You can walk by the uncovered part of a mammoth bone dump, which was left in its original place on site after the end of archaeological excavations. The exhibition, which is set in modern architecture, presents to visitors the settlement in our region 25–30 millennia ago, the interesting and rich material culture of hunters-gatherers, including numerous examples of sophisticated art, rituals and burial customs.
Then you can walk through the Pavlov Hills, which show off beautiful and variegated nature and an unusual landscape with white limestone rocks, in the summer a blooming steppe, vineyards and thermophilous oak woods. Except nature you can admire the castle ruins Děvičky or Sirotčí hrádek.
If you do not get lost in any of the local wine cellars, you will come to the beautiful historical town of Mikulov, which will offer to you many possibilities in the field of culture, entertainment or gastronomy. For example, you can visit its dominant feature, the Baroque chateau with numbers of interesting exhibitions, among others also an archaeological exhibition “The Romans and Germans in the landscape under the Pálava Hills”.
From the Dietrichstein residence you will easily reach the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, former domain of the Liechtenstein family, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
