Student accommodation: best quarters for renting an apartment and other advices

If you rent a flat near Obilní trh sq., then you may study in this beautiful park.

If you are coming to Brno for the Erasmus or any other study programme, chosing the right quarter may improve your “Brno experience” a lot. I recommend these parts of the town:

• Veveří is the true student quarter of Brno, with many university buildings (mostly of the Masaryk university), cafés and well known pubs. This is the place where hipsters ride their fixed-gear bicycles to get to the lectures on time.
  The rents are slightly above average – but it is still affordable to rent a 2-bedroom flat (CZK 12,000 or €500, including heating, gas & electricity), or even bigger apartment and share it with several other people.
• Královo pole may be a good quarter for these who study University of Technology or University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences – both have most of their buildings located right in this area. Královo pole is a neat quarter with cafés, clubs and pubs too.
• Cejl has been a poor, underdeveloped quarter of Brno for the whole last century. It is still dirtier than the rest of the town and pickpocketing is more common there (according to a police spokeswoman I interviewed last year). However, you can reach the town centre (and most university buildings) by foot within 10 or 15 minutes. There are many bars, and what is most important – the rents are approx. 15-25 per cent lower compared to the rest of the town.

Also, you may appreciate some more tips:

• If you want to commute by bike, avoid suburbs located on hills – Brno is actually a quite hilly town.
• Suburbs also usually suffer from poor social and night life. You’ll be lucky to find a good club or pub.
• On the other side, these quarters are usually located next to nice, large and safe forrests, great for hiking, running, cross biking etc. Rents may also be lower (but not significantly).
• Many students have to travel around the town on some days to get to different labs, libraries, etc. Don’t feel shy to contact your Erasmus guide or friends to figure out in which part of the town you are going to spend most of your time, to find the right place for renting a flat.
• But finally, don’t overthink it. Brno is quite small. The public transportation is great – even after midnight! The town offers a good level of safety everywhere. And it is not hard to find a new apartment quickly.

Enjoy your stay!

Tagged as: Brno University of Technology, Cejl, Erasmus programme, Královo Pole, Masaryk university, Veveří