Our tour is largely based in Brno, the main city of the Czech region of Moravia, rich with Gothic and Baroque architecture. The extensive aristocracy dominated life throughout the Hapsburg Empire, owning vast country estates each with its own impressive castle. By comparison, the life of the Hapsburg emperors and empresses seemed almost modest as these great families outdid each other in the manifestation of their wealth and social importance. Many of these families’ estates were in today's Czech Republic with an enormous concentration of important houses and gardens in southern Moravia. One day will be devoted to the life and works of Moravia's most famous son, the composer Leoš Janácek. The tour will end in Český Krumlov, a beautiful small town on the River Vltava.