Brno punches far above its size: with Masaryk University and Brno University of Technology, students make up a huge share of the population, so the whole city runs on a young, friendly rhythm. It is cheaper and far less touristy than Prague, sits in the middle of South Moravia's wine country, and puts Vienna, Bratislava and the Moravian Karst within easy reach.

• Around 65,000 students study here, so term-time energy and student discounts are everywhere
• Notably cheaper rents and pints than Prague
• Vienna and Bratislava are each about 1.5 hours by train

Nightlife is compact and cheap, centred on the bars around Zelny trh and Dominikanske namesti and student clubs like Fleda and Kabinet MUZ. As South Moravia is wine country, the vinne sklepy (wine cellars) and autumn burcak (young wine) matter as much as the pubs. ESN Brno and the university clubs run a packed programme of trips and parties.

• Catch live music at Fleda or drink at the Vycep Na stojaka standing bar
• Sign up with ESN MU or ESN VUT for trips, buddy schemes and welcome week
• Try burcak at the autumn wine festivals if you arrive for the winter term

Brno is genuinely affordable, so plan on roughly 550 to 800 euros a month including a dorm or shared flat. Halls run cheap, the student canteens (menza) serve full lunches for a couple of euros, and a half-litre of Starobrno or Pilsner is often under two euros. Your biggest variable is rent, which still undercuts Prague comfortably.

• A menza (student canteen) lunch costs around 80 to 120 Kc (3 to 5 euros)
• Half a litre of beer runs 35 to 55 Kc (1.50 to 2.20 euros) in most pubs
• A quarterly student salinkarta transport pass is about 685 Kc (around 28 euros)

University halls are the cheapest route, from Masaryk's Kampus Bohunice and Vinarska to VUT's Pod Palackeho vrchem and Kolejni dorms. Private shared flats cluster in Veveri, Zabovresky and Kralovo Pole near the faculties. Demand spikes in September, so line something up before you land.

• Apply through your faculty for a MUNI or VUT dorm room as early as possible
• Search private rooms via the Byty Brno Facebook groups and the Sreality app
• Ask the Studcasa Brno group which dorms are closest to your faculty before choosing

Locals call the tram the salina, and DPMB's trams, trolleybuses and buses cover everything, with night lines from the central Hlavni nadrazi. The centre is walkable and the whole network sits inside the IDS JMK zone system. Buy a long-term pass and load it rather than paying per trip.

• Get a quarterly or semester salinkarta for trams, trolleybuses and buses in zones 100 and 101
• Night trams and buses run from the main station (Hlavni nadrazi) after midnight
• Use the Poseidon or IDS JMK app to buy tickets and check connections

Masaryk University (MUNI) is the country's second-largest and strong in law, medicine, social sciences and IT, while Brno University of Technology (VUT) leads on engineering and architecture. Mendel University covers agriculture and business, and JAMU handles the performing arts. All run wide English-taught Erasmus catalogues and dedicated international offices.

• MUNI's Faculty of Informatics and its economics faculty run large English-taught programmes
• Register for courses through the IS MUNI system, which is famously well organised

It depends entirely on your passport. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa at all; if you are staying a while you simply register your address with the Foreign Police within 30 days of arriving, and your university or landlord usually walks you through it. No permit, no drama.

Everyone else on an exchange longer than 90 days needs a long-term study visa, applied for at a Czech embassy before you travel. Expect to show your acceptance letter, proof of accommodation, proof of funds (around 3,000 euros in the bank), travel health insurance, and to give biometrics. Processing can run up to 60 days, so start the paperwork the moment you are accepted.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa; register with the Foreign Police within 30 days
• Non-EU, over 90 days, long-term study visa from a Czech embassy
• Bring, acceptance letter, accommodation proof, funds, health insurance
• Timeline, apply early; processing can take up to 60 days

Moravian food is hearty, from svickova (beef in cream sauce) and gulas to roast pork with dumplings, and, unusually for the Czech Republic, this is wine country as much as beer country. Zelny trh, the old Cabbage Market, still sells produce in the shadow of the Parnas fountain. Save room for kolace pastries.

• Shop and snack at Zelny trh (the Cabbage Market) in the centre
• Pair svickova with a Moravian white from a local vinoteka
• Grab kolace or chlebicky (open sandwiches) from a bakery for cheap lunches

The centre (Brno-stred) wraps around Spilberk castle and the cathedral, while Veveri is the classic student quarter next to the universities. Kralovo Pole and Zabovresky are leafier residential areas with good tram links, and Bohunice holds the medical campus and big dorm blocks. Lisen and Vinohrady sit further out and cheaper.

• Veveri: prime student territory, walkable to most faculties and the centre
• Kralovo Pole: quieter flats with fast tram and train links
• Bohunice: modern campus, halls and the university hospital

Brno's position is unbeatable for weekends. Vienna and Bratislava are each about 90 minutes by train, Prague around two and a half hours, and pretty Olomouc under an hour. Closer still, the Moravian Karst caves and the Macocha abyss are a 40-minute ride, and the Lednice-Valtice chateaux sit in the wine country to the south.

• Vienna or Bratislava: about 1.5 hours by direct RegioJet or CD train
• Moravian Karst (Punkva caves, Macocha): about 40 minutes north
• A wine-country weekend around Mikulov and Lednice-Valtice, roughly 1 hour south

Learn that salina means tram and you will fit in fast. Validate or pre-buy transport tickets, carry a bit of cash for pubs and markets, and remember that many places charge for tap water, so order the local beer, which is cheaper. Sunday trading is limited, so do your big shop on Saturday.

• Buy transport tickets before boarding via the app or a Trafika kiosk
• Keep some koruna cash, as plenty of pubs are card-shy
• Ask the Studcasa Brno group about the best-value vinny sklep trips each autumn