Brno Underground: Labyrinth Tickets, Hours and Discounts

What the Brno underground is and why the cellars are there

Zelný trh is one of Brno's oldest squares, mentioned in the early 13th century as the Upper Market, and it stayed a busy food market where stalls sold fresh produce. The cellars under the individual houses served their owners but also the market traders, and they doubled as shelter in wartime. Because each house dug its own cellar, the space below the square is a patchwork of separate rooms that only later research connected into a single labyrinth.

The Labyrinth opened to the public in 2011 after a major reconstruction in 2009, which is why the route feels built for visitors rather than scrambled through. That matters for planning: you are not crawling; you walk a laid-out circuit with real archaeological finds on display alongside reconstructions. The underground today is a cluster of attractions across the old center rather than a continuous tunnel, so you choose two or three and walk between them on the surface, which is where a Brno old town wander fits naturally.

A separate attraction in the same family is the Ossuary beneath St. James Cathedral. A 2016 first-hand account describes it as a compact space that took about a decade to design, build and preserve after its discovery, with specially composed music playing inside. Treat the Ossuary as its own stop in the old center rather than part of the Labyrinth route.

Labyrint pod Zelným trhem: corridors eight meters under the market

The Labyrinth is a system of historic cellars and passages just under a kilometer long, hidden up to eight meters below the surface of Zelný trh. The entry is at Zelný trh 21, so you start and finish on the square itself, which makes it easy to slot into a morning of sightseeing.

The tour is commented, and on the way through you get practical explanations of how food was kept cool before refrigeration and how the cellars were lit. The route runs through real medieval spaces with a few staged rooms, not a museum gallery, and the operator notes the cellars lie up to eight meters below the surface.

What the Labyrinth tour shows and how long to allow

Along the corridors you pass a replica alchemist's laboratory, a reconstruction of a medieval tavern and a torture chamber, set beside genuine archaeological finds. The interpretation leans on the practical side of cellar life: how meat, vegetables and wine were stored, and how the cellars were lit. Reading the panels adds to the visit, which is worth slotting between two surface sights.

Labyrinth opening hours, last entry and English tours

The Labyrinth opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00, with the last entry at 17:30, so the sensible target is to be at the ticket desk before then. English-language tours run on a fixed weekend schedule: Saturday at 13:00 and 15:00 and Sunday at 11:00. The operator publishes no weekday English slots, so a midweek visit should not be assumed to include English commentary.

The weekend-only English schedule is the single biggest planning trade-off on this page. If your Brno time falls midweek and the language matters to you, shift the underground stop to a Saturday or Sunday to catch a published English tour; there is no guaranteed English option on other days.

Labyrinth ticket prices in CZK and who pays less

Full admission is 200 Kč. The reduced rate is 100 Kč for students up to 26, seniors from 65, holders of ZTP or ZTP/P disability cards and children up to 15. A family ticket for two adults and two children up to 15 costs 450 Kč, each extra child adds 70 Kč, and children under 6 go free.

Two discounts are worth knowing at the cash desk. A BRNOPAS card takes 30 percent off, and a senior or family pass, a season ticket or a single IDS JMK transit ticket is good for 10 percent off when you buy at the ticket desk. Bring the card or ticket with you, since these are applied in person.

Combining two, three or four Brno underground sites

The real saving comes from stacking sites within two days. Two Brno underground attractions get 10 percent off, three get 15 percent and four get 20 percent, always arranged at the ticket desk rather than in advance. With four sites the full-price total is 700 Kč and the reduced total is 410 Kč, and the family total is 1,610 Kč.

The four sites in the scheme are the Water Reservoirs, the Labyrinth, the Ossuary and the Cellar, so pairing the Labyrinth with the Ossuary is the obvious first step. Adding a third means another stop on your old-town walk, and adding a fourth commits a chunk of a second day. Do the arithmetic before you buy: if you also hold a BRNOPAS card, ask at the desk which discount applies to your combination rather than assuming they stack.

Summer visitors get a bonus that has nothing to do with history: the underground stays cool, and the city promotes these sites as a way to escape July heat, with the reservoirs, the ossuary and the anti-nuclear shelter part of that offering alongside the Labyrinth.

The Ossuary beneath St. James Cathedral

The Ossuary sits under St. James Cathedral, a short walk from Zelný trh. A 2016 first-hand account describes it as a small space rather than a long route that took about ten years to design, build and preserve after its discovery, with music composed for the space.

Above ground, that same writer singles out the cathedral for the light coming through its windows more than its architecture. Pair the two: the ossuary below, the nave above, then back out onto the street.

If you are already mapping the old town's churches and squares, the underground fits a wider loop past the Astronomical clock and the market streets.

How the sites fit into an old-town walk

Treat the underground as one stop on a surface walk rather than a day in itself. The Labyrinth entrance is on Zelný trh and the Ossuary is under St. James a short walk away, so plan your Brno itinerary around the square and check the other underground sites individually rather than assuming a single connected route.

A guided Brno walking tour can fold the underground into a broader route past the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul and the squares, which suits travelers who want context before they go down.

Beyond the cellars, the museums in Brno make a natural wet-weather backup, with collections that fill the rest of an afternoon if the weather turns.

Above ground, the Špilberk Castle hill and the city's building history give the underground its context: the same engineering that dug cellars also built fortifications.

After the cellars, the market square is a good place for coffee and a look at the produce stalls, one of the oldest market sites in the city.

Costs, crowds and the honest trade-offs

The Labyrinth is a commented tour, so you move at the guide's pace rather than wandering freely; be at the desk before the 17:30 cutoff. The underground is also genuinely cool, which makes it a sensible stop on a hot day.

The language question is the other trade-off: the operator publishes English tours only at the weekend times above. If you cannot move your day, go anyway for the spaces and read up beforehand rather than skipping the site.

If you are extending the trip with food and drink, the best restaurants in Brno and the city's brewing tradition are the obvious next stops in the old center.

Which underground ticket should you buy?

Buy the Labyrinth ticket first, because it is the biggest and most substantial site, and add the Ossuary as a separate stop if it is open when you visit. If you are staying two days, price out three or four sites at the desk to see whether the 15 or 20 percent tier beats the BRNOPAS discount. Aim for a Saturday or Sunday if you want a published English tour, and be at the desk before 17:30.

One last check before you go: confirm the day's opening, the English tour times and current prices with TIC Brno, since schedules can change. Everything else, from where to enter on Zelný trh to which discounts apply, you can settle from the layout above.