Nuremberg, Germany

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

GermanyBavaria

Overview

Nuremberg is a walled medieval city under a hilltop castle, home to Germany's best-known Christmas market and to a Franconian food and beer culture distinct from Bavaria's south.

Castle & Medieval Walls

The imperial castle on its rock, an almost complete wall circuit, and the half-timbered Tiergärtnertorplatz.

Museums

The largest museum of German cultural history, a toy museum built on a real local industry, and Dürer's house.

Franconian Food & Beer

Finger-sized bratwurst by the dozen, Schäufele in winter, gingerbread year-round and darker Franconian beer.

Christkindlesmarkt

Germany's best-known Christmas market through Advent — spectacular, extremely crowded, and priced accordingly.

Culture

Franconian cooking is its own tradition and locals distinguish it firmly from Bavarian. The Nürnberger Rostbratwurst is finger-sized and origin-protected, eaten three to a bread roll at street windows or by the six and twelve on pewter plates in the old taverns. Schäufele, roast pork shoulder with a crackling crust, is the winter plate. Lebkuchen gingerbread is a year-round craft here rather than a seasonal novelty, and is far better from the traditional bakers than from decorative tins. The beer runs darker and maltier than in southern Bavaria. Festivals: Christkindlesmarkt, through Advent, Bardentreffen open-air music festival, in summer, Blue Night, the city's museum night, in spring, Franconian beer festivals in early summer. Museums: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg Toy Museum, Albrecht Dürer's House, Documentation Centre, former rally grounds, Memorium Nuremberg Trials.

Practical Info

Safety: Nuremberg is a comfortable, low-crime city and ordinary care is enough — the usual attention to bags around the main station and in Christmas-market crowds, which are dense enough for pickpocketing to be the one realistic risk. The old town's cobbles and the climb to the castle are uneven underfoot and slippery when wet, which matters more than it sounds in December. Mulled wine at an outdoor market in freezing weather affects people faster than they expect; dress for standing still rather than for walking. Language: German, with a strong Franconian accent; English is widely spoken in hotels, museums and the centre, less so in traditional taverns and the outer districts. Currency: The euro. Cards are increasingly accepted but Germany remains more cash-oriented than its neighbours — carry notes for market stalls, small taverns and the Christmas market, where many stands are cash-only.
Travel Overview

Nuremberg is Franconia's principal city and reads quite differently from Munich two hours south — smaller, older in its bones, and with a beer and food culture of its own that Franconians are quick to distinguish from Bavarian. The old town sits inside a largely intact ring of medieval walls with the imperial castle on the rock above it, and although much of what stands was rebuilt after the war, it was rebuilt to the medieval street plan, so the effect at ground level is coherent rather than pastiche. The essentials cluster tightly: the castle and its views over the roofs, the market square with its ornate fountain and the Frauenkirche's mechanical clock, the half-timbered houses along the Pegnitz, and the artist Dürer's house on the slope below the castle. Nuremberg also holds two museums of real weight — the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, the largest museum of German cultural history anywhere, and a toy museum that reflects centuries of the city's trade in tin, dolls and model railways. Then there is the food: the finger-sized Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, sold three in a roll from stands and by the dozen on pewter in the old taverns, Lebkuchen gingerbread with its own protected tradition, and dark Franconian beer. In December the Christkindlesmarkt fills the main square and the city is at its busiest and most atmospheric. Spring and early autumn are the calmer seasons, and the city is compact enough to see in two days.

Discover Nuremberg

The Kaiserburg stands on a sandstone outcrop at the top of the old town, and the walk up through the lanes is half the pleasure — the Tiergärtnertorplatz below it is one of the most photographed corners in Germany, ringed by half-timbering. The castle itself has a deep well and a round tower to climb, and the terrace gives the view over the tiled roofs. Below, the medieval wall survives almost all the way round with its towers and gates, and following it is the simplest way to grasp the shape of the city.

Frequently asked questions

Very much so, and arguably it is the better trip. The old town, the castle and the wall circuit are the same in May as in December, but without the crowds that make the December centre difficult to walk and double the hotel prices. The two major museums — national cultural history and the toy collection — are year-round, as are the twentieth-century sites, and Franconian food and beer do not depend on the season. If the market itself is the reason for the trip, that is a fair reason; if it is not, avoid December.

Two days covers the old town, the castle, the wall and one major museum at a comfortable pace, which is enough for most visitors. Add a third day if you intend to visit both twentieth-century sites, since each takes a serious half-day and they sit on opposite sides of the city. Nuremberg also works well as a base for Franconia — Bamberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber are both easy day trips by train — so a longer stay is not wasted if you want a regional trip rather than a city break.

Usually, but not always, and it is worth checking before you travel. The courtroom is part of a working courthouse in the west of the city and is closed to visitors when sittings are scheduled; the attached permanent exhibition remains open regardless. The Documentation Centre at the former rally grounds is a separate site on the other side of the city, reached by tram, with its own exhibition and grounds you can walk. Both are serious, thoroughly presented and take about half a day each, so plan them on separate parts of a day rather than back to back.

Diplomatic missions in Nuremberg

2 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.