Getty Images/Gallo Images

Bamberg

A disarmingly beautiful architectural masterpiece with an almost complete absence of modern eyesores, Bamberg's entire Altstadt is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Bavaria's unmissables. Generally regarded as one of Germany's most attractive settlements, the town is bisected by rivers and canals and was built by archbishops on seven hills, earning it the inevitable sobriquet of ‘Franconian Rome’. Students inject some liveliness into its streets, pavement cafes, pubs and no fewer than 10 breweries cooking up Bamberg's famous smoked beer, but it's usually wide-eyed tourists who can be seen filing through its narrow medieval streets. The town can be tackled as a day trip from Nuremberg, but, to really do it justice and to experience the romantically lit streets once most visitors have left, consider an overnight stay.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Bamberg.

  • Cathedral

    Bamberger Dom

    Beneath the quartet of spires, Bamberg’s cathedral is packed with artistic treasures, most famously the slender equestrian statue of the Bamberger Reiter (Bamberg Horseman), whose true identity remains a mystery. It overlooks the tomb of cathedral founders, Emperor Heinrich II and his wife Kunigunde, splendidly carved by Tilmann Riemenschneider. The marble tomb of Clemens II in the west choir is the only papal burial site north of the Alps. Nearby, the Virgin Mary altar by Veit Stoss also warrants closer inspection.

  • Area

    Klein Venedig

    A row of diminutive, half-timbered cottages once inhabited by fishermen and their families (hence the street's name meaning 'fishery') comprises Bamberg’s Klein Venedig (Little Venice), which hems the Regnitz’s east bank between Markusbrücke and Untere Brücke. The little homes balance on poles set right into the water and are fronted by tiny gardens and terraces (wholly unlike Venice, but who cares), the river flowing sluggishly past just centimetres below ground level.

  • Monastery

    Kloster St Michael

    Above Domplatz, at the top of Michaelsberg, is the Benedictine Kloster St Michael, a former monastery and now an aged people’s home. The monastery church is essential Bamberg viewing, both for its baroque art and the meticulous depictions of nearly 600 medicinal plants and flowers on the vaulted ceiling. The manicured garden terraces behind the church – former monastical vineyards – provide splendid city panoramas.

  • Museum

    Historisches Museum

    Bamberg's main museum fills the Alte Hofhaltung (old court hall), a former prince-bishops' palace near the cathedral, with a mixed bag of exhibits. These include a model of the pilgrimage church Vierzehnheiligen and the Bamberger Götzen, ancient stone sculptures found in the region. Often of greater interest are the expertly curated special exhibitions, which examine aspects of the region's past in more detail.

  • Historic Building

    Altes Rathaus

    Like a ship in dry dock, Bamberg's 1462 Old Town Hall was built on an artifical island in the Regnitz River, allegedly because the local bishop had refused to give the town's citizens any land for its construction. Inside you'll find the Sammlung Ludwig, a collection of precious porcelain, but even more enchanting are the richly detailed frescos adorning its facades – note the cherub's leg cheekily protruding from the eastern facade.

  • Palace

    Neue Residenz

    This splendid episcopal palace gives you an eyeful of the lavish lifestyle of Bamberg’s prince-bishops who, between 1703 and 1802, occupied its 40-odd rooms that can only be seen on guided 45-minute tours (in German). Tickets are also good for the Bavarian State Gallery, with works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and other Old Masters. The baroque Rose Garden delivers fabulous views over the town.

  • Museum

    Fränkisches Brauereimuseum

    Located in the Kloster St Michael, this comprehensive brewery museum exhibits over 1000 period mashing, boiling and bottling implements, as well as everything to do with local suds, such as beer mats, tankards, enamel beer signs and lots of photos and documentation. If the displays have left you dry mouthed, quench your thirst in the small pub.