Wurzburg: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
For centuries Würzburg was ruled by bishops who were also princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and they spent their wealth on stone. This walk links their two homes, the medieval fortress on the hill and the baroque palace in town, through the cathedral and over the bridge between them. About three hours with the Residence tour; the climb to the fortress is the only hard part. On 16 March 1945 a bombing raid burned most of the old town in minutes, so much of what you see was rebuilt after the war.
A short history of Wurzburg
In 742 Boniface founded a diocese at Würzburg, on the River Main, and for more than 1,000 years it was ruled by prince-bishops, at first from the Marienberg Fortress on the hill. In 1720 work began on their palace in the city centre, the Residenz, designed by Balthasar Neumann, and in 1752–1753 Tiepolo painted the ceiling over the staircase, one of the largest paintings of its kind in the world. In 1981 the palace was declared a World Heritage Site. On 8 November 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays at the city's university. The bombing of 16 March 1945 destroyed most of the city, and it was rebuilt in the years after the war.
The ten best sights in Wurzburg
1Würzburg ResidenceBook the guided tour; the staircase fresco is the reason to come to Würzburg
-
2Court Garden
Free, behind the Residence; walk up onto the old bastions for the view back
-
3Marienberg Fortress
A steep 20-minute climb from the bridge, or bus 9 in summer; go for the sunset
4Old Main BridgeBuy a glass of wine at the bridge-end window and drink it on the bridge, like everyone
5St Kilian's CathedralLook for the bishops' tombstones by Riemenschneider on the pillars
6NeumünsterStep out the back into the little garden where a medieval poet is buried
7MarienkapelleOn the market square; stop and read the plaque about what stood here before
8Shalom EuropaThe Jewish community centre and museum; bring ID for the security check
9Röntgen MemorialThe lab where X-rays were found; free, weekdays only, check the hours
10KäppeleClimb the Way of the Cross from the river for the best view of the fortress
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Wurzburg →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Wurzburg:
Free walking tours in Wurzburg
The prince-bishops' city
For centuries Würzburg was ruled by bishops who were also princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and they spent their wealth on stone. This walk links their two homes, the medieval fortress on the hill and the baroque palace in town, through the cathedral and over the bridge between them. About three hours with the Residence tour; the climb to the fortress is the only hard part. On 16 March 1945 a bombing raid burned most of the old town in minutes, so much of what you see was rebuilt after the war.
- Würzburg Residence · Over the staircase hangs Tiepolo's fresco of the four continents, painted in 1752-53 on a vault that Balthasar Neumann built with no supporting pillars. Rivals said it would collapse; it survived even the 1945 fire, and Tiepolo painted Neumann into it, sitting on a cannon.
- Court Garden · The garden was laid out on the town's star-shaped bastions, so its terraces climb and fall with the old fortification walls instead of lying flat like most palace gardens.
- St Kilian's Cathedral · Part of the nave collapsed in 1946 after the bombing, and the rebuilt interior is plain white. The pillars still carry the tombs of the prince-bishops, two of them carved by Tilman Riemenschneider, who was also the town's mayor.
- Neumünster · The church stands over the grave of Kilian, the Irish missionary killed here with two companions around 689. In the small cloister garden behind it, the Lusamgärtchen, the medieval poet Walther von der Vogelweide is said to be buried.
- Old Main Bridge · The stone bridge was built between 1473 and 1543, and the twelve larger-than-life saints along its parapet were added in the 1720s and 1730s. Kilian, the city's patron, stands among them.
- Marienberg Fortress · The bishops lived up here until they moved down to the Residence in the 18th century. In 1631 the Swedish army of Gustavus Adolphus stormed the fortress, and many of the bishops' books and treasures were carried off to Sweden.
Wine on the Main
Franconia makes dry white wine, mostly Silvaner, and bottles it in the Bocksbeutel, a flat round flask you will not see elsewhere in Germany. In Würzburg the wine belongs to old charitable foundations that still run hospitals and old people's homes from their vineyards. The route starts in their cellars in town, climbs into the vines, then drives out along the river to the Main Loop. A half day by car; drink at the stops, and let someone else drive back.
- Bürgerspital · The Bürgerspital was founded in 1316 as a home for the poor and the old, and its vineyards still pay for that work today. Its wine tavern sells the estate's wine by the glass under the old arcades.
- Juliusspital · Prince-bishop Julius Echter founded this hospital in 1576, and it is still a working hospital. It is also one of the largest wine estates in Germany, with its barrels kept in a long vaulted cellar under the building.
- Würzburger Stein · The Stein is the most famous vineyard of the city, on the hill above the station. Goethe loved its wine and had it sent to him in Weimar, writing that no other wine tasted as good to him.
- Sommerhausen · The village kept its wall, towers and gates, and its old houses are now wine taverns and galleries. One of the gate towers holds the Torturmtheater, a theatre with only a few dozen seats.
- Maria im Weingarten · This pilgrimage church in the vineyards holds Riemenschneider's Madonna of the Rosary. It was stolen in 1962, and the magazine Stern paid a ransom to bring it back.
- Vogelsburg · From the terrace on the ridge you look down on the Mainschleife, the loop where the river turns almost full circle around the vineyards of Escherndorf.
Würzburg's other stories
Behind the baroque face of the city there are harder chapters and a great scientific one. Würzburg had one of the important Jewish communities of medieval Germany, it saw the discovery of X-rays in 1895, and it was almost erased in a single night in 1945. This walk visits the places that keep those memories, from the Jewish centre to the hill of the Käppele. About three hours, mostly on foot; Shalom Europa and the Röntgen memorial have limited hours, so check them first.
- Shalom Europa · In 1987, when an old building in the Pleich district was demolished, workers found about 1,500 fragments of gravestones from the medieval Jewish cemetery. Many of them are now shown at this community centre, opened in 2006.
- Marienkapelle · The market square was the Jewish quarter until the pogrom of 1349, when the community was murdered and the synagogue destroyed. The Gothic chapel was built on the site of the synagogue from 1377.
- Grafeneckart · The oldest part of the town hall, with a tower from the 13th century. Inside is a model of the city as it looked after the raid of 16 March 1945, when about 90 percent of the old town was destroyed.
- Röntgen Memorial · On the evening of 8 November 1895, in this university laboratory, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen noticed a screen glowing across the room from his tube and discovered X-rays. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics.
- Museum im Kulturspeicher · The museum fills a stone grain warehouse from 1904 in the old river harbour, and one of its collections is devoted entirely to concrete art, made of pure geometric forms and colour.
- Käppele · Balthasar Neumann, the architect of the Residence, designed this pilgrimage church in the 1740s. The path up from the river passes chapels of the Stations of the Cross, and from the terrace the fortress fills the view.
Getting to Wurzburg and getting around
- Würzburg Hauptbahnhof · ICE trains from Frankfurt in about an hour; the old town is a 15-minute walk
- Central Bus Station · Next to the train station; regional buses to the wine villages leave from here
Cheap eats in Wurzburg
Franconian food is heavy and good: bratwurst in a roll, roast pork with dumplings, and in autumn the new wine with an onion tart. The quick lunch in Würzburg is a Winzerbratwurst from the stand on the market square, then a glass of Silvaner on the bridge. Wine taverns serve simple plates at fair prices, and a full lunch rarely needs to cost more than 15 euro.
- Bratwurststand am Markt · Two bratwurst in a roll, about 4-5 €
- Alte Mainmühle · A glass of Franconian wine on the bridge, about 5-7 €
- Brückenbäck · Bakery-café by the bridge; coffee and a pastry about 4-7 €
- Bürgerspital Weinstuben · Lunch plate with a glass of the house wine, about 14-22 €
- Juliusspital Weinstube · Franconian dishes under vaults, mains about 15-24 €
- Bäckerei Gehrold · Local bakery; a pretzel and coffee about 3-5 €
- Bangkok Thai Imbiss · Quick Thai noodles near the Juliusspital, about 8-12 €
Museums in Wurzburg
- Würzburg Residence · Tiepolo fresco, Court Church and state rooms; 1.5 hours
- Shalom Europa · Jewish museum and medieval gravestones; ID needed
- Röntgen Memorial · The original X-ray lab; free, short visit
- Museum am Dom · Riemenschneider next to 20th-century art
- Museum im Kulturspeicher · Modern and concrete art on the old harbour
Nature and day trips near Wurzburg
- Court Garden · Free baroque garden on the old bastions
- Stein vineyard path · An easy hour through the vines with views over the city
- Veitshöchheim garden · Rococo garden 15 minutes downriver; free
- Main Loop · River loop and vineyards, about 30 minutes east
- Käppele hill · A green climb opposite the fortress
Things to do in Wurzburg with kids
- Marienberg Fortress · Walls, gates and a deep well; free grounds
- Nautiland · Indoor and outdoor pools with slides; the rainy-day answer
- Veitshöchheim garden · Hedge corridors and stone animals
- Old Main Bridge · Count the twelve saints and watch the boats in the lock
Where to eat in Wurzburg
- Weinhaus Zum Stachel · Wine courtyard; book a table in summer
- Backöfele · Franconian food in an old bakery, candlelit and crowded
- Juliusspital Weinstube · Estate wine and Franconian dishes
- Ratskeller · Under the town hall, a classic beer-and-roast evening
- Alte Mainmühle · Dinner on the bridge with the fortress lit up
Frequently asked questions about Wurzburg
What is there to see in Wurzburg?
The top sights in Wurzburg are Würzburg Residence, Court Garden and Marienberg Fortress. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Wurzburg?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Wurzburg without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Wurzburg?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Wurzburg, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The prince-bishops' city.
How do you get to Wurzburg and get around?
The main ways are Würzburg Hauptbahnhof and Central Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Wurzburg, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Wurzburg that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Wurzburg for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.