Travel: A Day in Nuremberg - The Travel Guide

When I was at university studying for my undergraduate degree, all those years ago, I was lucky enough to have a year abroad in Strasbourg, France. Whilst I was there, I made friends with people from all over the world which obviously means ample opportunity for travel. One of the people I was closest to out there is my good friend Antonia, a German girl who lives in the heart of Bavaria, just outside the beautiful city of Nuremberg. I’ve been saying that I would go to Nuremberg and visit Antonia since I left France, and this month I finally did it and was able to reunite with my friend and also visit the most incredible German city.

I love a good bargain when travel is concerned so finding flights to Nuremberg from Manchester for just less than £40 return was pretty darn good as far as I’m concerned. I also had the added luxury of staying in Antonia and her boyfriend Benni’s beautiful apartment in Erlangan, a cute little town just ten minutes away from Nuremberg itself. Cheap trip, great people and a new city to explore? Yes, please.

Of all the cities I’ve visited this year (and there have been quite a few, albeit mostly French), I think that I’m going to take the plunge and say that Nuremberg has definitely been one of the best, if not THE best that I had the privilege of visiting. The entire city reminded me of Strasbourg, and had such a colourful and warming medieval vibe about it that I haven’t really personally witnessed outside of Alsace. Part of the appeal in going to Nuremberg, other than the much needed catchup with Antonia, was because of its amazing historical background, with the city famous for being the base for Hitler’s Nazi rallies before and during the Second World War. It was also where the famous Nuremberg trial (duh) took place. The places reeks of history and I was so excited to explore and unravel some of it. Day two of my trip to Germany took us straight into the midst of it all and I am so excited to share some of the amazing places we got to see.

Our first stop was a trip to see the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelaende (yes, they are real words!!!), which is a museum built on the grounds where the famous rallies took place. This was the one thing that I wanted to see the most when I was in Nuremberg, because of my fascination with the World Wars, and I am happy to say that the experience did not disappoint. With entry priced at just 3  with a student ID card (which, fortunately, I keep in my purse just in case, despite no longer actually being a student), it’s excellent value for money and well worth seeing. The museum is poignant and explains the relevance of Nuremberg during the war.  There’s a lot of information available to you, but with an audio-guide in hand you can pick and choose which exhibits you listen to and how much you expose yourself to. It’s quite heavy and really makes you think, but makes for a beautiful and informative experience. You also had the opportunity to look at the place where the rallies took place. It’s crazy to think that just decades ago, Adolf Hitler was stood in the same place giving his speeches to the masses. We were quite glad to do this at the start of the day, as we did leave feeling pretty down in the dumps, but I would definitely go back given the opportunity. We went early-doors, at around 10am, and it wasn’t too busy but I’ve heard that it gets quite packed in the afternoons so consider that when deciding when to take your trip there!

Having filled our historical quota for the day before lunch-time had even arrived, we drove back into the city and parked up ready to explore. Walking around the beautiful medieval city was fantastic and I can’t put into words just how beautiful the place is. The photos really do not do it justice. We ate lunch on the riverside in a beautiful Mexican restaurant and planned the afternoon ahead of us. We wandered around the city for around an hour before visiting Nuremberg castle, Kaiserburg Nürnberg, and took in the cityscape from the top. Again, the castle reminded me of being in Alsace and in Haut-Koenigsbourg so it was nice to see another, similar castle and have those lovely reminiscent feelings. Selfies taken, city scape viewed. Just look at that view.

Antonia had a sneaky look on her face when we were at the top of the castle and she revealed that she had a little plan in her head. She took me wandering through the winding Bavarian streets and finally, we arrived at Weissgerbergasse which is the prettiest street that I’ve seen in a long time! We grabbed ice-cream and wandered around, taking lots of photos and enjoying the views. 



We wandered back to the centre and came across the Altstadt, where there’s a beautiful church. One of my favourite attractions wasn’t actually an attraction at all. It was a gorgeous metal map of the city, perfectly adapted so that blind people can use it to help them with directions. It was a really beautiful touch and it was lovely to see a scaled model of the city. We finished up the day with a little window shopping, wandering back through the Old Town again.

I think I have well and truly fallen in love with this city and I can’t wait to return next year.