Nuremberg Walking Tour

By Vicky · Published Jul. 25th, 2022 · Updated Dec. 18th, 2023

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A Walking Tour of Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is the best way to explore this delightful historical city in Bavaria. Discover half-timbered houses, many museums, the famous Nuremberg Trials and the home of Albrecht Dürer. This is a free self-guided walking tour, but if you prefer, check out this great guided tour of Nuremberg*.

Location

This walk starts from Nuremberg train station. It’s 1hr20-1hr50 minutes on the train from Augsburg and 1hr-2hrs from Munich. It’s slightly longer if you decide to drive.

Nuremberg Self-Guided Walking Tour Map

Get the route by downloading the .gpx or .kml file below. For navigation with Maps.me on your mobile phone, simply download the .kml file and open to add it to the Maps.me bookmarks.

Top Sights in Nuremberg

On this self-guided walking tour you’ll see the main sites and attractions of Nuremberg. One to two days is the perfect amount of time to spend in Nuremberg.

This walking tour of Nuremberg is self-guided and free. If you prefer to be accompanied, book a guided walking tour of Nuremberg*.

Nuremberg Walking Tour Route

This walking tour starts from Nuremberg train station. Then enter through a gate in the grand city walls, a 5 km defensive wall surrounding Nuremberg Old Town.

Directions: From the train station, cross over the large road towards the impressive city walls and walk through the gate.

The walls are a 5 km defensive structure from the 12th century which surrounds Nuremberg Old Town. Once through the city gate, you’ll be in the Handwerkerhof (Tripadvisor Reviews*). This is a replica of an old craft quarter, a bit of a tourist trap, but also rather cute. It’s at the foot of the Frauentorturm, the old tower at the corner of the city walls. You’ll find lots of little shops and Bavarian restaurants selling bratwurst and other German specialties.

Directions: Head out of the Handwekerhof in the opposite corner, by the tower, and head left along Königstraße, a wide pedestrianised street. This street will eventually lead you all the way to the Hauptmartk & Frauenkirche via some interesting buildings.

As you walk up the street, note the Former Customs House (Mauthalle), a large warehouse building from the Middle Ages.

Soon you’ll reach the square of St Lorenz Church. This square also contains many stalls selling food and drinks, from hotdogs to crepes and more.

1. St Lorenz Church

St Lorenz Church (Lorenzkirche) (Tripadvisor Reviews*) is an atmospheric Medieval church with soaring stone pillars and beautiful stained glass windows. It suffered significant damage during bombing in the Second World War but was fully restored. It’s free to visit, with a voluntary donation. Open 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1pm-3:30pm Sun.

After visiting the church, continue across Museum Bridge. Look to your right from the bridge and you’ll see the see Heilig-Geist-Spital. This is a former hospital, built partially over the river and dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Elderly people also found refuge in the Heilig-Geist-Spital, which was started in 1339. Today it contains a historic restaurant (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*).

2. Hauptmarkt & Frauenkirche

On the other side of the river you’ll soon reach the Hauptmarkt (Tripadvisor Reviews*). This is the busy main square in Nuremberg Old Town. There’s a market here every day and the famous Christkindlesmarkt is here from November until Christmas Eve.

On one side of the square is the Frauenkirche (Tripadvisor Reviews*), a Gothic church dating to 1352-1362. It’s built on the site of a former Jewish synagogue which was destroyed during a program in 1349, after townspeople blamed the Jews for an outbreak of the Black Death.

At noon every day, the Männleinlaufen glockenspiel (a mechanical clock) puts on a display. Mechanised figures come out from just below the church clock, with princes dancing around the Holy Roman Emporer.

In the middle of the square is the Gothic Schoner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain), a replica of a fountain from the 14th century. There is no water in it today, but it’s still very brightly coloured.

Directions: Continue uphill along the street that leaves the Hauptmarkt near the Schoner Brunnen.

3. Altes Rathaus & Medieval Dungeons

Directions: Opposite the Altes Rathaus is St Sebaldus Church. Head around the church to the entrance on the other side.

4. St Sebaldus Church

St Sebaldus Church (Tripadvisor Reviews*) is the oldest church in Nuremberg. It was built in the 13th century from pink sandstone. It’s free to enter and open 9:30-6pm every day. It has some beautiful stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings and tall stone pillars inside. It’s named after St Sebaldus, a hermit from the 8th century, now the patron saint of Nuremberg.

Directions: Head to the opposite side of the square by the church, and then left up a narrow street. At the T-junction turn right. There are several lovely old half-timbered houses along this street. At the main street, you’ll find the Stadtmuseum Fembohaus on the corner.

5. Stadtmuseum Fembohaus

Key Information: Open Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm (until 6pm weekends), closed Mondays. Tickets €6/1.50 for adults/concessions. Included in Nuremberg Municipal Museums Day Pass (€9).

The Stadtmuseum Fembohaus (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*) occupies a former merchant’s house from the late 16th century. The highlight of the museum is the building that it’s in. The exhibits themselves are almost all in German and there didn’t seem to be a coherent story, only ad hoc displays of items. The best bit was finding a virtual reality headset showing a synagogue. If you have the Museums Day Pass, it’s worth walking around briefly to see the building.

Directions: Walk left up the street towards the castle. Continue slightly right and upwards before heading left to enter inside the castle walls.

6. Kaiserburg

Key Information: Open 9-18 (Apr-Sep), 10-16 (Oct-Mar). Tickets are €5.50/4.50 per adult/concession for the Kaiserburg Museum and Chapel. It’s €3/2 per adult/concession for the Deep Well and Sinwell Tower.

The Kaiserburg (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*) is the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg – a large medieval castle complex at the top end of Nuremberg Old Town and one of the city’s top sights. Construction of the castle began in the 12th century and it was expanded for the next few hundred years. For much of this time it held the treasures of the Holy Roman Empire and was frequently visited by the Emporer himself.

Within Nuremberg Imperial Castle

Within the castle complex you can visit the Kaiserburg Museum (which includes the Twin Chapel), and separately the Sinwell Tower and Deep Well. There’s a nice restaurant in the castle, in the open courtyard area that you can see without a ticket. You can also visit the castle gardens on the far, top side of the castle.

The Kaiserburg Museum describes the history of the castle, the heyday of Nuremberg, and medieval defence techniques. You can also see the royal living quarters and the Romanesque Doppelkapelle (Twin Chapel), one of the oldest original sections remaining.

Climbing the many stairs up Sinwell Tower, dating from the 13th century, gives you panoramic views over Nuremberg. Inside there’s also a photo exhibition documenting the bombing of the castle in the Second World War. Nearby, the Deep Well has a well shaft descending 50 metres into solid rock. Inside the building, you can watch a live film of the well’s interior and learn about its history.

Directions: Leave the castle courtyard the way you came and turn left into the Castle Gardens. Continue along the wall around the corner. Soon you’ll reach some stairs that lead into a covered walkway on the walls. There are great views from here over Tiergärtnertor Square. Exit the walkway and continue downwards to exit the gardens. Turn left through the city wall gate and left again, back up to Tiergärtnertor Square.

7. Tiergärtnertor Square

Tiergärtnertor Square is a beautiful square and the historic centre of Nuremberg. It sits just beneath the castle, and as such was a busy trading area when the court of the Holy Roman Empire resided there. Today there are many cafes and restaurants with pleasant outdoor seating in the square. It’s also surrounded by some historic buildings.

The tower the square is named after, Tiergärtnertor, is a tower in the city walls from the 16th century. On the edge of the square is Albrecht Dürer Haus, a museum in the house of the famous artist. On the other side is the Historischer Kunstbunker, and just down the street are the Felsengänge (underground cellars).

Albrecht Dürer Haus

Historischer Kunstbunker (Historic Art Bunker)

The Historischer Kunstbunker (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*) is where valuable artworks were stored in WWII. It’s in an old rock vault beneath the Kaiserburg, almost 25 metres underground. You can only visit on a tour – 2pm every day plus another tour at 11:30am on weekends. Tickets are €9.50  per adult. Even if it’s warm outside, it will be quite cold inside.

Felsengänge (Rock Cut Cellars)

The Felsengänge (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*) are a warren of underground cellars from the 14th century used by a brewery. They were also used as an air raid shelter during WWII. To visit you have to join a tour – the guides are great and the tours are amusing and interesting. Tours last 60-70 minutes and tickets start from €12 for the Historic Rock-Cut Cellars Tour.

Directions: Leave Tiergärtnertor Square via the street by Albrecht Dürer Haus. Continue downwards and straight on down the steps. At the T-junction turn right and then take the street branching left.

You’ll now be walking down Weissgerbergasse (Tripadvisor Reviews*), a beautiful street in Nuremberg. There are several half-timbered, colourful buildings on either side as the road gently curves around the corner.

Directions: At the end of Weissgerbergasse, cross over the road and turn left. You’ll soon see the backside of the large Weinstadel warehouse, an old wine depot. Continue onwards and take the next right to cross the river.

8. Pegnitz River Views

From the first bridge, Karlsbrucke, you can see the covered bridge within the Henker Haus (Executioner’s House) Museum (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*). It’s open Tue-Sun, noon-5pm and costs €3/1.50 for entry. The museum itself is very small, and the best views are from the outside.

Once on the little island in the middle of Pegnitz River, head right to walk over the free part of Henkersteg (Hangman’s Bridge) to the far side of the river. Once across this bridge, head right along the river to the next bridge, Maxbrücke, where there are more great views.

Directions: Head up the street at the end of Henkersteg and continue upwards along the small passageway. Once you reach a larger pedestrianised square area, head right towards the tower.

9. Weisser Turm Square

At the centre of Weisser Turm Square is the historic Weisser Turm, or White Tower. It’s made of bricks so more red than white, but it looks quite grand anyway. at the base of the tower is the Ehekarussell Brunnen – the Marriage Carousel Fountain. This is a sculpture showing married life interpreted in six different ways. None of them are great ways to interpret a marriage – they don’t tend to look happy.

Directions: Leave the square along Breite Gasse, a pedestrianised shopping street by the fountain. There are many shops here, but fewer historic buildings. Take the second street to the right, in about 300 metres. It’s a small alley and leads to a larger road. Head straight onwards, across the large road and straight on slightly to the left. The distinctive Germanisches Nationalmuseum is on your left.

10. Germanisches Nationalmuseum

Key Information: Open Tue-Sun 10am – 6pm, until 8:30pm on Wed, closed Mondays. Tickets €8/5 for adults/concessions. Audioguide are an extra €2.

The Germanisches Nationalmuseum (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*) describes the history and culture of Germany from prehistoric times to the early 20th century. There are works by German painters, musical and scientific instruments, archaeological collections and more. Don’t miss the Way of Human Rights at the entrance – symbolic white pillars and an oak tree stating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Directions: This is the last stop on the tour. From here you can return to the main station via the city wall gardens in 10 minutes. Alternatively, there are two other museums nearby if you want to explore further.

Deutsche Bahn Museum

Neues Museum

Further Afield in Nuremberg

This walking tour of Nuremberg focused on the easily walkable old town, within the city walls. However, to fully explore Nuremberg there are two important sights within easy reach via public transport. The Nazi Party Rally Grounds are where much of the Nazi propaganda photos came from and where Hitler gave many speeches before WWII. The Memorial Nuremberg Trials is about the war crime trials that took place here shortly after the war.

Nazi Party Rally Grounds

Key Information: Grounds open 24/7. Dokumentationszentrum Museum open 10am-6pm every day. Tickets €6/1.50 for adults/concessions. Included in Nuremberg Municipal Museums Day Pass (€9).
Directions: Take Tram 8 from the Central Station to the Doku-Zentrum Stop. The journey takes 15 minutes and the tram departs every 10 minutes. If you’re in Nuremberg Castle area, walk to Hallertor Tram Stop and take Tram 6.

The Nazi Party Rally Grounds lie 4km southeast of Nuremberg centre and cover a large area that now contains lakes, grassy areas and car parks. They were designed for propaganda purposes, so Hitler had a good background to give his speeches. You may recognise some places from famous photos of Hitler addressing rallies.

It’s best to start your visit by heading to the museum, the Dokumentationszentrum (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*). Here you will find an overview of the Rally Grounds, including their history and construction. There are also details of the Nazi Party’s rise to power and the importance of Nuremberg to Hitler and the Party. This museum is adjacent to the Kongresshalle (Congress Hall), a huge stadium-like construction. It was planned to be a huge covered hall but the outbreak of the war stopped further work.

Nazi Parade Grounds

The Nuremberg Rally Grounds today are a slightly strange place since the city didn’t really know what to do with them. You’ll discover in the Dokumentationszentrum the dilemma the city had – to destroy everything, to preserve it in its historic state, or to repurpose the grounds and buildings for current use. They seem to have taken a middle way where the space looks fairly unkempt and is mainly used for car parks.

The Rally Grounds cover a large area and you can find some suggested walks to visit all the important buildings which can take several hours. Visiting the Dokumentationszentrum first is highly recommended to make sense of it all. For a shorter walk, head over to the Zeppelinfeld to see the large grandstand from which Hitler watched Nazi parades and rallies. From here walk to the nearby train station for a short ride back to Nuremberg Central Station.

Memorial Nuremberg Trials

There are many stops on the audioguide tour, and after initially listening to them all in order, we ended up skipping quite a few otherwise we would have been there for hours. There are not many seats but you can take a foldable stool from near the entrance to sit on so your feet don’t get too tired.

After seeing the exhibition, you can view Courtroom 600 where the trials themselves took place. On weekdays this room is sometimes in use, in which case you can only peak in from some windows in the exhibition room above.

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This is the end of the Nuremberg Walking Tour. For more walking tours and hikes in Germany, see our Germany hiking page.

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