Need some help with day trips from Nuremberg

Würzburg, one hour away, easily done on the Bavarian day ticket.

When we stayed in Nuremberg we visited both Bamberg and Regensburg for day trips. We thought both were beautiful and well worth the day. If Regensburg was larger, we did not notice it and didn’t feel shortchanged. We didn’t have real plans in either town and just walked all around, taking in the lovely architecture and ambiance. Bamberg is, I believe, noted for its smoked beer if that’s any incentive. Both are well preserved medieval towns and UNESCO heritage sites. I think the train ride to Bamberg was about an hour and Regensburg a bit longer. Safe travels.

Not sure how you would get there with public transportation but: Cheery blossoms (Kirschbluete) in Kalchreuth. 20km from Nuernberg. Might be a little late end of April. Check the Kirschbluethenbarometer. Nice for a walk and a lunch on a sunny day.

I loved Bamberg as a relaxing day trip from Nuremberg. The journey was easy, with 2 or 3 trains per hour in each direction, running from quite early to Bamberg and a train past midnight back to Nuremberg; and there was plenty of time to browse the town and the shops.

Another vote for Würzburg which is only an hour or so away. The Prince Bishop's Residence is the real biggie, although there are many other things to see and do. At the Residence, be sure and go to the chapel on one end. It has to be seen to be believed.

We did both Bamberg and Regensburg as day trips from Nuremberg and though both very worthwhile and easy to do. Didn't feel either needed more than a day. My one surprise was that I like Nuremberg more than I expected I would. We only had three days so one almost full day and then the late afternoon evenings after the two day trips. But you already have that extra day so it looks perfect to me.

Here's my photos of those three towns. https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f88619690

Thanks, everyone! It looks like I can't go wrong no matter what places I choose. And thank you all for the tips on places to visit in each town. CW, it's good to know that the trains run late - I'm not usually much of a night owl but when on vacation... 🙂 And Isabel, your photos are beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

I've been to Bamberg and Regensburg multiple times by train over the years from Nuremberg (actually by train from a small town we like to stay in near Roth).

We are the sort who return to special places repeatedly rather than always needing to see something new.

We have always felt that a day excursion to either is just the right amount of time.

Two smaller places as a day trip, Dettelbach followed by Iphofen. Dettelbach (a short bus ride from the station) is compact, has a nice trail around it and a trail by the river. I once stayed in Iphofen for 10 or 11 nights (I think a post by Russ put me onto it). It's a top little place for me. Hardly any shops but enough cafes and restaurants, attractive buildings and cobbled streets, a trail around the village and more up in the vineyards. The best meal I've had in Germany was at the Deutscher Hof.

Nigel and Gundersen, thank you both!

I'm thinking I might visit Bamberg one day and leave the second day open. I'm very intrigued by Iphofen (I've seen Russ's posts, too) and would like to explore it - and I like the idea of a trip to a small town as opposed to a city. One more option would be to explore Nuremberg on Saturday evening, then go to Iphofen on Sunday for a few hours and head back to Nuremberg. That would give me a day each for Bamberg and Regensberg. Or I still might skip Regensberg and focus on both Iphofen and Dettelbach.

At any rate, I'm still undecided but I've definitely narrowed it down so I appreciate everyone's thoughts. I've also found that as I plan, it's easier to finalize my itinerary as I research. That's what happened with Nuremberg - I was sort of "meh" when I first chose it as a base, but the more I researched and planned, the more I really liked what I'm reading. I'm really looking forward to my stay there now.

Another place to consider is Noerdlingen - very well-preserved walled town with fewer tourists than some - in the same area as Dinkelsbuhl but more easily accessible by train. If you're interested in transportation, it also has the Bavarian Railway Museum.

Philip, thank you! That would be of interest to me (not the Railroad Museum so much as the town and the crater) but when I check train schedules on VGN, it looks like it would be almost a four-hour RT by train. That's a little farther than I would like to travel each day.

Well, I decided to go with Bamberg and Regensburg and IF I have time on the day trip to Bamberg, I'm might try to get to Colburg to see the Veste Colburg and museum. But definitely Bamberg and Regensberg.

After all the wonderful comments here, I still could not decide and was agonizing over it. However, I watched some "Check-In" travel videos on DW, and those clinched it for me. There's something about seeing a place in a video that makes it more real.

Plus I remember a comment someone here made (it may have been on another thread - I've read through dozens of them) but whoever it was said not to focus on what you are missing, but focus on what you will see. That made sense. I would love to see Würzburg and Iphofen and Dettelbach and all the other marvelous towns and cities around, but for now, I'm going to enjoy planning for the ones I've chosen.

Thank you to all for your help!

Mardee, I'm curious about something. I don't often see people talking about going to Amberg. What drew you to have that city as an option in the first place? I ask because I have ancestors from there, and hope to go visit, but don't know what others without the family ties would be drawn to.

If you get to Coburg leave enough time to do the castle properly. It is huge. And extremely well presented. It was completely worth our time to get there.

@empey, I think that Russ mentioned it in one of my earlier posts about Franconia. I checked it out and it looks quite beautiful and worthy of a visit. However, for me, it would have meant eliminating Regensburg and I really want to see that. Here's one website that I visited that talked about it and had some nice photos. https://www.destination-munich.com/amberg.html

@nigel, I will do that. I'm really going to try and work it in. I may need to steal some time from Nuremburg but I think it will be worth it.

I have previously suggested Amberg as one of the numerous and more enjoyable day trips from Nuremberg. But I was not the first poster to do so! I took a long wander there for a few hours roughly 10 years ago on the recommendation of a forum poster who lives in Amberg. Sadly, I don't remember her name. I recall being charmed by some of the street-art as well as the world's smallest operating hotel...

https://www.juergen-reichmann.de/images/pics/1606000/1606519.jpg

(You might be able to guess what products were once sold on this market square...)

https://d2exd72xrrp1s7.cloudfront.net/www/000/1k4/r7/r7p8yth21eaobamdf4d1qqo3ebaxdh1-uhi14610053/0?width=768&height=576&crop=true

https://img.welt.de/img/reise/mobile100172631/8982504087-ci102l-w1024/hotel-amberg-1-jpg-DW-Reise-Amberg-jpg.jpg