Nuremberg Stopover

It's enough time to walk up to the castle through town but not really enough time to see the old Nazi stuff (like Zeppelin field) outside of town, unless perhaps you took a quick taxi ride out there, which might still be a stretch.

i agree with Andrew. The old wall town is ok but you might want make time for the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds
https://museums.nuernberg.de/documentation-center/

For me the main points of Nürnberg to see are three churches: Lorenzkirche, Frauenkirche and most of all Sebalduskirche. They can be seen in 3 hours. I have followed Sebalduskirche being rebuilt over the last several years and am inspired by it. It was largely destroyed in WWII and it has been rebuilt in its old form at its community's insistence.

Old town Nürnberg is well worth the 3 hour visit to me. I worked/lived in/near Nürnberg for about 18 months as a US Army officer. It is a beautiful old town.

This is an itinerary doable in two to three hours, leading to the main points of interest along the main south nord axis:

1. Start at the main entrance to the medieval city, Frauentor (»Mary's Gate«) / Königstraße, just opposite the main station. It is discernible easily by its mighty round tower. Pick up a map at »Nürnberg Info«, Königsstrasse 93, opposite the tower.

2. Follow Königssstrasse northwards to St. Lawrence church (Lorenzkirche, continental gothic, hosting the famous »angelic salutation« by Veit Stoss: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lorenz,_Nuremberg)

3. Follow Königsstraße down to River Pegnitz (right, build into the river, the medieval hospital, »Heilg Geist«, a possible place for lunch or dinner). When the road splits follow the left branch, leading to the main market (»Hauptmarkt«). Right: Frauenkirche (Our Lady), once the host of the Imperial Regalia (now in Vienna). In the Tympanum a mechanical clockwork dating from the early 16th century (playing every noon): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frauenkirche,_Nuremberg. North west corner: market fountain in the form of a gothic spire.

4. From the fountain proceeding north, after a few steps you arrive at (right) the renaissance city hall and (left) St. Sebald (continental gothic), hosting the sepulchre of Sebald by Peter Vischer (entrance is at west side under the north tower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Se...rch,_Nuremberg).

5. From the place adjacent north to St. Sebald (»Sebalder Platz«) take the Bergstrasse (not: Burgstrasse!) uphill in NW direction (at no. 1 is the small shop of the Frauenholz bakery, one of the best ginger bread bakers in the city). You will end up at Tiergärtnertorplatz with Albrecht Duerer's house to your left. Nothing of the original furnishings is preserved (it was sold after Duerer's death), but it has an interesting exhibition putting Duerer in the horizont of the european history of art (http://www.museums.nuremberg.de/duerer- house/index.html) and an ample collection für Dürer's graphic work.

Time for a beer? Right to the Tiergärtner gate leaning against the city wall there is a funny combination of a coffe shop (Cafe Wanderer, left) and the »Bieramt« (»beer office«, right), the latter offering a selection of beers from small rural breweries throughout Franconia. Just grab an abandoned seat and join the people sitting at the place.

1. From the north east corner of the Tiergärtnertorplatz a small corridor will lead you up to the castle via »Am Ölberg« and a final U-turn left. The western part is the romanesque imperial palace, the eastern one the Burgrave's castle. If you are interested in romanesque architecture you can find a fine example of a romanesque double chapel in the imperial palace (http://www.kaiserburg- nuernberg.de/e...le/index.htm); the exhibition is, hmm, unexciting. Otherwise you can proceed to the belvedere (U-turn right) which gives you an overwiev of the city.

2. At this point, if you are fed up, you can go straight down the Burgstrasse and return after 10 minutes to the main market. Else, you go back to Tiergärtnertorplatz and follow the city wall (»Neutormauer«) in SW direction. After 10 min. or so, you will arrive at the river Pegnitz with its small wooden roofed bridge. Crossing that (or the nearby modern bridge) and going uphill through a couple of small alleys you will arrive at Weissser Turm (»white tower«), a relic of the first walling preceeding the present one. From here turnig east (»karonlinenstrasse«) you can go back to St. Lawcrence.

FYI: a real "old town" doesn't exist anymore. The city centre was completely leveled, and what you see today are mostly rather ugly postwar buildings that follow the old street pattern.
If you are looking for a glimpse of "Old Germany", and travel from Berlin to Munich (or vice versa), Erfurt is the much better choice.

OK, since you are saying that over and over again: Erfurt was not bombed, but it had literally collapsed into ruins due to the neglect of the communist regime. When I first visited it in 1990, I could hardly believe what I saw (same in Naumburg). So, Erfurt is no less rebuilt than Nuremberg. And I think a city that has been beautifully restored after the bombing is no less worth visiting than one that had to be rebuilt because of the apparent disinterest of its former inhabitants.

No, Erfurt didn't literally collapse, because all of the 15th to 19th century building you see today also existed in 1990... just in a sometimes very bad state. Erfurt wasn't rebuilt like Nuremberg, it was restored. And the "former inhabitants" weren't disinterested, they just didn't have the luck to be in the American sector and enjoy a market economy. But ending up in the right sector of the country wasn't really a accomplishment.

But you know what: tourists don't visit the Erfurt or Nuremberg of 1990, but of 2018. And in 2018 Erfurt offers a beautiful historic old town without major losses, and if tourists travel by train between Munich and Berlin, and want to see "Old Germany", the city is the better stop.... at least if you can see the difference between a house from 1550 (Erfurt market square) and 1950 (Nuremberg market square).
But maybe I should have mentioned Bamberg instead? Sorry, simply I forgot that Bamberg is still a stop after the new connection was opened last year. I'm sure you don't have a problem with Bamberg, right? After all it's not inhabited by lazy, ungrateful Ossis... which is your main gripe and the reason for your rant.

I just spent a day in Nuremberg 2 weeks ago, one of the highlights of my trip, took the train from Munich. I had 8 hours so that allowed me to visit the Dokumentationszentum museum and wander the old Nazi rally grounds before heading to the old town area, which starts right out of the Hauptbahnhof, very convenient. You've already been given a great itinerary, so I'll just chime in to say I found Nuremberg's old town to be a delight, loved seeing the medieval architecture of the churches, the little traditional craft shop area near the main gate, had a great lunch at The Literaturhaus on Luitpoldstrasse, toured Albrecht Durer's house and also the Spielzeug museum of old toys. I was dealing with terrible back pain or would have explored the castle area more thoroughly--it's impressive.

Okay. I'm going to show and tell in favor of Nürnberg. I lived there as a Department of the Army civilian from 1982 to 1985. I'm not much for time standing still. I like to see places as they are now with people going about their business of living.

My apartment was in the Schoppershof area. It was built in the early 20th century and wasn't destroyed during WWII. So it wasn't very old.

I loved the churches already mentioned, went inside frequently and often walked to the Hauptmarket to shop. It would be a bonus if you were there when the market was open. This group of pictures will give you an idea of what it's like, empty and full.

There are lots of areas of town with traditional and picturesque buildings. They are fun to see, too. Using the guidelines others have given, you will see some like these.

I agree that getting to the Rally Grounds is outside your timeframe. The Army used those grounds for sports fields when I lived there. Just before the facility was turned back over to Germany, I had a chance to go inside the building you see in these photos. It was crumbling inside with a few old klieg lights and a safe. I don't know how it is now, but I hope that Germany left the Allied soldiers' graffiti from the end of the war intact.

One must do IMHO is to have some Nürnberger bratwurst. There are lots of restaurants that serve it.

I have a book titled Nürnberg Damals und Heute. It's photos of the destruction and after much of the rebuilding years later, all shot from the same locations. You can see similar images just by Googling that phrase or Nürnberg 1945 1970, or something similar. This picture shows the Hauptmarket with St. Sebalduskirche about in the middle on the left.

All historic buildings in Germany must be to some degree "rebuilt". First, WWII was not the only war that devastated Germany. A Phoenix rising from the ashes was the symbol of the empire?

Buildings have also been rebuilt to accommodate electricity and indoor plumbing. (Thank God!) I am sure that structural building codes of the Middle Ages were not up to modern standards. Old towns were also famous for fires. Plus, Baroque and other style changes have altered many buildings. Even towns that avoided the destruction of WWII would likely be largely unrecognizable to residents of 1550.

I love Nürnberg, like Bamberg and have Erfurt on my to-do list. It is not an either-or choice for me. Enjoy Nürnberg.

I'm sure you don't have a problem with Bamberg, right?

I don't have, of course, any problem with Bamberg nor do I with Erfurt. On the contrary, I am often there and I am pleased how well the city has developed since the downfall of the GDR.

I do have, however, a problem with people who want to devalue the contributions of other users in order to promote their own city and do so by means of grotesque exaggeration and ill-defined semantics.

Finally, I don't have any problem with argumentative masterpieces like

inhabited by lazy, ungrateful Ossis... which is your main gripe and the reason for your rant.

Obviously the problem here is completely yours.

Druschba!

Anyone can answer this, but I know Christa just did this journey: for a day trip to Nuremberg from Munich, what time should I leave Munich HBF on a Saturday morning to have enough time for the Dokumentation Centrum, grounds and a stroll through the old town (in that order) in time to be back in Munich for a 7:30PM start time of a show?

We just had 2 days in Nürnberg and we really enjoyed the city. It is easily walkable and has lots to see and do. The Nurnburger sausages/brats are delicious (Bratwusthausle was our fave). We liked the castle, deep well and tower, the Germanic National Museum, and Albrect Durer house. But what we really loved was just walking around and taking it all in, the city was not crowded at all, and quite lovely. The bridges and river provided many wonderful views. We did not do the Documentation center as we needed break from WW2 heaviness, but someday I would like to go back and see it. We also had tentatively planned a day trip to Bamberg which we cancelled bc the weather was stormy and my kids needed a relax day. It worked out ok but i still wish we could have squeezed it in. Oh well, next time!
I'd want more time, but the town is fairly compact, so I think you can see a few cool things in 3 hours, especially if you walk fast ;)

Todd--I caught an 8:15 am train, arrived in Nuremberg about 9:30 and that allowed plenty of time to see the Dokumentationszentrum and nearby area, have a leisurely lunch at a nice restaurant and poke around a couple of antique shops in old town as well as tour the Durer house and Spielzeug museum, then sat for 20 minutes with coffee and pastry--I'd have done more in the castle area if not for my back pain. I caught the train back around 5:30, arriving about 6:45 pm, so had a good 8 hours total.