Bamberg

A town hall stranded in the middle of a river, a cathedral with a pope in it and beer that tastes of bonfires. Bamberg is the prettiest town in northern Bavaria and it’s under two hours from Munich.

BAMBERG: I went up to Bamberg on the same trip as Amberg, and of the two this is the one everybody has heard of. With good reason. The whole old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, it came through the Second World War with hardly a scratch, and like Rome it’s supposed to be built on seven hills.
It’s in Franconia, the northern bit of Bavaria, and the locals will gently remind you they’re Franconian first and Bavarian second. They also brew some of the strangest and best beer in Germany. More on that below.

THE POSTCARD SHOT: Bamberg’s Old Town Hall perched on its own little island in the River Regnitz. Picture: Stu Anderson

The town hall in the river

Bamberg’s most famous building is the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), and it sits slap in the middle of the River Regnitz between two bridges. The story goes that the prince-bishop wouldn’t give the townspeople any land to build a town hall on, so they rammed stakes into the riverbed, made their own island and built it there instead. Whether that’s true or not, it’s a great story.
The walls are covered in painted scenes, and the painters had a bit of fun with them. Look closely and you’ll find a cherub’s leg that actually sticks out of the wall in 3D. At one end, a little half-timbered house hangs right out over the rushing water.

PAINTED WALLS: The frescoes on the side of the Old Town Hall. Picture: Stu Anderson

THROUGH THE MIDDLE: The road runs right through the town hall’s gate tower. Picture: Stu Anderson

WHITE WATER: The weir on the Regnitz, just downstream of the town hall. Picture: Stu Anderson

Little Venice

Walk downstream a few minutes and you get to Klein Venedig (Little Venice), a row of old fishermen’s houses built right on the riverbank, with little gardens and balconies hanging over the water. The best view is from the other bank, or from one of the bridges.

LITTLE VENICE: The old fishermen’s houses along the Regnitz. Picture: Stu Anderson

ON THE WATER: Klein Venedig from up close. Picture: Stu Anderson

And because it’s called Little Venice, Bamberg has gone the whole hog and got real Venetian gondolas, with properly trained gondoliers in stripy shirts and straw hats. It sounds daft, but watching one glide past under the bridges is lovely. The gondolas leave from the Alter Kanal under the Obere Brücke. A half-hour trip costs €60 for the whole boat (up to six people), and you need to book ahead.

BAVARIA MEETS VENICE: A gondola on the old canal in Bamberg. Picture: Stu Anderson

HEADS UP: A giant bronze head by the sculptor Igor Mitoraj, by the river. Picture: Stu Anderson

Keep an eye out on the bridges too. There’s a huge broken bronze head by the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj gazing over the river near the town hall, and it makes for a great photo with the old town behind it.
Further along the bank, the old wooden crane (Alter Kranen) is a leftover from the days when barges unloaded goods here.

WORKING RIVER: The old crane on the left, with the town hall in the distance. Picture: Stu Anderson

Up to the cathedral

Climb the hill on the west side of the river to the Domberg, where the prince-bishops ruled from. You can’t miss the Cathedral with its four pointy towers. Emperor Henry II founded it in 1004, and the building you see today mostly went up in the 13th century.

FOUR TOWERS: Bamberg Cathedral on the Domberg. Picture: Stu Anderson

Inside, look out for these.
• The Bamberg Horseman (Bamberger Reiter), a stone king on horseback from the 1200s. Nobody knows for certain who he’s meant to be.
• The tomb of Henry II and his wife Kunigunde, carved by the great sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider. Both of them were later made saints.
• The tomb of Pope Clement II, who had been bishop of Bamberg. It’s the only pope’s grave north of the Alps.

ROYAL RESTING PLACE: Riemenschneider’s tomb for Emperor Henry II and Kunigunde. Picture: Stu Anderson

INSIDE: The long nave of Bamberg Cathedral. Picture: Stu Anderson

Across the square is the Neue Residenz, the prince-bishops’ Baroque palace. You can tour the state rooms, but the real treat is free: the rose garden behind it, with a view over the red roofs of the old town. Next door, the Alte Hofhaltung is the older palace, and its courtyard full of half-timbering is one of the nicest corners in Bamberg.

THE BISHOPS’ PALACE: The Neue Residenz on the cathedral square. Picture: Stu Anderson

TIMBER FRAMES: The courtyard of the Alte Hofhaltung. Picture: Stu Anderson

A bit further up again is the old monastery of St Michael on the Michaelsberg. Its church was shut for 14 years because it was at risk of falling down, and it finally reopened in April 2026 after a huge restoration. Now itIt wasn’t open when I went, so it’s top of my list for next time.rsquo;s open again itIt wasn’t open when I went, so it’s top of my list for next time.rsquo;s well worth the extra climb, and the view back over the town is a cracker.

Down in the town

Back across the river, the island between the two arms of the Regnitz is where the shopping streets are. On the Grüner Markt there’s a fruit and veg market most days, and a fountain topped by a statue of Neptune that the locals call the Gabelmann (fork man) because of his trident.

FORK MAN: The Gabelmann fountain, with St Martin’s Church behind. Picture: Stu Anderson

FIVE A DAY: Market stalls on the Grüner Markt. Picture: Stu Anderson

OLD SCHOOL: An antiques and dolls’ house shop sign. Picture: Stu Anderson

The side streets are full of old shop signs, bakeries and little antique shops, and it’s the sort of place where you put the map away and just wander.

Smoked beer

You can’t go to Bamberg and not try Rauchbier (smoked beer). The malt is dried over a beechwood fire, and the beer comes out dark and tasting of smoke, a bit like drinking a bonfire or a slice of ham. The place to try it is the Schlenkerla, an old tavern in the shadow of the cathedral hill, where it’s poured straight from wooden barrels.
The first mouthful is a shock to most people. By the end of the glass, plenty of them are ordering another. Bamberg has plenty of other old breweries too, so if smoke isn’t your thing there’s more normal stuff on offer.

The Sandkerwa

If you can, time your visit for the Sandkerwa, Bamberg’s big summer street party, held in the old streets around the Sand district by the river. It’s five days of beer, food and music, and the highlight is the Fischerstechen, where fishermen stand on boats on the Regnitz and try to knock each other into the water with long poles. In 2026 it ran from 20 to 24 August, and it’s usually around the same time each year.

Getting there

• By fast train. Direct ICE trains from Munich take about an hour and 50 minutes, and there are up to 16 direct trains a day. Book ahead for the cheapest fares.
• By regional train. With the Bayern-Ticket you can do it on regional trains for one day-ticket price, but it takes a lot longer, with changes, usually in Nuremberg. Fine if you’re in no hurry or there’s a group of you.
• Combine it. Bamberg is less than an hour from Nuremberg by train, so you could tie it in with a trip to Amberg or Nuremberg and stay a night or two.
• Gondolas. Book on gondel.info or by phone. Half an hour is €60 for up to six people, an hour €120.
Checked October 2026. Times and prices change, so check before you go.

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