Würzburg Residenz

A prince-bishop’s palace so big Napoleon is supposed to have called it the largest parsonage in Europe, a ceiling painted by Tiepolo and a garden that goes properly golden in autumn. Würzburg is a long day out from Munich, but a good one.

WÜRZBURG:The photos on this page are from a daytrip I made on cloudless Saturday in late October. What can I say, I love the Alps of southern Bavaria, but Franconia is also beautiful! Würzburg sits on the River Main up in the north-west corner of Bavaria.
Wine seems to be just as popular as beer up here, and the city' big draw is the Residenz, the palace the prince-bishops built when the draughty old fortress on the hill stopped being grand enough for them.
Palace, gardens and the square out front have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site together since 1981. I tagged on Aschaffenburg on the way home, and I’d tell you to do the same.

THE GARDEN SIDE: The Residenz from the Hofgarten. The best view of the palace is from the back, which is the bit most day-trippers miss. Picture: Stu Anderson

A palace for a bishop

The foundation stone went down in 1720 and the shell was finished by 1744, with the interiors taking until around 1780. The man behind it was Balthasar Neumann, the star architect of his day, working for the Schönborn family of prince-bishops, who had money, taste and very few qualms about spending one on the other.
Most of the town around it got wrecked in a British air raid on 16 March 1945, and the Residenz burned almost to a shell. Only the central block made it through, and luckily that was the bit with the showpiece rooms in it. Rebuilding the rest took until 1987.

WIDE OPEN: Residenzplatz, the enormous square in front of the palace, with the old town and its church towers beyond. Picture: Stu Anderson

That staircase

LOOK UP: The Tiepolo fresco above the grand staircase. Bring a strong neck. Picture: Stu Anderson

You walk in through the vestibule, turn, and the grand staircase opens up above you. Over it hangs a single vaulted ceiling with no supporting columns, which his rivals reckoned would fall down. It didn’t. It even survived the bombing.

On that ceiling the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his son painted the four continents (as Europeans of the 1750s understood them) around Apollo in the sky. It covers something like 580 square metres and is often billed as the largest continuous ceiling fresco in the world. Look for the camel, the crocodile and, best of all, Neumann himself, lounging on a cannon in military uniform with his dog. The architect got a cameo.

The tour carries on through the White Hall, all stucco and no colour, which is a sort of palate cleanser before the Imperial Hall, more Tiepolo and more gold leaf than seems sensible.

IN YOU GO: The main entrance off Residenzplatz. Picture: Stu Anderson

The Hofgarten

Don’t skip the gardens - they're a highlight! They wrap round the back and side of the palace, with formal Baroque bits near the building and wilder English-style corners further out, plus a crowd of chubby stone children who seem to be up to no good.

GOLDEN TUNNEL: The pergola walk in late October. Picture: Stu Anderson

MISCHIEF MAKERS: One of the Hofgarten’s cherubs keeping an eye on the palace. Picture: Stu Anderson

The garden is free and open daily until dusk, or 8pm at the latest. Pack a sandwich and go round it twice.

SOUTH GARDEN: The fountain and the clipped yew cones, with the palace behind. Picture: Stu Anderson

Visiting the Residenz

• Opening hours. April to October daily 9am to 6pm (last entry 5.15pm). November to March daily 10am to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm). Closed 1 January, Shrove Tuesday and 24, 25 and 31 December.
• Tickets. €10 regular, €9 reduced (2026 prices). A guided tour of about 30 minutes is included, but you can go round on your own too.
• Tours in English. Daily at 11am and 3pm. German tours go every half hour.
• Court Church. The Hofkirche in the south wing is open during normal hours, except during services and weddings. Pop your head in, it’s a jewel box.

Add on Aschaffenburg

Aschaffenburg is on the main line from Würzburg towards Frankfurt, so it’s easy to hop off on the way home. Most people from Munich have never heard of it, which is half the fun.

RED ALERT: Schloss Johannisburg, built of red sandstone for the archbishops of Mainz. Picture: Stu Anderson

Schloss Johannisburg is a big square red sandstone castle with a tower on each corner, built in the early 1600s for the archbishops of Mainz. It stands right above the River Main and looks especially good from the park across the water.

FROM ACROSS THE WAY: Johannisburg and the Main on a perfect autumn afternoon. Picture: Stu Anderson

A short walk along the riverbank brings you to the oddest building of the day, the Pompejanum. King Ludwig I, Mad King Ludwig’s grandfather, had a copy of a Roman villa from Pompeii built here between 1840 and 1848, so art lovers could see how the ancients lived without the bother of going to Italy. It’s bright yellow and Pompeian red, with fig and almond trees round it, and it looks like it’s wandered off a film set.

ROME ON THE MAIN: Ludwig I’s Pompejanum, a Roman villa built in the 1840s. Picture: Stu Anderson

• Tickets. Johannisburg €7, Pompejanum €7, or €10 for both (2026). Under-18s free. The Pompejanum only takes cash.
• Seasons. The Pompejanum is closed from November until the end of March, and closed on Mondays. Check the Bavarian Palace Department website for Johannisburg’s hours before you go.

Then wander up through the old town to the Stiftskirche, the collegiate church on its terrace, and find somewhere to sit with a glass of Franconian wine before the train home.

OLD TOWN: The Stiftskirche, the collegiate church that watches over Aschaffenburg’s old town. Picture: Stu Anderson

Getting there

• By fast train. Direct ICE trains from Munich to Würzburg take about two hours and 25 minutes, with up to 14 direct trains a day. Book ahead and you’ll find fares from under €40 each way.
• From the station. The Residenz is about a 15-minute walk from Würzburg Hauptbahnhof.
• Make it two days. Würzburg plus Aschaffenburg is a lot for one day from Munich. Stay over in Würzburg and you’ve also got time for the old bridge and the Marienberg fortress.
• More of Franconia. If you like this, try Bamberg or Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Checked October 2026. Times and prices change, so check before you go.

Pass it on

Share this page: Facebook | X | WhatsApp | Pinterest | Email

Or follow us on Facebook: