Updated July 2022: A Munich or Nuremberg to Bamberg day trip is simple by train. If you have one day in Bamberg, here’s an itinerary and what you need to know to explore this fairytale town!

A Bamberg day trip by train is one of my top choices because it brings a number of my favorite things together.  The town of Bamberg has retained so much of its historic medieval features, buildings, and layouts that the historic center was classified a UNESCO historic site.  Because of this, the area is beautifully maintained and walkable. Bamberg is also home to a number of beautiful churches, a palace, and the stunningly unique town hall begging to be photographed.   And a big factor for me: Bamberg, and the historic center, is easily reached by train.

With rail making the trip so quick and easy, a day trip from Munich or Nuremberg to Bamberg straight forward and easy to do yourself. Here’s what you need to know to make the trip and put together a great Bamberg itinerary:

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How to do a Munich to Bamberg Day Trip by Train

How to do a Nuremberg to Bamberg Day Trip

Nuremberg to Bamberg Day Trip

Old town Nuremberg is full of its own sites to explore, so it makes a great destination from which to explore. Nuremberg is only 60km from Bamberg, and the train trip is as short at 30 minutes, so a day trip is very doable. While you are in Nuremberg, check out other day trips from Nuremberg.

Trip Duration & Connections:

• Trip duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on connections and stops
• Many trains run between the two through the day, approximately every 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Go to the Deusche Bahn site to check train times and purchase tickets.

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How to do a Bamberg Day trip from Other Nearby Towns

Würzburg to Bamberg Day Trip

Trip Duration & Connections:

• Trip duration is approximately 54 min to 1 hour 27 min.
• Runs approximately 20 min to 1 hour between departures.

Coberg to Bamberg Day Trip

Trip Duration & Connections:

• Trip duration is approximately 22 min to 1 hour.
• Runs approximately every 25 minutes to 1 hour.

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Is Bamberg Worth Visiting

YES!!

Ok, now that I got that out of my system. Yes, absolutely, if you like medieval architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, European history, the history of urban gardening (yep, really), or just beautiful little towns.

Bamberg has repeatedly been named one of Germany’s most beautiful towns – that alone makes spending a day here a must. Walking the meticulously maintained medieval old town area, it is obvious why. Your camera is going to love this place. It is the preservation of the old town architecture and layout, as well as its history of urban gardening, that resulted in Bamberg being added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993. Bamberg’s urban gardening way of life dates back to the Middle Ages!

So hop on that train, bring your camera, stop at the street market for a snack, and enjoy a beautiful day!

Bamberg Train Station to Historic Town Center

When I am taking the train around Europe, train station location is an important factor to me.  If I only have only have one day, my Bamberg itinerary shouldn’t spend too much of time shuffling through busses and transfers, or worse, hope for a taxi.  So, I’m always looking for towns with a train station close to the historic center and significant sites on my list.

Bamberg delivers on this.  From the train station exit, to the Grüner Markt (first of the sites listed below) is one kilometer.  Continuing on to the Altes Rathaus, or Old Town Hall, in the heart of the historic area is another 0.5 km.  The train station doesn’t drop you right at the historic, sight-seeing part of town, but it’s close.

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Major Sites for a One Day in Bamberg Itinerary:

Grüner Markt

On your way from the train station to Bamberg altstadt, the pedestrian zone begins at the Grüner Markt.  Bamberg’s Grüner Markt, or Green Market, sells mostly fruits and vegetables.  The majority of the produce is from the region around Bamberg, with a handful of local Bamberg gardens represented and also a few wholesalers of exotic fruits. I check out food markets in every town I visit if at all possible, so this is a must one way or the other. Having it so convenient is a big plus.

The Bamberg Grüner Markt is open Monday – Saturday, but stalls set their own hours.

Bamberg Hochdeutsch Gabelman – Neptune fountain

In the midst of the Grüner Markt you will find the most famous fountain in Bamberg, the Hochdeutsch Gabelman, or Neptune fountain.  This fountain was commissioned by Elector Lothar Franz Schӧnborn, and created by Johann Kaspar Metzner in 1698.  Today, this is a popular place to grab a seat with a snack, meet up with others, or just sit and watch the world go by. 

If you look hard enough, you may be able to find a badly worn inscription that reads: “LFDGSSMASRIPGAEEEB 1968.”  This inscriptions stands for the latin: “Lotharius Franciscus Dei Gratia Sanctae Sedis Moguntinae Archiepiscopus Sacri Romani Imperii Per Germaniam Archicancellarius EtElector Episcopus Bambergensis 1698.” I know, lots of help, right?  Ok, the translation is: “Lothar Franz, by the grace of God Archbishop of the sacred seat of Mainz, Arch Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and Elector, Bishop of Bamberg.”

Impress your friends with that one.

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Bamberg Day Trip Must: Altes Rathaus, Bamberg Old Town Hall

No Bamberg itinerary is complete if you haven’t seen the most famous building in Bamberg. However, it’s hard to miss Bamberg Altes Rathaus, or Old Town Hall.  This mural covered building with a half-timbered house grafted onto the side straddles the river and looks like it just popped out of a storybook.

There are two versions of how the Bamberg Old Town Hall in the river came to be.  One says that the people wanted land to build a town hall, but the bishop wouldn’t relinquish any land to the people.  So, being the resourceful people they were, they created an artificial island by striking oak piles into the sandy Regnitz river.  There they built their Town Hall.  The second story says that the people never wanted land from the bishop at all.  Because they were self-sufficient, they decided on their own to simply create the island in the middle of the Regnitz and build the town hall without worrying about needing land from anyone.  

Both stories emphasize the problem solving and self-sufficient nature of the Bamberg people.  They also both end wit the Town Hall being built in the middle of the Regnitz river, which is the boundary between the episcopal mountain and the bourgeois island city.

Today, Bamberg’s Altes Rathaus still display’s the façade paintings of Johann Anwander.  These murals depict allegories of the four elements on one side and the four seasons on the other.  The half-timbered house attached to the bridge tower is called the Rottmeisterhӓuschen, and was originally used to house the guards.

Inside the Bamberg Old Town Hall is an upstairs Rococo Hall still used for sessions of the City Council and official receptions.  On the main floor is one of the largest porcelain collections of its kind in Europe.  Displayed are items from the 17^th century boom of coffee & tea items, to 18^th century table culture, to decorative figurines. 

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Bamberg Cathedral

The Bamberg Cathedral was founded by then King Heinrich of Germany in 1004.  The structure was finished and consecrated on Heinrich’s birthday, 6 May 1012.  It was just two years later in 1014 that he would become Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich II.

The cathedral has been through two rebuilds in its lifetime.  The interior was completely destroyed by fire during Easter week of 1081, but the structure itself remained relatively undamaged.  Then in 1185 the cathedral again burned down.  It was then that the current Late Romanesque cathedral was erected and consecrated on 6 May 1237.

In the 17^th century the interior of the Bamberg Cathedral was changed to the Baroque style.  But, then in a time of “purification” from 1828 to 1837 these Baroque alterations were removed and replaced with Romanesque Revival art.

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Neue Residenz Bamberg

For many years the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg, leaders of Banberg, were prevented from building an official residence by the church. Instead, they often lived in makeshift homes. Often these homes were set apart from the center of official and business work – not a convenient situation for anyone.

It was not until Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schӧnborn that the Neue Residenz was built and established as the official home, beginning in 1602. Over the centuries the Neue Residenz was added to, and it became a royal residence in 1803.

From 1864-1867 King Otto of Greece took up residence here after he was deposed. In another interesting historical twist, one of Napoleons Marshalls was here as the Russian army advanced on him, and he chose to leap to his death instead of face conflict. A plaque is now placed where he did so.

Entrance is €4.50, and a guided tour is €4.00 as of this writing.

Bamberg Day Trip Cheap & Easy View: Rose Garden

Within the Neue Residenz is the Rose garden, which has stood as a garden since the 16th century. The initial Renaissance garden was converted in 1733 to basically the current structure. A Rococo garden pavilion was bult in 1756-1757, which today is a cafe. Ferdinand Tietz, Bamberg court sculptor provided the statues (originals are now in the Neue Resisidenz building). It was Duke William of Bavaria and his wife Maria Anna who completed the transformation of the garden to a Rose Garden, bringing in 500 rose bushes. The garden has survived since that time with only slight modifications.

The rose garden also provides a beautiful view overlooking the city, so it’s worth the stroll through if only for that.

Free admission

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St. Martin’s Parish

This location was given to the Jesuits of the area as early as 1589 in order to build their own church. However, construction did not begin until 1689, and the church was completed in 1693. This is the only Baroque church in the city of Bamberg, and gorgeous interior is worth the stop. If you happen to stop in during organ practice/performance, like I did, it will be really hard to walk back out the door and continue exploring Bamberg!

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Bӧttingerhaus

The Bӧttingerhaus, located at Judenstraβe 14 is one of the most beautiful Baroque houses in Bamberg, and considered the “jewel” of Johann Ignaz Tobias Bӧttinger. The home was contracted by Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schӧnborn (of Neue Residenz fame) and built from 1707-1713.

The street facing façade is particularly beautiful, so it’s worth at least a stroll by. But if you can visit the art gallery now housed inside, there is so much more interesting architecture to appreciate.

The architecture is designed around the terrain and you can get onto a terrace from every floor of the house. Impressive statues are throughout the interior, take note of the caryatid on the staircase, and through the garden. Also take not of the vault in the passage to the courtyard that contains a chronogram – a inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals, stand for a particular date when rearranged. The inscription “deo confisa sco Tranqvilla manebit” means “If the house trusts in God it will always live in peace.” The key latin letters are DCVVILLMI, which is 1713, the year the house was completed.

The art gallery is open Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-4pm.

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St. Stephen’s Church

St. Stephen’s church has been the most important Protestant church in Bamberg since 1807. When it was initially endowed, likely by empress Kunigunde around the same time as Heinrich was building the Cathedral, it was simply part of the Roman Catholic Church, as usual. The building was consecrated by Pope Benedict in 1020. The beautiful church is Baroque and neo-Gothic in style, and the art inside varies from Baroque to present day works.

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Little Venice

This area is a row of half-timbered homes that perch right on the edge of the river, Linker Regnitzarm. The homes were built during the middle ages and the area was originally the fisherman’s district – unsurprising given the location! Very nice views can be seen from Markusbrücke and the road that borders the river alongside the bridge.

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For more information in planning your Bamberg Day Trip, check out Bamberg’s official tourism site.

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