Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [315]
The CityToCity Mitfahrzentrale ( 194 40; www.citytocity.de; Hummelsteiner Weg 12; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1.30pm Sat) ride-share service is right behind the south exit of the Hauptbahnhof.
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Getting Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
U-Bahn 2 runs every few minutes from the Hauptbahnhof to the airport (€1.80, 12 minutes). A taxi to/from the airport will cost you about €16.
BICYCLE
The tourist office sells the ADFC’s Fahrrad Stadtplan (€4.50), a detailed map of the city and surrounding area. It also hands out a list of bicycle-friendly hotels in town that will store bicycles for travellers. For bike hire try the excellent Ride on a Rainbow ( 397 337; Adam-Kraft-Strasse 55; per day €10-22).
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The best transport around the Altstadt is at the end of your legs. Tickets on the VGN bus, tram and U-Bahn/S-Bahn networks cost €1.60/1.90 per short/long ride. A day pass costs €3.80. Passes bought on Saturday are valid all weekend.
TAXI
The starting rate for a taxi ride ( 194 10) is €2.60.
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BAMBERG
0951 / pop 70,000
With a history-steeped centre, a magnificent cathedral and heaps of romantic charm, it’s difficult not to be impressed by Bamberg. Clearly one of Germany’s most beautiful cities, this Unesco-listed history lesson was built by archbishops on seven hills, earning it the sobriquet of ‘Franconian Rome’.
Miraculously, Bamberg emerged from WWII with hardly a scratch, and most of the city’s finest buildings are originals. Many unadulterated examples of architecture from the Romanesque era onwards have survived, lending the city a more genuine feel than most. Bamberg is also justly famous for its beer, with 10 breweries in town and another 80 or so in the vicinity.
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Orientation
Two waterways bisect the city: the Main-Danube Canal, just south of the Hauptbahnhof, and the Regnitz River, which flows through the town centre. The city’s bus hub, the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB), is on Promenadestrasse, just off Schönleinsplatz.
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Information
Bamberg Card (per 48hr €9) Provides admission to city attractions, use of city buses and a walking tour. It’s available from the tourist office.
Citibank (Schönleinsplatz)
Hübscher ( 982 250; Grüner Markt 16; internet per 30min €1.50; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat) Large bookshop with English-language titles and internet access upstairs.
Post office (Ludwigstrasse 25)
Tourist office ( 297 6200; www.bamberg.info; Geyerswörthstrasse 3; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm Sat & Sun)
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Sights
ALTSTADT
Bamberg’s main appeal lies in its sheer number of fine historic buildings, their jumble of styles and the paucity of modern eyesores. Most attractions are sprinkled along the Regnitz River, but the town’s incredibly statuesque Altes Rathaus is actually on it, perched on twin bridges like a ship in dry dock (note the cherub’s leg sticking out from the fresco on the east side). To the northwest are the charming half-timbered homes of Klein Venedig (Little Venice), complete with punts, canals and river docks.
DOM
Bamberg’s princely and ecclesiastical roots are felt strongest around Domplatz on the southern bank of the Regnitz. The dominant structure is the soaring Dom ( 8am-5pm Nov-Mar, 8am-6pm Apr-Oct), the result of a Romanesque-Gothic duel fought by church architects after the original edifice burnt down (twice) in the 12th century. Politics dictated the final floor plan, which was altered each winter during 20 years of building. The interior is renowned for its fine acoustics, and from May to October free 30-minute organ concerts take place at noon on Saturday.
The pillars have the original light hues of Franconian sandstone thanks to Ludwig I, who in the 19th century ordered the removal of all postmedieval decoration. Traces of the bright