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The Pegnitz in Nuremberg's old town with the Weinstadel and the covered Henkersteg bridge
The angular glass and steel entrance of the Documentation Center cutting into the Congress Hall
Small Nuremberg sausages sizzling on a grill at a market stall
Walls and towers of the Imperial Castle on its sandstone ridge in Nuremberg
Courtroom 600 in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, with its wood panelling and benches

Things to do in Nuremberg: 9 experiences

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Photo: Unknown author, Public domain

Former Nazi Party Rally Grounds

Walk the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds from the Documentation Center

Check dates and prices

Photo: Fred Romero, CC BY 2.0

Old town

Eat Nuremberg Rostbratwurst, three in a roll or by the dozen

Check dates and prices

Photo: Schlurcher, CC BY 4.0

Kaiserburg

Climb the Imperial Castle, down its well and up the Sinwell Tower

Tours in Nuremberg

Photo: wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0

Palace of Justice, Fürther Straße

Sit in Courtroom 600, where the Nuremberg trials were held

Tours in Nuremberg

Photo: Fred Romero, CC BY 2.0

Nuremberg packs two very different visits into one walled old town. One is the medieval imperial city: the castle on its sandstone ridge, Albrecht Dürer's house, the market square with its noon clock, the rock-cut beer cellars and the sausages. The other is the 20th century: the city the Nazis chose for their party rallies and where the Allies tried the regime's leaders in Courtroom 600.

The old town is compact enough to cover on foot, while the rally grounds and the Palace of Justice are a short tram or U-Bahn ride out. Many museums close on Monday, and the Memorium on Tuesday, so plan the days around that.

9 things to do in Nuremberg

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Walls and towers of the Imperial Castle on its sandstone ridge in Nuremberg

Climb the Imperial Castle, down its well and up the Sinwell Tower

Kaiserburg

2 hoursNo booking needed

The emperors' castle above the old town, with a 47 m well cut into the rock and a tower view over the roofs.

Tours in Nuremberg
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The angular glass and steel entrance of the Documentation Center cutting into the Congress Hall

Walk the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds from the Documentation Center

Former Nazi Party Rally Grounds

3 to 4 hours with the groundsGo alone or with a tour

The unfinished Congress Hall, the Great Road and the Zeppelin Field tribune, read through a new permanent exhibition on the rallies.

Check dates and pricesTwo-hour guided walk across the rally grounds
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Courtroom 600 in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, with its wood panelling and benches

Sit in Courtroom 600, where the Nuremberg trials were held

Palace of Justice, Fürther Straße

1.5 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

The courtroom where the main Nazi war criminals were tried in 1945 and 1946, with a museum on the trials above it.

Tours in Nuremberg
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Albrecht Dürer's half-timbered house on the square below the castle

Visit Albrecht Dürer's house and watch his printing techniques

Tiergärtnertorplatz

About 1.5 hoursNo booking needed

The house where Germany's best-known Renaissance artist lived and worked for almost 20 years, with a working print and paint studio.

Tours in Nuremberg
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Dani Karavan's white columns of the Way of Human Rights beside the Germanisches Nationalmuseum

Find the oldest globe and Dürer at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum

Kartäusergasse

3 hoursNo booking needed

The largest museum of cultural history in the German-speaking world, about 1.3 million objects, free on Wednesday evenings.

Tours in Nuremberg
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A lamp-lit sandstone passage in Nuremberg's rock-cut cellars under the castle hill

Go underground in the Historic Rock-Cut Cellars

Bergstraße, below the castle

About 70 minutesBook ahead

Southern Germany's largest cellar labyrinth, cut into the sandstone under the old town to age the city's red beer.

Tours in Nuremberg
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Small Nuremberg sausages sizzling on a grill at a market stall

Eat Nuremberg Rostbratwurst, three in a roll or by the dozen

Old town

1 hourGo alone or with a tour

Finger-sized pork sausages grilled over beech wood, the first sausage to win EU protected status, in 2003.

Check dates and pricesOne-hour sausage walk with the Bratwurst Museum
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The gilded clock on the west gable of the Frauenkirche above the Hauptmarkt

Watch the Frauenkirche's noon figures and turn the fountain's ring

Hauptmarkt

30 minutes at noonFree

A 1509 clock on the market square whose seven electors file past the emperor every day at noon.

Tours in Nuremberg
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Christkindlesmarkt stalls on Nuremberg's Hauptmarkt with St. Sebaldus behind

Drink Glühwein at Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt

Nuremberg

Free

Glühwein, Nuremberg gingerbread and small bratwurst grilled at the stalls, among handmade decorations on the old town's main square.

Tours in Nuremberg
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Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

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Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Nuremberg's Hauptbahnhof is a major stop on the long-distance rail network and sits just outside the city wall, a short walk from the old town. From Nuremberg Airport the U2 reaches the Hauptbahnhof in about 12 minutes, every 10 to 14 minutes.

  • Getting around

    Inside the walls everything is walkable: about 15 minutes from the station to the Hauptmarkt and ten more up to the castle. The rally grounds in the south-east and the Palace of Justice in the west are a tram, bus or U-Bahn ride out on the VGN network.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, two full days: one for the old town (castle, Dürer's house, the Hauptmarkt, the rock-cut cellars, a bratwurst lunch) and one for the 20th century (the rally grounds and Documentation Center in the morning, the Memorium in the afternoon). Add a third for the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

  • When to go

    Late November to 24 December brings the Christkindlesmarkt and the busiest, priciest weeks. Spring and early autumn are calmer for walking the old town and the open-air rally grounds. Check closing days: most city museums close on Monday and the Memorium on Tuesday.

  • Where to base yourself

    The old town, especially the Sebald side north of the river near the castle and the Hauptmarkt, keeps everything on foot. The area by the Hauptbahnhof is handy for trains and the airport U-Bahn and is still inside walking distance of the sights.

Questions travellers ask

Can you visit Courtroom 600?

Yes, as part of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials on the top floor of the Palace of Justice. It closes every Tuesday, and the courtroom itself can close for events, when the exhibition stays open. Check the closing dates on the museum's site.

Is the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds site free?

The grounds themselves, including the Congress Hall exterior, the Great Road and the Zeppelin Field, are open and free. The Documentation Center charges admission and includes a media guide; its new permanent exhibition opens officially on 4 November 2026.

Can you buy Imperial Castle tickets online?

No. Tickets are sold only at the cash desk in the outer courtyard. The combined ticket for the Palas, museum, Deep Well and Sinwell Tower costs €10 in 2026, and under-18s go free.

What is 'Drei im Weggla'?

Three Nuremberg Rostbratwürste in a bread roll, the street-food way to eat the city's small protected sausages. In a tavern they come in sixes to twelves with horseradish and sauerkraut or potato salad.

How many days do you need in Nuremberg?

Two days cover the old town and the Nazi-era sites without rushing; three let you add the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

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