Würzburg; Saturday, 10 December, 2022

After a leisurely breakfast I headed out of the hotel and wandered over to the tram stop to get a day ticket, which on a Saturday is excellent value as rather than being valid just for the day it’s also valid for the Sunday as well, so this one ticket would do the whole of my weekend. I caught the tram round into the centre of the city and then hopped on a conveniently timed bus that was pulling up just behind to go the two stops round to the Residenz.

The Residenz was the palace complex of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg from the 18th century onwards (when they felt it was safe enough to come down from the Marienberg Fortress up on the hill on the opposite bank of the river). The palace is a fine example of an 18th Century Rocco Baroque palace with vast amounts of stucco and frescos, all done to project the power and wealth of what was a very small kingdom.

I arrived at the palace in time to join the 11am English language tour, which was really helpful in getting some background to the building of the palace, as well as to the history of the Prince-Bishops in Würzburg. The tour just takes you round the first couple of rooms leaving you to explore the remaining suites of rooms on your own.

After taking in the tour of the palace I headed out into the Gardens to have a wander round those for a little while, including the stunning view across the rooftops of the city to the former home of the Prince-Bishops in the Festung Marienberg.

I headed back to the front of the palace in time to make the next land train tour of the city, which was surprisingly busy with virtually every seat taken – I hadn’t expected that many people to want to do the tour, but clearly I was wrong. The tour took in the key sights in the city centre, staying on the old town side of the river the whole time, but offering some excellent views across the river to the fortress at one point.

Back at the Residenz I went for a wander round some of the other sites of the city centre, stopping off at both the Cathedral and the neighbouring Neumünster to have a look around those before heading over to the Christmas Market for a very late lunch and a quick look round the Marienkapelle, the church in the market place.

By now it had been snowing for a little while and I was getting quite cold so I headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours to warm up, before heading back out again once it had gotten dark to spend a little more time looking round the city and exploring the Christmas Market before heading back to the hotel for a nightcap and then bed