Würzburg Old Town Sightseeing Train Tour

Residenzplatz and the Würzburg Residence

The sightseeing train starts on Residenzplatz, the vast square in front of the Würzburg Residence. Built between 1720 and 1744 for the prince-bishops who ruled the city, with interiors finished in the following decades, the palace is one of the finest baroque residences in Europe and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. Its grand staircase is crowned by one of the largest ceiling frescoes in the world, showing the four continents known at the time, and the vault survived the bombing of 1945.

The train ride shows you the long palace front and the Frankonia Fountain on the square, but it does not enter the building. Many visitors ask about the Würzburg Residence opening hours: the palace is usually open daily from 9:00 to 18:00 between April and October and with shorter hours in winter, and a visit inside takes about one to two hours, including the Court Garden behind it.

St Kilian's Cathedral and the Neumünster

From the Residence the train heads into the heart of the Old Town and passes St Kilian's Cathedral, one of the largest Romanesque churches in Germany. Work on it began in the eleventh century, and its four towers still dominate the skyline. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Kilian, the Irish missionary who brought Christianity to the region in the seventh century and was martyred here with two companions, which is why he is the patron saint of Würzburg and of Franconia.

Right next door stands the Neumünster, built over the place where the three missionaries were buried, with a striking red sandstone baroque facade and a dome. The audio guide explains how both churches were badly damaged in March 1945 and rebuilt, the cathedral with a mix of historic and modern interiors. Entry to both is usually free, so they are easy to visit after the ride.

The Market Square, the Marienkapelle and the Falcon House

The Market Square is the lively centre of the Old Town, where stalls sell fruit, flowers and local produce most mornings. Its landmark is the Marienkapelle, a late Gothic hall church built by the citizens of Würzburg between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, painted in red and white and topped by a slender spire with a golden Madonna. Unlike the cathedral, it was a church of the townspeople rather than the bishops, and its portals are richly carved.

Beside it stands the Falcon House, whose wedding-cake rococo stucco facade is one of the most photographed buildings in Würzburg and today holds the tourist information office. The train slows here so you can take in the square, and it is a natural place to return later for lunch, a coffee or a look at the shops in the surrounding pedestrian streets.

The Old Town by the Main River and Marienberg Fortress

As the train runs through the Old Town lanes towards the Main River, the view opens up to Marienberg Fortress on the hill across the water. For almost five centuries the fortress was the seat of the prince-bishops before they moved down to the Residence in the eighteenth century, and its round church of Saint Mary is counted among the oldest churches in Germany. Below it the Old Main Bridge, lined with baroque statues of saints, links the Old Town with the left bank.

Marienberg Fortress is worth visiting for the panorama alone: from its Prince's Garden you see the whole Old Town with its many towers. After the train tour you can walk across the Old Main Bridge and climb up in about 30 minutes, or take a city bus in summer. The ride then loops back through the centre and ends where it started, on Residenzplatz.

Visiting Würzburg: how to get there and when to go

Würzburg lies in northern Bavaria on the Main River and is the starting point of the Romantic Road. If you are wondering how to get to Würzburg, fast trains link it with Frankfurt in a little over an hour and with Nuremberg in about an hour, and Munich is around two hours away. From the main station it is about 15 minutes on foot or a short tram ride to Residenzplatz, where this sightseeing train departs.

Is Würzburg worth visiting? Very much so: few German cities pack a baroque palace, a medieval fortress and a Romanesque cathedral into such a compact centre. The best time to visit is from April to October, when the Court Garden is in bloom and the riverbanks are lively, and December brings a festive Christmas market on the Market Square. Taking the train first is one of the easiest things to do in Würzburg to get your bearings.