The Christmas Market of the city of Nuremberg is famous worldwide. With over two million visitors per year, the "Christkindlesmarkt" is almost a multicultural experience all by itself as you will be surrounded by people from all nationalities and no matter where you come from, you might be able to hear people speaking in your own language. But few of these people know about the market of Nuremberg's twin towns, located right behind the Christmas Market. The market has over fifteen stalls offering original local products. You'll be able to find Scottish kilts, Spanish wine, Russian matryoshka dolls and much more. The atmosphere also has its own flair. The ever-present crowds just a couple of meters away won't be as prominent here. You'll actually have time to stop and look at the products without being pushed around or stepped on. If you're planning on going to Nuremberg this Christmas, do go to the Christkindlesmarkt; its fame didn't come out of nowhere. But don't forget to check out the smaller but equally magical market of the twin towns.

www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/
Google map: bit.ly/e9Fq8M

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Zirndorf is a small town near Nuremberg and home of the Playmobil Fun Land. Hotel Knorz is a 20 minute walk along paths to Playmobil, signposted by Playmobil figures.

Hotel Knorz offers bed and breakfast in a 1960's built but refurbished building on 3 floors (no lift). They have serveral family apparments, which include a fridge, two ring electric cooker, kettle and crockery. So you can bring that fussy child and eat in.
Breakfasts are a buffet of cerals, cold meat, cheese, smoked salmon and fruit, with fresh rolls and croissants and hot chocolate and chocolate spread for the kids.
The hotel is down a quiet side road, but the garden rooms have the advantage of being away from what trafic there is.

Staff were very helpful and with only one exception spoke english very well. The families staying were all german apart from us.

Zirndorf is a very attractive town with many old buildings and lots of outdoor seating at restaurants and cafes.

Volkhardtstr. 18
90513 Zirndorf
0911 / 96 06 350
knorzhotel@t-online.de
www.knorzhotel.de

Nearest station is Zirndorf, which has a 30 min service Monday to Friday, hourly at weekends. Alternatively you can get the U3 tube and then bus 70 or 72 from central Nuremberg.
It is a 10 minute walk from the rail station to the hotel.

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Playmobil Fun Land is a themed activity park based on the Playmobil children's toys. It is aimed at children under 12 and is fun interactive activities. There is minimal queing and no roller coasters, just lots of things to do. We spent two whole days there. Hight season entry (August 2009) was 10 Euros per person irrespective of age, so 40 Euros for a family of four per day.

Things to note:
Much of the play involves water, so come with swimming gear to stand under the waterfalls. If soemone gets wet, use the tumble dryers provided to dry clothes.
There is a large indoor section if it's raining. Outdoors, sandpits and things are covered with awnings on hot days.
Food and drink is NOT a rip off e.g. tea for one Euro, single scoop ice cream cone 80 Cents!
The cafeteria has lots of choice eg pasta with different sauces and pizza, very much aimed at kids. A kids meal is 42 Euros.
You pay a pfand (deposit) on all crockery which is then refunded when you hand it all in, so keeping everying tidy and clean.
Most staff speak very good english.
Much of the park is wheel chair accessibile (so good for buggies too) and they have a wheel chair raft on the boating lake.

We had two super days out and the kids would love to go back.

There is an appartment hotel with family rooms for four across the road from the park. However, as the park is not loacated in a particularly interesting part of Zirndorf we stayed at the Hotel Knorz, an easy walk to/from Playmobil and the town centre.

PLAYMOBIL-FunPark
Brandstätterstraße 2-10
90513 Zirndorf

Phone 0911/96 66-1700
www.playmobil-funpark.de
funpark@playmobil.de

Nearest station is Zirndorf which has a 30 minute train service from Furth which is on the main line to Nuremberg (or use the Underground)
Alternatively, get the bus 113 from central Nuremberg. Tourist info in Nuremberg have all the details and will printout timetables for you.

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One of the best restaurant/beergardens I've ever been to is located in the old city wall, partly in the tower, partly in the walk along the battlements. There's a variety of things on offer. Sit under old trees in the beergarden and enjoy local and Polish fare which is excellently cooked, and beer which is excellently brewed. Or sit on one of the romantic little tables by candle-light in the walk on the battlements with your sweetheart, looking at the medieval castle skyline. Or sit inside in the restaurant on rustic dark wood tables. Be sure to check out the large function room in the tower with near-360 degree panoramic views above the roofs of Nuremberg. Enjoy!

Hintere Insel Schütt 34;
tel: 0911 242 77 40;
email: info@restauration-kopernikus.de
www.restauration-kopernikus.de/restauration-kopernikus.html;
Closest U-Bahn: Woehrder Wiese, or walk from Lorenzkirche U-Bahn in 5-10 mins, going eastwards along the river Pegnitz past the lovely Heilig Geist Spital

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Nuremberg provides easy access to the very well-maintained cycle paths that go to Prague and Vienna.

Cycling is also the quickest and cheapest way to get around the city, and the cycle path goes along the river Pegnitz.

Down at "Woerther Wiese" there is a nice beer garden and a sensory garden for kids. Community sports like football and juggling take place there too - just ask, and most of the time you are very welcome to join in.

At "Woerther See", the little lake near the inner city meadows you can rent a boat, and it's also a good place for jogging and keeping fit - running round the lake usually takes about 30-45 min if you are fit.

Of course, cycling is also good during the World Cup. Especially if you want to avoid traffic jams around the stadium.

For a detailed map of Bavarian cycle paths (German language) see:
www.bayerninfo.de/radler/h_radler_e.html

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Based in the former stables of a 500 year-old castle. Cheap, central and it has rooms with a view. There is a total of 320 beds.

Burg 2, Nuremberg;
tel: +49 (911) 2309360;
www.jugendherberge.de;
Reviews: www.hostelz.com/hostel/20713-Jugendherberge-N%FCrnberg

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The Bäckerhof has a Thai restaurant downstairs and a bar upstairs. The building is unassuming from the outside but has a great space inside. The restaurant food is good and fairly inexpensive, with a small separate lounge area. Through the back there is a fussball table. Upstairs is a really huge bar with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Sofas, table service, cocktail waiters and a DJ make it a great place for a couple of pre-club drinks.

Schlehengasse 2;
tel: 0911 801 3642;
www.baeckerhof.de

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Classic cocktail bar, which feels like it could be in any city! Has a huge menu, and offers an extensive list of malt whiskey

They offer mixologist courses too.

Troststrasse 10;
tel: 0911 288106
Ubahn: Baerenschanze

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A laid-back cafe-bar with very friendly staff and decent cheap food.

Karl Grillenberger Str 28
90402
Tel: 0911 223 041

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This restaurant used to be a hospital and is the real-deal for stereotypical Bavarian food. The staff wear traditional Bavarian clothing and the menu is nearly 100% meat with cabbage and/or potato noodles. Also has good beer, but not one for the vegetarians.

Spitalgasse 16;
tel: 0911 22 1761

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One of Nuremberg's most popular night-time locations, the Wax Lounge is in the BA (Bavarian American) Hotel. This bar/club attracts a young crowd who take advantage of upmarket but reasonably-priced drinks and bang-up-to-date sounds from top DJs.

Bahnhofsplatz 5, Hauptbahnhof und Wöhrd

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In and around Nuremberg, you'll find a festival most weekends celebrating local beer varieties, usually every weekend in the summer, and mostly every month in winter.

Last weekend in June:
Altstadtfest Lauf - local bands play for free, market, car boot sale, beer gardens, crafts fair,
www.lauf.de/index.php?goto=termindetails&tid=3838 (German language site)

First weekend in July:
Kunigundenfest Lauf - historic parade including local groups and associations, free school theatre event on top of the local hill, lots of horses and costumed school children, fireworks, beer gardens, and a funfair.

First weekend in August:
Altstadtfest Hersbruck - beer gardens with free gigs, antique fair, little marathon and donkey race.
www.altstadtfest-hersbruck.de (German language site)

Last Sunday in August
There is a flower festival and parade in Roethenbach, which is tremendous. Since 1929, local groups and associations have designed puppets and logos and decorated them with flowers.
www.roethenbach.de/cmsweb/index.asp?menu=c_1008&style=100 (German language site); There are pictures at www.roethenbach.de/blumenfest2005/index.htm.

The most impressive funfair is usually in Nuremberg, but the beer is expensive and the atmosphere is better in Erlangen. The flower festival is very impressive, whereas the costume-rich celebrations are nice for children to watch and participate in.

There are many more festivals in the region that go under the names Kirchweih and Altstadtfest. There is also a garlic festival northwest of Nuremberg.

All the parades and festivals are usually free, but unfortunately the beer is not.

Local trains leave from the main train station out into the countryside. Get the information on the festivals from the local event magazine Plaerrer (www.plaerrer.de - German language site) or the tourist information office: Hauptmarkt 18; email: tourismus@nuernberg.de (www.tourismus.nuernberg.de)

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Nuremberg has a lot of small arthouse cinemas, a multiplex, a MAD simulation and a 3-D IMAX cinema. Most are owned by the same person Wolfram Weber.

The arthouse cinemas are now used more as cafes and pubs and places to hang out locally in a nice atmosphere, whereas the big one is more trendy and basically seems to support the little ones economically. Some nice arthouse cinemas are Casablanca, Meisengeige, and Metropolis.

There are no people inspecting tickets in Cinecitta, as this is done electronically. There is a foreign-language cinema for films screened in their original language at the Southern Cemetery, called Roxy.
And Nuremberg is also hosting annually the International Human Rights Film Festival: see www.fitame.de for details.

Filmhouse im KOMM has a filmarchive and makes them available for the public to copy and also to convert from US format into European format and similar, but it is pretty expensive.

Casablanca Cinema: Kopernikusplatz; tel: 0911 454 824
Cinecitta: various locations, see www.cinecitta.de
Meisengeige Cinema: Am Laufer Schlagturm 3; tel: 0911 204 724
Metropolis: Stresemannplatz 8; tel: 0911 538 848
Roxy Cinema: Julius-Loßmann-Strasse 116; tel: 0911 488 40; www.roxy-nürnberg.de; U-Bahn: Frankenstrasse; S-Bahn: Südfriedhof; Tram 8
Full cinema listings: nuernberg.stadtus.de/kino/kinoprogramm.html

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Best community and free radio station in the whole world with about 2000 members in total and 200 contributors a week. Libertarian, left-wing focus, multi-lingual, with good links to the local DIY and music scenes. Women's hour, prisoners' hour, Kurdish, Turkish, Greek, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese, jazz, world music, punk, heavy metal, pensioners, disabled, mental health, hip hop …

1pm - 1 am daily with arts at 4pm and politics at 5pm.

radio-z.net; 95.8 Mhz;
Kopernikusplatz 12;
tel: 0911 45 00 60;
email: info@radio-z.net

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This cafe, which is also a hotel, is a great, stylish place for breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner, drinks etc in the very centre of town. Has a lovely terrace right above the river Pegnitz. Try to grab one of the few secluded outdoor tables in the back. On a summer day, there's no better place to be: just you, the river, a few ducks, a gentle breeze... what else would you want?

Kaiserstrasse 22;
tel: 0911 22 78 45;
www.cafe-lucas.de;
Nearest U-Bahns: Lorenzkirche, Weisser Turm

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Mauthalle is one of the biggest medieval buildings in the centre of Nürnberg. Built in 1498 it was first used as a depository for salt and wheat. From the 1800's it was used to house municipal offices.
And after being burnt down during the second world war, it was restored to its former glory in the 1950's. Today it houses a shopping centre and in the basement is a restaurant and brewery called Barfüsser.

Königstrasse & An der Mauthalle (in the old town)

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If you want to see the opera, ballet or a play it is all housed here. Behind it there are other museums, including DB Museum - Verkehrsmuseum Nürnberg (museum for trains and traffic) and Museum für Post und Kommunikation (museum for mail and communication).

Richard-Wagner Platz 2-10;
Tel: 0911 - 231 3575;
www.staatstheater-nuernberg.de

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Most restaurants and bars only sell two or three types of beer, usually from a single brewery. This place is totally different: They sell more than a dozen beers from small breweries in the Nuremberg/Forchheim/Bamberg area. Snacks are simple and affordable. Having tried a traditional beer here you'll never touch a Budweiser again!

Enjoy a schnapps after your meal or have a different one with every beer. If you are travelling with children, be warned: this place is unpleasantly smoky. Try to get there early as it is hugely popular with the locals and therefore always somewhat crowded.

Rothenburger Straße 26 - a three minute walk from either Plärrer or Rothenburger Straße metro;
www.landbierparadies.com

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Looks dodgy from the outside but claims to be Germany's first Sri Lankan restaurant. Their curries (including kangaroo!) are
certainly ex-Ceylon-t!

Jakobsplatz 22
Tel: 0911 227 009

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