After the WVV Marathon Würzburg: Nuremberg

The Route: Würzburg → Nuremberg → onward connection or flight home Logistics: Direct trains, around 1 hour, running at least hourly through the day. No change required. Marathon Month: May Duration: 1 night

Würzburg Hbf ──(60 mins direct RE/ICE)──> Nuremberg Hbf
                                                │
                                    Nuremberg Airport (NUE) ◄──(12 mins U-Bahn U2)──┘

The WVV Marathon Würzburg finishes at the Congress Centrum on Sunday, and by Monday morning a direct hour-long train ride is a low enough ask even on stiff legs to be worth taking rather than staying put for a second Würzburg night. Nuremberg in May is an ordinary, pleasant sightseeing month, well clear of the Christmas-market season the city is more widely known for internationally, with long daylight and outdoor seating fully open across the old town. Direct trains run frequently through the day from Würzburg Hauptbahnhof, both regional services and faster ICE connections, so there is no need to book a specific departure in advance.

Night One: Nuremberg

Nuremberg's old town sits inside a largely intact medieval wall circuit, considerably larger in scale than Rothenburg's but flatter and easier on tired legs, with wide pedestrianised streets rather than uniformly narrow lanes. The Hauptmarkt, the central market square, is dominated by the Schöner Brunnen, a gilded Gothic fountain, and sits a short flat walk from the station. The Kaiserburg, the imperial castle on the hill above the old town, is the one significant climb in the city centre; it rewards the effort with wide views over the red rooftops below, but treat it as optional rather than essential on a recovery evening, since the approach involves real gradient rather than gentle steps. Entry to the castle museum runs a modest few euros and can be skipped entirely in favour of simply viewing the grounds from outside.

For a flatter alternative, the path along the Pegnitz river through the old town centre is paved and level, passing the Henkersteg, a covered wooden footbridge, and giving a good sense of the city without any climbing at all. The riverside stretch runs for close to two kilometres and has frequent benches, so a slow lap at whatever pace stiff legs allow is comfortable rather than something to push through.

The Germanisches Nationalmuseum, a short flat walk south of the old town walls, is worth factoring in as an indoor alternative if the weather turns: the collection runs from prehistory through to the 20th century, and its scale means a visit can be as short or as long as legs and interest allow, with plenty of seating throughout the galleries. Entry runs a modest few euros, and the building itself, a former Carthusian monastery with a modern extension, is as much a reason to visit as the collection inside it.

Where to stay: Le Méridien Grand Hotel, directly opposite the Hauptbahnhof, suits anyone prioritising a short walk from the platform after a day of travel. Hotel Drei Raben, a short walk into the old town itself, positions guests closer to the evening's restaurant options at the cost of slightly more distance from the station in the morning.

Where to eat: Bratwursthäusle, beside St Sebald's church, serves Nuremberg's own small grilled sausages, traditionally ordered by the half-dozen or dozen with sauerkraut and mustard, a straightforward and well-suited meal for a body still recovering carbohydrate and salt. Café Katharinchen, in the restored ruins of a former convent near the Königstor, offers a quieter, more sit-down alternative if a long evening of standing at a bratwurst counter has no appeal.

Getting to Nuremberg Airport (NUE)

Nuremberg Airport sits within the city, reachable from the Hauptbahnhof or the old town by U-Bahn line U2 in around 12 minutes, with trains running every few minutes through the day. There is no need to book this in advance; a single ticket can be bought from any U-Bahn platform machine, and the airport itself is small enough that the walk from the U-Bahn platform to check-in takes only a few minutes. For onward travel by rail instead of by air, Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof has frequent long-distance ICE connections across Germany, making the city a workable staging point for a further leg of the trip rather than only a stop on the way home.