Our 3 Days Family Holiday in Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, Germany
Nuremberg is a lovely city in Bavaria, in the south of Germany. It is famous for its medieval architecture, rich history, and the biggest Christmas market in Germany.
That is why, when we moved to Germany in 2019 and were thrilled to experience European Christmas, we chose Nuremberg as our first holiday destination. It was part of our ten-day holiday in Germany, during which we visited Nuremberg, Berlin, and Hamburg.
In this article, you will read about our experience in Nuremberg – the first leg of the journey. We also made a day trip to Ingolstadt to visit the Audi Museum. I shall explain everything in detail below.
Itinerary for our three days in Nuremberg and Ingolstadt:
Day 1: Reach Nuremberg. Explore the old town and visit the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg
Day 2: Visit the Nazi Documentation Centre, followed by a visit to the Christmas market later in the day
Day 3: Day trip to Ingolstadt – Audi Forum
Day 4: Leave for our next destination, i.e., Berlin
Reaching Nuremberg:
By Train:
Nuremberg was the 1st leg of our ten-day Holiday in Germany. As a part of that trip, we visited Nuremberg, Berlin, and Hamburg. Since we live in Darmstadt, Germany, we travelled to Nuremberg using the Deutsche Bahn (Train) from Darmstadt. It took approximately 2.5 hours. So we left in the morning from Darmstadt and caught the direct train to Nuremberg from Frankfurt. We reached Nuremberg by afternoon.
The tickets for Deutsche Bahn trains can be bought on their official website:
If you are in another country, you can check out all the public transport options to reach Nuremberg on Omio.
By Car:
Reaching Nuremberg by road is the most convenient way. If you don’t have a car, you can consider booking a SIXT rental car on their official website. We have used SIXT on our trips and found their cars to be of excellent quality, their service fantastic, and their prices reasonable.
Day trip from Munich:
If you wish to avoid the hassle of figuring out trains, researching places to visit, etc., you can even opt for a day trip to Nuremberg. Check out this Day trip from Munich to Nuremberg, which includes travel by train and a guided tour of the city.
Accommodation in Nuremberg:
Since we are a family with kids already in their teens, having enough space for each of us is essential. Hotel rooms are not spacious, and everyone is restricted to a small room. So, off late, we have started booking homestays/apartments. We usually reserve a flat or house, preferably with an equipped kitchen and a minimum of two bedrooms, so that each of us has our own space and there is always an option of cooking something.
We, as a family, like having a good breakfast and starting our day, and a homestay allows us to make simple meals at home. We also like exploring the local supermarkets, finding what’s new, and trying out foods and drinks that are locally available. Homestays are an excellent option for all those who want to add this to their holiday experience.
For this trip, too, we booked a homestay, and as usual, the experience was great.
You can check out accommodations as per your preference here:
Travelling within Nuremberg:
With Public Transport
In Nuremberg, we used public transport to travel around places.
The public transport that works in Nuremberg is:
The VGN app can be downloaded on the phone to book buses, trams, underground trains, and regional and city trains( Regionalbahn, S Bahn).
Hop On Hop Off Bus:
If you want to avoid the hassle of checking maps, looking for public transport, and travelling with crowds, you can opt for a Hop-on, Hop-off Bus. This covers most of the tourist destinations in Nuremberg and also includes an audio guide that provides information about the places.
Now, let’s get on with the Itinerary:
Day 1 :
On the first day, after reaching Nuremberg, we explored the city on foot and explored some of the important landmarks.
For first-time visitors, I recommend a 1.5-hour walking tour of the city. A local guide will take you around the town and share interesting bits about the city, its history, its cultural heritage, and some of its hidden gems.
After exploring the old town, we reached the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg.
About the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg:
This medieval castle made of Sandstone is a prominent landmark of Nurenberg and can be easily reached on foot. After a short climb, one can get fantastic views of the city. The castle houses a museum with a lovely collection of armoury and other possessions of the royal family.
One can visit the museum housed inside the castle, but the views you get after climbing are lovely and are the main highlight of the castle visit. The castle also houses a deep well, which can be seen with a guide demonstrating how deep the well is by lowering a candle and explaining its significance.
If you explore the castle entirely, you will need at least 1.5-2 hours.
More information about this castle can be found on their official website:
https://www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de/englisch/castle/sinwell.htm
After the castle visit, we climbed down, had dinner, and returned home.
Day 2:
Our first destination for today was the Nazi Documentation Center.
About the Nazi documentation centre:
Nazi documentation centre is a museum that houses a permanent exhibition called Fascination and Terror. This exhibition demonstrates everything related to the rise of the Nazis, their activities, important historical events, etc. The audio guide, exhibits, and displays explain everything in detail and aim to educate people about the chapter in German history through the 2nd World War. This museum is a treat for history lovers. If you see everything, you need at least half a day at the museum.
More information about this museum can be found here:
https://museen.nuernberg.de/dokuzentrum/
We spent about three hours in the museum.
Right next to the documentation centre is the format Nazi Party Rally Grounds. I highly recommend taking a 2-hour Walking Tour of these grounds with a professional. Through the tour, you will gain an insight into the propaganda events that took place there. You also get to learn about the architecture and the National Socialist Party on this tour.
You need an entire day if you visit the Nazi Documentation Center and also make a visit to the Rally grounds.
After our visit, we headed to the Christmas market in the heart of Nuremberg.
About the Christmas market in Nuremberg
The Christmas market of Nuremberg is said to be the world’s oldest and most famous. It is set up in the city centre. There are plenty of Christmas goodies stalls ranging from traditional gingerbread and Glühwein to new and innovative foods and desserts.
Christmas decorations and souvenirs are also a highlight of the market. The market usually gets pretty crowded despite the chilling weather and is a must-visit in Nuremberg.
The official website of the Nuremberg Christmas Market is:
https://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/
Day 3:
On this day, we planned a day trip to Ingolstadt from Nuremberg. Located about 100 km south of Nuremberg, Ingolstadt is a small city in the same state ( Bavaria), most famous for the Audi Forum and the Museum of Classic Cars. It took us about 45 minutes to reach Ingolstadt from Nuremberg by regional train. From there, we took the bus to the Audi forum.
The Audi forum has an extensive collection that showcases the latest and the old models of machines manufactured by Audi. It’s a treat for car enthusiasts. One can easily spend 2-3 hours in the museum and have lunch at the adjoining cafe.
Check out their website for more information:
https://www.audi.de/de/foren/de/audi-forum-ingolstadt/audi-museum-mobile.html
After lunch, since the kids were in the mood for some fun, we visited mystery rooms in Ingolstadt. We could have done this activity anywhere, but we decided to try it since the place was nearby and we had time. The mystery room experience was fun; we spent about an hour there.
Their official website is: https://funarena-ingolstadt.de/
After that, we headed back to Nuremberg and called it a day.
On day 4, we took the train and headed to our next destination Berlin.
To check out more photos of Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, click here.
Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive my posts in your mailbox.
Leave a Reply