Bamberg in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Bamberg covers 13 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Bamberg rewards a detour.

The Bamberg route at a glance

• Day 1
• Day 2

Day 1

Day 1 covers 7 stops and about 1.4 km on foot, from New Residence and Rose Garden to Obere Pfarre (Church of Our Lady). ≈ 1.4 km of walking, about 15 min

Morning

1. New Residence and Rose Garden: The New Residence in Bamberg, the palace of the prince-bishops on the Domplatz, with more than forty state rooms, an Imperial Hall and a rose garden above the roofs of the old town. 0.2 km on foot (2 min) to the next stop
2. Bamberg Cathedral: Bamberg Cathedral, the four-towered church consecrated in 1237, with the mysterious Bamberg Horseman, the tomb of Emperor Henry II and Kunigunde by Riemenschneider, and the only papal tomb in Germany. 0.1 km on foot (1 min) to the next stop
3. Alte Hofhaltung (Old Court): The Alte Hofhaltung in Bamberg, the old court of the bishops beside the cathedral, on the site of Emperor Henry II's palace, with a Renaissance gate and a courtyard of half-timbered galleries. 0.4 km on foot (5 min) to the next stop
4. Sandstraße and the Sand District: The Sandstraße in Bamberg, the main street of the old Sand district below the cathedral hill, lined with old houses, small shops and Franconian taverns, and the heart of the Sandkerwa festival. 0.2 km on foot (2 min) to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Little Venice (Klein-Venedig): Little Venice in Bamberg, a row of old fishermen's houses on the bank of the river Regnitz, with small gardens and wooden balconies right above the water, in the island town. 0.2 km on foot (3 min) to the next stop
2. Schlenkerla and Bamberg Rauchbier: The Schlenkerla in Bamberg, a historic brewery tavern in a half-timbered house first recorded in 1405, where Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, a smoked beer, is tapped from oak barrels. 0.3 km on foot (4 min) to the next stop
3. Obere Pfarre (Church of Our Lady): The Obere Pfarre in Bamberg, the Gothic church of Our Lady on the Kaulberg, with a tall choir rising like a ship above the lanes, a Bridal Portal and a painting attributed to Tintoretto.

Day 2

Day 2 covers 6 stops and about 6 km on foot, from Böttingerhaus and Villa Concordia to Altenburg. ≈ 6 km of walking, about 1 hr, 15 min

Morning

1. Böttingerhaus and Villa Concordia: The Böttingerhaus and the Villa Concordia in Bamberg, two Baroque palaces built in the early eighteenth century for the same rising court official, one in a narrow lane and one on the river. 0.4 km on foot (4 min) to the next stop
2. Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus): The Old Town Hall of Bamberg, standing in the river Regnitz between the hill town and the island town, with painted walls, Rococo balconies and a half-timbered house over the water. 0.6 km on foot (7 min) to the next stop
3. Memorial to the Victims of the Witch Trials: The memorial to the victims of the Bamberg witch trials, a steel plate with glowing burn-like holes unveiled in 2015, recalling the people accused, tortured and executed here in the seventeenth century. 1 km on foot (13 min) to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Gärtnerstadt (the Gardeners' Town): The Gärtnerstadt of Bamberg, the gardeners' town, where market gardens and long narrow plots have been worked inside the city for more than six hundred years, part of the World Heritage site. 2 km on foot (24 min) to the next stop
2. Michaelsberg Abbey: Michaelsberg Abbey in Bamberg, a former Benedictine abbey founded in 1015 on one of the seven hills, with a church painted with a Garden of Heaven, reopened in 2026 after fourteen years of restoration. 2.1 km on foot (25 min) to the next stop
3. Altenburg: The Altenburg, the castle on the highest hill of Bamberg, first recorded in 1109, a second residence of the prince-bishops until 1553, with a round keep and wide views over the town and the countryside.

Walking distances and times follow streets and footpaths (routing by openrouteservice.org, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors). Times are walking only, at an easy pace; add time at each stop.

Updated: October 27, 2026

Full Bamberg guide and all stops →