Nuremberg

You walk through the splendid gardens into an idyllic park in which the silence is uninterrupted, save for the twittering and chirping of birds and grasshoppers. This is also the only place, by the way, where the castle wall is accessible to the public. The garden has a fairy-tale-like character and even feels slightly enchanted. Stone gates, figures, benches and staircases line the winding path and from a stone gallery you can find a wonderful view of the Tiergärtnertorplatz and the Albrecht Dürer House.

For a proper hedonist, there is no lifestyle without culture and cuisine, which is why he feels so much at home in Gostenhof. You can stroll from the vintage shop to the cycle workshop, from the friendly optician to the crazy designer shop. The hip district of Gostenhof on the edge of the Nuremberg city centre is still a kind of insider tip. Gostenhof is a must for devotees of individual treasures of the beaten track.

The building was erected 1446/48 to house lepers who were allowed into the city for three days at Easter, during which time they received food and clothing and medical attention. After ca 1571, the building was used to store wine - hence the name. It later served as workhouse and spinnery and to lodge poor families. In 1950 it was turned into student housing, whereby the internal structural substance was virtually obliterated. Close by you can find the Chained Suspension Bridge which is the first iron suspension bridge ever built and the Hangman's Bridge, which was constructed as a wooden footbridge in 1457. Between the 16th and the 19th c., the Nuremberg hangman lived in the tower and the roofed over walkway above the Pegnitz River.

The largest ensemble of old artisan houses in Nuremberg can be found in the Weißgerbergasse (tanners' lane). Predominantly half-timbered, the historical town houses, often with their own wells and a garden, testify to the affluence that could be attributed to the art of leather making. Instead of the busy tanners in the Middle Ages, the Weißgerbergasse today is populated with cafés, bars, small boutiques and handicraft workshops.