What is the Würzburg self-guided walking tour?
The Würzburg self-guided walking tour is an audio walk that runs entirely on your phone: the World City Trail app leads you from stop to stop, and at each one a narrator tells you what you are looking at and why it matters. The whole thing takes about 3 hours, yet only 35 minutes of that is walking, spread over 2.5 km and 10 stops. Balthasar Neumann's name comes up more than once along the way, and the stories run from a hospital founded in 1576 to a city rebuilt after 1945.
At the Juliusspital the narration explains how a prince-bishop's foundation for the sick and the poor came to run one of the largest wine estates in Germany. On the Old Main Bridge you hear who the twelve baroque saints and rulers on the piers are, St Kilian among them, and why people stand here with a glass of Franconian wine, looking up at the Marienberg Fortress. The Marktplatz brings Tilman Riemenschneider's Adam and Eve, here as copies at a portal of the Marienkapelle, and the grave of Balthasar Neumann inside. At the cathedral comes the tradition of St Kilian, the Irish missionary said to have been killed in Würzburg in 689 with his companions Kolonat and Totnan.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 35 min · 2.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What happens along the route
At each stop
The narration opens with the facts and moves on to the people, the local legends and the odd details that turn a building into a story. Every chapter can also be read as text on screen.
Between stops
Google Maps guides you along the 2.5 km of the route, about 35 minutes on foot in total, and you set the speed.
Whenever you need a break
Stop for lunch, a coffee or a museum visit, and the narration waits where you left it, for later the same day or another day.
Your route, your order
The app points you to local food and shops along the way, and if another starting point is more convenient, you can switch to it or reorder the stops.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the audio walk suits
A few days in Würzburg
The walk ties the main sights together and gives each one its background, so even a short visit feels complete.
People who like their own pace
No group to wait for and no fixed start: you linger where something catches your eye and walk on when you feel like it.
Families and couples
Legends for the children, history for the adults and a pause button for everyone.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the river to the prince-bishops' palace: the stops in order
10 stops · about 35 min walking · start: Juliusspital · finish: Residenzplatz
The first stop is the Juliusspital with its long baroque wings, and from there you reach the Old Crane on the bank of the Main and walk out onto the Old Main Bridge. Back in the old town the Four Tubes Fountain stands in front of the City Hall, the Grafeneckart, and the Marktplatz with the Marienkapelle and the Falkenhaus follows. St Kilian's Cathedral comes next, and the Chronos Fountain leads on to Residenzplatz, the last stop, in front of the Würzburg Residence. Start and order can be changed in the app, and not one of the ten stops needs a ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1JuliusspitalStart
Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn founded this charitable foundation in 1576 to care for the sick and the poor, and it still looks after the sick and elderly today. Part of its income comes from its own wine estate, one of the largest in Germany, and its long baroque wings frame a quiet garden courtyard.
2Old Crane
The Old Crane, the Alter Kranen, was built on the bank of the Main in the second half of the 18th century by Franz Ignaz Michael Neumann, a son of the architect Balthasar Neumann. Its two jibs once lifted goods from the river boats, and from here you look across the Main to the Marienberg Fortress.
3Old Main Bridge
Würzburg's oldest bridge over the Main was built from 1473 onwards to replace a Romanesque predecessor. In the 18th century twelve larger-than-life baroque statues of saints and rulers were set on its piers, among them St Kilian, the patron of the city, and today people like to stand here with a glass of Franconian wine and look up at the Marienberg Fortress.
Read the full story →
4Four Tubes Fountain
The Vierröhrenbrunnen in front of the City Hall was built in the 1760s under Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim. Water flows from four pipes, which give the fountain its name, and figures of the four cardinal virtues sit around its tall central column.
5City Hall
Würzburg's City Hall, known as Grafeneckart, is named after a medieval official of the prince-bishop, and the citizens have used it as their council house since 1316. Its Romanesque tower is the oldest part, while the red wing beside it, the Roter Bau, was added in the 17th century.
6Marktplatz
The market square is framed by the Gothic Marienkapelle, a citizens' church begun in 1377, and by the rococo Falkenhaus. Copies of Tilman Riemenschneider's Adam and Eve stand at one of the chapel's portals, and the baroque architect Balthasar Neumann is buried inside.
Read the full story →
7Falkenhaus
This house on the market square takes its name from the inn Zum Falken that once stood here. Its rococo stucco façade dates from the middle of the 18th century, was destroyed in 1945 and carefully reconstructed after the war. Today the building houses the tourist information and the city library.
8St Kilian's Cathedral
Würzburg Cathedral was begun in 1040 and is one of the largest Romanesque churches in Germany. It is dedicated to St Kilian, an Irish missionary who according to tradition was killed in Würzburg in 689 together with his companions Kolonat and Totnan. The church was badly damaged in 1945 and rebuilt after the war.
9Chronos Fountain
This fountain on the way from the cathedral to the Residence is named after Chronos, the personification of time in ancient Greek thought. Take a close look at its sculpture, because the details are what this stop is about.
10ResidenzplatzFinish
The wide square opens in front of the Würzburg Residence, the palace of the prince-bishops, built from 1720 to designs by Balthasar Neumann and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. In the middle stands the Franconia Fountain of 1894, with statues of the poet Walther von der Vogelweide, the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider and the painter Matthias Grünewald.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.