Take the U-Bahn line 2 from Nuremberg airport to the Hauptbahnhof; the 50-mile trip takes an hour by train, with hourly departures. The return trip costs €27 (£19.20).If you prefer to do the whole trip by train, via London Waterloo and Cologne, you could pay £208 this weekend, although by booking ahead and specifying your train times this could come down to £169.50. Contact German Railways (0870 243 5363; ) or Rail Europe (08705 848 848; ).INSTANT BRIEFINGBayreuth is a compact place, the centre of which is shaped rather like the bowl of a spoon and is contained within the Hohenz?rnring road. There is a Wagnerian theme to many of the place names, from Siegfriedstrasse to a pharmacy called Parsifal. Most of the attractions are within this central area; one exception is the composer Richard Wagner's theatre, the Festspielhaus, which is a 10-minute walk beyond the railway station. The tourist office is at Luitpoldplatz 9 (00 49 921 88588; ); it is open 9am-6pm from Monday to Friday and 9.30am-1pm on Saturdays, and from May to October it is also open on Sundays from 10am-1pm. As well as providing plenty of material in English, staff can sell you a Bayreuth Card.
This costs €9 (£6.40) for three days of free local transport (including Bayreuth's daily sightseeing bus) and free admission to several of the town's museums.REST ASSUREDMost hotels are in the town centre. The oldest and most conveniently situated in Bayreuth is the lovely Hotel Goldener Anker at Opernstrasse 6 (00 49 921 65051; ) A double room costs €170 (£120). Other well-located options for the Festspielhaus and the main sights can be found on Bahnhofstrasse, to the south of the station. The best of these is the Bayerischer Hof at number 14 (00 49 921 78600; ), a four-star hotel with the added attractions of a garden and an indoor swimming pool Doubles here start at €170 (£120). Alternatives in the town centre include the three-star Hotel Lohm? at Badstrasse 37 (00 49 921 53060; ), which has doubles at €143.50 (£103), and the Pension Zum Edlen Hirschen, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 75 (00 49 921 764430), where a double will cost €67 (£48) and a single €49 (£35) during the festival season All prices include breakfast.
Once the festival is over, prices may fall substantially.MUST SEEStart in the centre of town with the Neues Schloss on Ludwigstrasse 21 (00 49 921 759 6921). It was built by Wilhelmine, the countess - or, according to her official title, Margravine - who was responsible for the development of Bayreuth in the 18th century. It opens from 9am-6pm daily in summer, and from 10am-4pm in winter.Behind the palace is the elegant Hofgarten, an extensive park that formed Wilhelmine's back garden. Although she lived here only briefly, it is worth visiting her apartments on the first floor to marvel at the rococo architecture, gilded ceilings and inlaid wood floors (admission €3/£2.10).It was one of Wilhelmine's other buildings, the breathtakingly beautiful Margravial Opera House on Opernstrasse 14, whose deep stage first attracted Wagner to Bayreuth in the hope that he could stage his works there. When the orchestra pit proved too small he decided to build his own opera house. The Margravial theatre is open the same hours as the Neues Schloss (admission €4/£2.70).Wagner's Festspielhaus at Festspielh? 1-2 (00 49 921 78780) was completed in 1876, and it is used only for the Wagner festival.
It has extraordinary acoustics and an orchestra pit completely hidden beneath the stage so that the musicians don't distract the audience. This architectural masterpiece is closed to everyone but ticket-holders during the festival season, but, at other times of year, four daily tours reveal the backstage areas to visitors.The home that Wagner built for himself was Wahnfried, a large house at Richard-Wagner-Strasse 48 (00 49 921 757 2816). It is now a museum, containing some of his furniture and a large collection of photos, letters and other memorabilia. It opens 9am-5pm daily, and until 8pm on Tuesday and Thursday (admission €4.50/£3.20).If all this high culture gets too much, there is a fascinating exhibition of one of Bavaria's other cultural exports, beer - in this case, the wheat beer made by Maisel. A lively museum, which demonstrates not only the machinery but the sounds and smells of brewing, has been set up in the old brewery at Kulmbacherstrasse 40 (00 49 921 401234; ). Tours take place at 10am daily, and end with a glass of Maisel's Weisse beer.MUST EATFor a small town, Bayreuth has an impressive range of restaurants.
