Tour OutlineThis upbeat Franconia beer tour covers the Franken (Franconia) region of Germany from Regensburg (Oberpfalz) in the south to Bamberg in the north. The region holds the world record for the largest concentration of breweries per capita in the world, around 293 breweries-Zone 293! The tour has an incredible array of contrasts and takes in the whole of the Franken region introducing you to the complete spectrum of breweries and beer culture that exist there, from the Brauereigasthofs (brewery guest houses), the village breweries, the Kloster (monastery) breweries as well as of course the town breweries of Forchheim and Bamberg. Tours are ’nomad’ style starting in Regensburg and then zig-zag through Franconia ending up in Bamberg on the final night. During our July tours we also visit the Annafest in Forchheim, a truly remarkable Volksfest (peoples’ festival) resembling Munich’s Oktoberfest 100 years ago! Oh, it also has the added bonus of 23 Biergarten (beer gardens) in the Kellarwald (cellar forest), can’t beat that! The tour is typically 6 days (5 nights) in duration and can be tailored depending on where you come from. We also suggest you have some extra nights in Bamberg after the tour. |
Tour Schedule |
Franconia & Bamberg Special (SB) |
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Contact andy@bier-mania.com Phone +49-(0)2157 810558 (Germany) Mobile +49-(0)177 7095599 Copyright © 2008 Bier-Mania!™ |
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Schneider Brauereigasthof, Essing, Bavaria |
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Stone Bridge, Regensburg, Bavaria |
Outline Tour ItineraryWe can meet you the evening before the tour or start the tour directly from your airport. Day 1 After we pick you up from the airport, we head down the Autobahn to Regensburg , a gorgeous medieval town nestled on the Danube. After some sight-seeing around this town which boasts over 1000 listed buildings, we then walk over the Steinbrücke, Regensburg‘s stone bridge dating from 1135. The original ‘canteen‘ for the workers, the Wurstküche, can also be seen built into the still standing original town wall! Probably the oldest hot-dog stand in the world! After some great food and beer at Spital Brewery -if it is good weather then the beer garden is a great spot, we should have time for a quick beer in Kneitinger Brewery Pub before heading out of town to our next stop of the day. We have around a 30 minute drive to the wonderfully located Weltenburg Monastery right on a bend in the River Danube where we can look at the amazing church as well as having a refreshing beer in the gorgeous beer garden! We should also have the chance for a tour of the Schneider Weisse brewery, located in the walled town of Kelheim, again on the Danube. Not only do they brew some of Germany’s most authentic and finest wheat beers but they also do an excellent tour, we even have the chance to bottle our own beer! After a busy day, we check into our hotel guesthouse for the night in Essing in the Altmühletal region. The medieval castle looms above, Burg Randeck! We then have the evening to have some excellent Bavarian food, some beer brewed on the premises by Josef Schneider himself and maybe a walk around this quaint village. Sleep well! Overnight– Brauereigasthof Schneider, Essing Day 2 Today we head out of the Altmühltal region and into the heart of Franconia. First stop is the monastery of Weisenhohe, another great church and a rustic Stuberln (=cosy, wood lined room designed for merriment!) where we can sample the excellent beers they brew. By now you will be seeing the link between religion and beer.... After a quick stop in Kanone in Schnaiitach, we then head onto Frau Hofmann‘s brewery and restaurant to have some lunch and some of her excellent Lagerbier, some of the best beer in Germany! After checking into our hotel in Forchheim, we can then head out down town, 4 breweries await us in the very centre of this gorgeous town, well known for its annual Annafest festival as well as having the largest Advent calendar in the world! During our July tours we visit this awesome festival. We should sleep well tonight! Overnight– Hotel Schweizergrom, Forchheim Day 3 Today is brewery crawl day when we get into an area which has a brewery in nearly every village! After visiting the breweries in Levi Strauss‘ birth place in Buttenheim, we stop at those breweries that take our fancy having some lunch in the amazing Kathi Bräu brewery pub in the village of Heckenhof. Before we check into oirz hotel in Pottenstein, we have a quick stop at Burg Rabenstein for an excellent view of the valley. Later on we meet up for some beer and food at Huffeissen Brauereigasthof and Mager Brauereigasthof. Overnight– Gasthof Goldene Krone, Pottenstein Day 4 First stop today is the largest brewery museum in the world, the Maisel‘s Brewery and Cooperage Museum in Wagner‘s home town of Bayreuth. An amazing tour of this 1880s steam brewery, the efforts our forefathers went to to produce beer may... The tour ends with a couple of glasses of the world class Maisel‘s Weizen, lovely! We get onto the Autobahn and head to our lunch stop at Will brewery in the village of Schederndorf in the heart of the Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) farming community. Maybe some cold meats and bread, along with of course the excellent Landbier, a Dunkle Lagerbier brewed with the freshest ingedients! (Thirsty reading this?). After the visiting the monastery at Vierzehheiligen and of course maybe a beer, we then head onto te small village of Wiesen where we check into the Brauerei-Gasthaus Thomann. We ‘only‘ have 2 breweries in the village tonight! Later we can eat at either Thomann or Gasthaus Hellmuth. Overnight– Gasthof Thomann, Wiesen Day 5 Today we go straight to Bamberg where we visit the 3 breweries Maisel, Mahrs and Keesman in the southern part of Bamberg. Afterwards we check into our hotel, park the van up and have a walkabout in Bamberg or maybe you just want to walk around on your own, meet up later? We then have some lunch in Klosterbräu, and then visit St Michaels Hill for some excellent views as well as Bamberg’s other brewery pubs, Schlenkerla, Spezial, Fässla and maybe Greifenklau and Ambräusianum. So we can say we have had the beer from all of Bamberg’s breweries, we can have a Kaiserdom beer later in the evening when we have a ’typical’ Bavarian meal at Swarg Indian restaurant! After 5 days of schnitzel you will be surprised how good an Indian tastes! Overnight– Hotel National, Bamberg Day 6 Unfortunately for you the tour has come to end and we drop you off at Nuremberg airport. Hope to see you soon! Optional Extras Combine tour with Bohemia Czech Special (10-day tour) This tour works very well combined with the Bohemia Czech Special when we have a truly epic tour. We then overnight 2 nights in Prague in the middle of the tour. Extra days in Bamberg After te 6-day tour, we recommend that you see some more of Bamberg, the tour then ends in Bamberg. Cheers!
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Tour HighlightsRegensburg UNESCO Walkabout Regensburg‘s Steinbrücke and Old Town Schneider Weisse Brewery Weltenburg Monastery Burg Randeck Zoigl beers NEW Sleep in |