Discover Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Accommodation in Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen offers several clearly distinct highlights to consider when planning your trip: the Roman Museum, the Limes, Wülzburg, trails in Altmühltal Nature Park, and the region’s lakes.
Roman history in the district
The Limes runs for around 40 kilometres across Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site there since 2005. In Weißenburg, the Roman Museum displays Germany’s largest Roman treasure hoard and houses the Central Bavarian Limes Information Centre. The Biriciana fort is also part of the city’s Roman heritage; it has been partially reconstructed. Weißenburg’s Roman heritage also includes the Roman Baths. Numerous Roman watchtowers, forts and fragments of bathhouses throughout the district bear witness to its Roman history.
You can explore these themes in different places and in different ways: the museum focuses on finds and information, while the Via Biriciana, a hiking trail in Weißenburg, follows old Roman roads to the Limes. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between a museum visit and a walking route connected to the Roman past.
Wülzburg above Weißenburg
The old Ansbach Hohenzollern fortress of Wülzburg stands above Weißenburg on the highest hilltop of the southern Franconian Jura, at an elevation of 630 metres. It is an impressive monument to Renaissance fortress architecture in Germany. Guided tours are offered there from May to October, weather permitting. Take this seasonal period and the weather caveat into account when planning, and check tour availability before you travel.
Hiking, cycling and canoe touring
The Altmühltal Panorama Trail runs for 200 kilometres along the Altmühl from Gunzenhausen to Kelheim through Altmühltal Nature Park. The German Hiking Association has certified it as a “Quality Trail Wanderbares Deutschland.” The Via Biriciana offers a shorter, thematically focused alternative: it follows old Roman roads to the Limes. Both trails combine hiking with a clearly defined point of reference—one follows the Altmühl and the nature park, the other Roman history.
For cycling, the Altmühltal Cycle Route runs for around 160 kilometres from Gunzenhausen to Kelheim through Altmühltal Nature Park. The canoe route on the Altmühl through the nature park is just under 120 kilometres long between Gunzenhausen and Dietfurt/Töging. This gives you routes for three different ways of getting around; the stated distances refer to different routes and endpoints, not to one continuous trip. Conditions for navigating the canoe route may vary by season.
Lakes and wildlife watching
The Franconian Lake District extends across the districts of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen and Roth. The lakes mentioned there include Lake Altmühlsee, Little Brombach Lake, Igelsbach Lake, Roth Lake and Great Brombach Lake. Lake Altmühlsee lies northwest of Gunzenhausen and is ideal for swimming, sailing and surfing. Water sports are generally possible on the lakes; at Igelsbach Lake, they are permitted only as part of common use. As official usage rules may change, check the current guidance before taking part in water sports.
Another way to experience nature is the approximately 120-hectare Vogelinsel (Bird Island) in Lake Altmühlsee, where the Bavarian branch of the German Society for Nature Conservation offers ornithological guided tours. If you would like to include one of these tours in your trip, check its availability in advance.
Discover more destinations: Muhr am See, Nennslingen, Weißenburg in Bayern, Gunzenhausen, Thalmannsfeld, Rhön-Grabfeld, Straubing-Bogen, Schwandorf.
Go to the main travel overview: Bavaria.
