Nuremberg Map — the Old Town and the Sites Outside It
Nuremberg is a very small city with three things a long way outside it, and almost every map of it fails by trying to show both at once. The walled old town is about 1.3 kilometres end to end and entirely walkable. The Palace of Justice is over two kilometres west of it. The former rally grounds are four kilometres south-east. Those last two sit six kilometres apart from each other. So there are two maps below, one for each scale, and the gap between them is the single most useful thing to understand before you plan a day here.
Map 1: the old town, on foot
This is the Nuremberg from the photographs, and it is smaller than the photographs suggest. The Hauptbahnhof sits just outside the wall at the southern edge; the castle crowns the northern one. Between them are both great churches, the Hauptmarkt, the half-timbered streets and the river. You need no transport at all inside this map.
The old town, at walking scale — the station to the Hauptmarkt is about fifteen minutes on foot, and the Hauptmarkt to the castle about eight more, uphill. the medieval city, museums and cellars, arriving. Click any pin for the full guide.
Map 2: the city, by tram
Now zoom out, and watch the old town collapse into one pin. The three red markers spread across this map are the reason a single day in Nuremberg forces a choice: the Palace of Justice out west on the U1, the Documentation Centre and the Zeppelinfeld out south-east on tram 8, and the station in the middle. Getting between the two history sites takes roughly forty minutes each way.
The same city, zoomed out to tram scale. Everything on the map above now fits inside the single Hauptmarkt pin — and note how far the red pins sit from it, and from each other. Open in Google Maps for live directions.
How far apart things really are
Straight-line distances from the Hauptmarkt, which is as close to the centre of the old town as makes no difference. Add a little for the walking route.
| From the Hauptmarkt | Distance | Getting there |
|---|---|---|
| Kaiserburg | About 500 m | Walk, 8 minutes uphill |
| St Lorenz | About 300 m | Walk, 4 minutes |
| Hauptbahnhof | About 900 m | Walk, 12 minutes |
| Germanisches Nationalmuseum | About 650 m | Walk, 9 minutes |
| Palace of Justice | About 2.2 km west | U1 to Bernschauer Platz |
| Documentation Centre | About 3.4 km south-east | Tram 8 to Doku-Zentrum |
| Zeppelinfeld grandstand | About 4.3 km south-east | Tram 8, then walk |
| Tiergarten | About 5 km east | Tram 5 |
| Airport | About 5 km north | U2, 12 minutes |
The three bold rows are the ones that break itineraries. The Palace of Justice and the Zeppelinfeld are about six kilometres apart, on opposite sides of the city.
Planning around the distances
Which is really a scheduling problem rather than a map problem, and these are the pages that solve it.
Open these directly in Google Maps
For live directions and opening times on the day, rather than orientation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nuremberg walkable?
The old town is, almost entirely — about 1.3 km from the station gate to the castle. The Hauptbahnhof to the Hauptmarkt is roughly a twelve-minute walk, with the castle eight minutes beyond that, uphill. You need trams only for the Nazi-era sites and the zoo. The old town, street by street.
How far are the Nazi rally grounds from Nuremberg city centre?
About 3.4 km south-east of the Hauptmarkt to the Documentation Centre, and 4.3 km to the Zeppelinfeld grandstand, reached on tram 8 to Doku-Zentrum in roughly twenty minutes. The site is open ground, unfenced and free. What is there and how to reach it.
How far is Courtroom 600 from the rally grounds?
About 6 km, on opposite sides of the city — the Palace of Justice is 2.2 km west of the Hauptmarkt and the rally grounds 4 km south-east. Allow forty minutes between them. This is the distance that forces most one-day visitors to choose. The one-day itineraries.
Do I need public transport in Nuremberg?
Only for the sites outside the walls. A day ticket is around EUR 10.60 against about EUR 3.90 for a single, so it pays from three journeys. For an old-town day you need nothing at all. What a day here costs.