Erfurt

Erfurt has the best-preserved medieval city centre in Germany and appears on almost no international itinerary, which makes it a genuine find for advisors whose clients have already done the obvious German cities.

The programme in this archive is a three-day, two-night private stay. It covers the Kraemerbruecke, the only inhabited bridge north of the Alps still lined end to end with houses; the cathedral and the Severikirche on their shared flight of steps above the market square; and the Augustinian monastery where Martin Luther spent six years as a monk, which is the most substantial Reformation site in the country after Wittenberg. The Thuringian countryside around the city, the Wartburg above Eisenach and the classical Weimar of Goethe and Schiller are all within an hour and can be added as full days.

Erfurt sits roughly halfway between Dresden and Frankfurt, which makes it a natural overnight on a cross-country route rather than a detour, and it is the quiet counterweight to a trip that is otherwise all capitals. The programme is private throughout, with a licensed guide, and can be cut to a single day for clients passing through. See also our wider eastern Germany journeys.