Bayreuth Scenes

Bayreuth Hermitage

(August 2026)

Bayreuth is charming, even if you are not attending the Festival. Whilst it is situated in Bavaria, many locals prefer to call themselves ‘Franconian.’ The town dates from the 10th Century AD and still has various historic guilds flagged in the ancient mall, but many venerable buildings were, to use Graham Greene’s phrase, “bombed about a bit” in WWII.

We stayed at Liebesbier Urban Art Hotel at Andreas-Maisel-Weg 1, on a large site that features the historic brewery “Maisel & Friends.” That has a bar and restaurant at which we spent many happy hours, before and after the opera. Wine, beer, dumplings, burgers…The hotel itself has a trendy automatic check-in machine, that we couldn’t get to work, but helpful humans were present, just over the short cobbled walk, to admit us.

A stroll around town shows numerous pretty buildings (yet some, alas, are in disrepair):

We didn’t perhaps sample the full flower of Bayreuth cuisine. There was Hotel Rheingold / Richard’s café (Austraße 2), where we had Franconian white wine, Wiener Schnitzel (of course) with potato salad. The schnitzel is served with cranberries, which, surprisingly, works. At a nearby table, a very cheery Englishman devoured his main course and crowed for pudding; nearby, a German couple complained about something or other.

We went to Gastätte Wolffenzacher, Badstraße 1, where we had more sound teutonic fare.

There is evidence of multiculturalism even here:

Of course, at the Festspielhaus, there is an ample supply of refreshment:

If you come during Opera season, make sure to book accommodation well in advance. Otherwise, any other time, Bayreuth is still worth a visit.