Nuremberg's food identity is protected by EU law: finger-sized Rostbratwürste, Elisenlebkuchen made with barely any flour, and dark red Rotbier brewed under the old town. Three days of neighbourhood markets, medieval sausage kitchens and Franconian wine taverns.
Südstadt's neighbourhood market brings Franconian growers selling white asparagus, Bamberg onions, smoked trout and Landbrot. The surrounding Wölckernstraße is lined with Turkish bakeries, olive stalls and spice shops.
A 500-seat timber hall claiming to be the world's largest bratwurst restaurant, grilling Nürnberger Rostbratwürste over beechwood since 1431. Order six, eight or twelve with sauerkraut and horseradish; open daily from 11:00.
Nuremberg's best-known specialty roastery sits in Gostenhof, the city's scruffy creative quarter west of the walls. Beans are roasted on site; filter brews, espresso and cardamom buns are served in a stripped-back workshop café.
A cult chain of bare-bones taverns pouring rotating kegs from tiny Franconian village breweries you cannot buy anywhere else — Kellerbier, Zwickl and dark Franconian lagers, plus Blaue Zipfel sausages poached in vinegar-onion broth.
Nürnberger Lebkuchen has been baked here since the 14th century, when the city sat on the spice routes. Elisenlebkuchen is the top grade: at least 25% nuts and under 10% flour, baked on Oblaten wafers rather than trays.
The oldest bratwurst kitchen in the world, working out of a 1419 sandstone house on Zirkelschmiedsgasse. Sausages are made in-house to the protected recipe and grilled over open beechwood embers in a fireplace in the dining room.
A wine house since 1498 and Albrecht Dürer's regular table. The cellar leans Franconian: dry Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau in the flat green Bocksbeutel bottle, served with Obatzda, Handkäs and pressack sausage salad.
Two Michelin stars in a 1550 merchant house with just a dozen tables. Chef Andree Köthe builds tasting menus around vegetables, herbs and spices, with meat and fish used almost as seasoning; the name refers to a vinegar-braised beef dish.
Four storeys of cellars hand-cut into the sandstone under the castle hill, dug from the 14th century to store beer at a constant 8°C. The guided tour ends at the Altstadthof brewery, which revived Nuremberg's dark Rotbier in 1984.
The city's defining street food: three Rostbratwürste crammed into a crusty roll, eaten standing up for a few euros. Bratwurstglöcklein and the walk-up hatches inside the Handwerkerhof craft courtyard by the Königstor serve it all day.
A vaulted dining hall in a 1339 almshouse built on arches over the Pegnitz. The kitchen handles the heavy Franconian classics: Schäufele (roast pork shoulder with crackling), Sauerbraten with Klöße, and pond carp during the R-months.
A half-timbered corner house at the Tiergärtnertor with tables spilling onto the cobbles below the castle wall. The list runs to 60-plus Franconian bottled beers, Schnaps and regional wine, with Brotzeit boards of cheese and cured meat.