Bavaria · Self-guided walk
Dinkelsbühl in one walk 8 sights, 40 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Dinkelsbühl Old Town: 8 sights on one 2.7 km loop, about 40 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 2.7 km, a loop
- Time
- about 40 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Münster St. Georg
- Steps
- no streets with steps on the route
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Dinkelsbühl walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Dinkelsbühl, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Münster St. Georg
the start
A hall church tall enough to keep its own weather. Walk round it and read the tracery: 26 windows, no two alike, and one of them is the most appetising thing in town. I have tasted most of the town. I am not saying which one.
Next: St. Paul, 190 m, about 3 min, along Weinmarkt, Marktplatz.
2. St. Paul
about 3 minutes of walking from the start
On the Nördlinger Straße stands a church in sober classical dress, younger than most of the houses around it. The ground under it is much older and knows more. Old ground is my favourite course. What it knows, I am not telling you.
Next: Bäuerlinsturm, 370 m, about 6 min, along Nördlinger Straße, Bäuerlinsgäßlein.
3. Bäuerlinsturm
about 8 minutes of walking from the start
Down by the river, a slim tower wears a wooden hat that sticks out over its walls, like a muffin over the edge of its tin. Somebody kept house up there with two jobs, and one of them smelled. I am not telling you which.
Next: Museum 3. Dimension, 110 m, about 2 min, along Unterer Mauerweg.
4. Museum 3. Dimension
about 10 minutes of walking from the start
By the Nördlinger Tor, the town mill dressed itself up as a fortress, and now its front rooms hold pictures that refuse to stay flat. Bring both eyes. I am a rock: I have had three dimensions all along, and nobody built me a museum.
Next: Deutschordensschloss, 540 m, about 8 min, along Oberer Mauerweg, Muckenbrünnlein, Föhrenberggasse.
5. Deutschordensschloss
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
Four wings around one courtyard, far too fancy for the quiet lane it sits on. Up the stairs, past a coat of arms, something small and frilly as a cream cake is waiting at the top. The people working downstairs pass it every day. I am not telling you what it is.
Next: Segringer Tor, 420 m, about 6 min, along Föhrenberggasse, Nestleinsberggasse.
6. Segringer Tor
about 24 minutes of walking from the start
This gate wears a domed hat that none of the town's other gates would be seen in. Under the arch, steps go down into the old moat. A gate with a pantry, as far as I am concerned. Why it dresses so differently, I am not telling you.
Next: Schweinemarkt, 240 m, about 4 min, along Segringer Straße, Bauhofstraße.
7. Schweinemarkt
about 28 minutes of walking from the start
The square still answers to Pig Market, and it has grown far too pretty for the name. I only see cobbles, which for me is a buffet. Somebody else saw a great deal more here. I am not saying who.
Next: Faulturm, 320 m, about 5 min, along Bauhofstraße.
8. Faulturm
about 33 minutes of walking from the start
A tall tower with a pointed hat stands over a pond, admiring itself. Its name sounds like an insult: lazy, or rotten. I have been called worse, and I have been lying here longer. Why it got that name, I am not saying.
Back to the start: Münster St. Georg, 480 m, about 7 min, along Neue Promenade, Dr.-Martin-Luther-Straße, Weinmarkt.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Dinkelsbühl.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 70 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Dinkelsbühl Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.