The World Cup in Germany this summer will be the biggest tourist draw in Europe for 2006 as well as being the most popular and watched sporting event in the world. The host cities of Germany are prepared for the influx of tourists and fans, seeking to soak up the atmosphere of the greatest show on Earth. An anticipated 4 million people well descend upon the 12 host cities over the 4 weeks to follow the fortunes of their team and perhaps soak in some of the sights of the cities themselves.



For some of the less recognised cities, the World Cup represents an ideal opportunity to showcase what they have to offer and perhaps stretch the commercial benefits of the World Cup beyond the short term. Internationally recognised German cities such as Berlin, Munich and Hamburg gain masses of short break tourism and international events and perhaps the other host cities have an opportunity to derive similar international renown on the back of hosting the worlds' largest sporting event.

Whilst Munich is high on the city break agenda for any European tourist, its' smaller neighbour, Nuremberg has so far alluded the tourist. Nuremberg lies in northern Bavaria and was once a medieval centre regarded as an important Roman staging point. Although some of the architectural past remains the allied bombing campaigns of 1945 have destroyed much of what existed of the historic buildings. These have been largely restored to their pre war status and the old town is a fine example of medieval and Roman architecture. As well as the deep past, Nuremberg has much to offer as a result of the city's more recent past. The Nazi recognition of Nuremberg as a 'national shrine' leaves a legacy of Nazi style architecture and the city offers much in the way of interesting attractions for those more interested in more recent history.

Nuremberg is a compact and pleasant city of some 500,000 inhabitants. There are many hotels and guesthouses both within the city and in the surrounding metropolitan area. Although the city is well placed to cope with the influx of world Cup visitors those seeking late bookings or accommodation in and around the four week duration of the tournament would be well advised to do some research before travelling. . Some of the major hotel resellers (http://www.superbreak.com ) might have some availability if not in Nuremberg itself then perhaps in the surrounding towns of Bavaria. There are alternatives outside of the city of Nuremberg and these options can be explored further by visiting the official Nuremberg tourist website (http://tourismus.nuernberg.de ).

Bavaria itself is one of the main tourist hot spots in Germany with a range of attractions that should keep even the most restless of tourist occupied for a week or so. For those hoping to mix some

World Cup action with something more sedate then Bavaria might just be the place to explore. Bavaria is a great region for driving with rolling landscapes and scenery befitting any country, not least the famous Black Forest itself. Car hire is easy to come by in the region and is centred around Nuremberg and in particular the regional airport which offers domestic flights to the other host cities. Most of the major car rental firms have a presence there (http://www.easycar.com/aspx/car-hire/destination/Germany.aspx/EN ) to travel to and from Nuremberg and the other World Cup destinations this city.

Submitted by:

Michael Hanna

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