4 Best Sights in Franconia and the German Danube, Germany

This large square in front of the Dom is bordered by sturdy 17th- and 18th-century buildings, including the Alte Residenz, the former bishop's palace and now a courthouse. The neoclassical statue at the center is Bavarian King Maximilian I, who watches over the Christmas market in December.

Nuremberg's central market square was once the city's Jewish Quarter. In 1349, Emperor Charles IV instigated a pogrom that left the Jewish Quarter in flames and more than 500 dead. He razed the ruins and resettled the remaining Jews so he could build this square. Towering over the northwestern corner, Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain) looks as though it should be on the summit of some lofty cathedral. Carved around the year 1400, the elegant 60-foot-high Gothic fountain is adorned with 40 figures arranged in tiers—prophets, saints, local noblemen, electors, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great. A golden ring set into the railing is said to bring good luck to those who touch it. A market still operates here on weekdays. Its colorful stands are piled high with produce, fruit, bread, homemade cheeses and sausages, sweets, and anything else you might need for a snack or picnic. The Markt is also the site of the famous Christkindlesmarkt.

A statue of Prince Albert, Victoria's high-minded consort, is surrounded by gracious Renaissance and baroque buildings in the Marktplatz. The Stadhaus, former seat of the local dukes, begun in 1500, is the most imposing structure here, with a forest of ornate gables and spires projecting from its well-proportioned facade. Opposite is the Rathaus (Town Hall). Look on the building's tympanum for the statue of the Bratwurstmännla (it's actually St. Mauritius in armor); the staff he carries is said to be the official length against which the town's famous bratwursts are measured. These tasty sausages, roasted on pinecone fires, are available on the market square.

Prior to 1519, this oversized square was once the heart of the Jewish ghetto. The Neupfarrkirche (New Parish Church) here, built as a pilgrimage church, was given to the Protestants, hence its bare-bones interior. In the late 1990s, excavation work on the square uncovered well-kept cellars and, to the west of the church, the old synagogue, including the foundations of its Romanesque predecessor. Archaeologists salvaged the few items they could from the old stones. Recovered items were carefully restored and are on exhibit in the Historisches Museum. Only one small underground area to the south of the church, the Document, accommodates viewing of the foundations. In a former cellar, surrounded by the original walls, visitors can watch a short video reconstructing life in the old Jewish ghetto. Over the old synagogue, the Israeli artist Dani Karavan designed a stylized plaza where people can sit and meet.