The city of Wrzburg, located on the Main river about an hour's drive (at Autobahn speeds) southeast of Frankfurt, is a relatively unknown destination that offers sight-seers great architecture and wonderful wines.

While much of the downtown area was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945, the numerous churches and other historical buildings have been lovingly restored. Even if you just stay for a few hours, you should make sure to see the Bishop's Palace ("Residenz"). This 18th-century edifice contains the world's largest unsupported ceiling fresco, created by the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, as well as numerous incredibly ornate rooms. According to legend, Napoleon called the palace "the nicest vicarage in Europe".

Among other places to see would be the Marienberg fortress overlooking the city (which hosts a museum that has several of the works of the famous wood carver Tilman Riemenschneider) and the Haus zum Falken with its ornate facade, which nowadays contains the municipal library.

If you are in science or medicine, you might want to visit the house where Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen discovered the X-ray in 1895. It now contains an exhibit about Rntgen's achievements.

After all this sight-seeing you probably will be hungry and thirsty, and you should try out the local cuisine and particularly the dry white wines of Franconia, served in a squat, roundish bottle called Bocksbeutel.

If you want further information, you can e-mail the local tourist office: tourismus@wuerzburg.de