Eremitage (Hermitage) Palace & Park
A short drive east of the city centre, the Eremitage is Bayreuth's greatest open secret — a sprawling rococo park where fountains erupt on the hour, shell-encrusted grottoes hide in the hillside and the ghost of Margravine Wilhelmine seems to linger around every clipped hedge. Ludwig II himself used to stay here during his visits to Bayreuth.
Three Palaces, One Extraordinary Park
The complex centres on the Old Palace, the New Palace and the Sun Temple — a circular colonnade built as a tribute to Apollo — surrounded by beautifully maintained hedge gardens, pergolas, woodland paths and ornate waterworks that spring to life in summer.
The New Palace was added by Margravine Wilhelmine and is as extravagant as you would expect from the woman who also commissioned the UNESCO opera house in town: lavish Baroque and Rococo rooms open for tours throughout the warmer months.
The Hermitage Cave
Carved into the sandstone, the Hermitage Cave was once a genuine hermit's dwelling — part of the 18th-century aristocratic fashion for ornamental hermitages. Its interior is encrusted with shells and minerals, creating an otherworldly grotto atmosphere that is genuinely unlike anything else in Bavaria.
Walk slowly through the woodland paths connecting the various pavilions and grottoes: the park rewards those who wander rather than rush, and picnickers are quietly tolerated on the lawns.
When to Go
Visit in summer when the fountains are fully operational — the Sun Temple fountain display is the visual highlight and runs on a schedule, so check times at the gate on arrival.
The park is open all year round and free to enter; palace rooms require a ticket. Autumn turns the surrounding woodland copper and gold, making October a particularly beautiful time to visit.
Eremitage (Hermitage) Palace & Park on video
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