Where to stay in Nuremberg: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

This is the Nuremberg of the postcards. The Old Town climbs from the Pegnitz up to the Kaiserburg, and almost everything you want to see is packed in between: the Hauptmarkt with its gilded Schöner Brunnen fountain and the Frauenkirche, the twin-towered St Lorenz church, and Albrecht Dürer's house tucked just beneath the castle walls.

Hotels here tend to be smaller and more individual than the big names by the station, and a few sit right under the castle or a few steps from St Lorenz. In December the Christmas market fills the main square, and a room inside the walls means you can nip back to thaw out between rounds of mulled wine. Book early for Advent; everyone else has the same idea.

Nuremberg's main station sits just outside the south-east corner of the walls, facing the round tower of the King's Gate. Cross the road and you are in the Handwerkerhof, a little courtyard of craft workshops and bratwurst kitchens, with the pedestrian shopping streets of the Old Town running on from there.

This is where the city keeps most of its large four-star hotels, several of them two or three minutes' walk from the platforms. It is the obvious base if you are arriving by train, planning day trips to Bamberg or Munich, or catching the U-Bahn out to the exhibition centre or the airport. It lacks the hush of the lanes under the castle, but for a two-night break the convenience is hard to argue with.

South-east of the centre the city opens out into lakes, parks and the halls of NürnbergMesse. Most people who stay here are in town for a trade fair, and the hotels are set up accordingly: quiet rooms, saunas for the end of a long day on the stands, and car parks.

There is a reason to come without a lanyard, too. This is the part of the city where the Nazi party held its rallies, and the Documentation Centre on the old rally grounds tells that story unflinchingly. The main station is about 3 km away and the U-Bahn links the fairground with the Old Town, so evenings in the centre are easy.

Nuremberg is a small enough city that staying on the edge costs you very little time. The airport hotel sits directly opposite the terminal with the U-Bahn at the door, which takes the stress out of a dawn flight. Elsewhere you can sleep beside the Lorenz Forest, about ten minutes' drive from the centre, or next to a suburban U-Bahn stop with hundreds of parking spaces to choose from.

Pick this if you are touring Franconia by car, travelling with children who need room to run, or simply prefer birdsong to tram bells. Skip it if your idea of a city break is rolling out of a wine bar and straight into bed.

Fürth runs straight into Nuremberg's western edge, but it is very much its own town, with a tidy old quarter of sandstone houses, a leafy municipal park and a strong café habit. It is a calmer, more local place to stay, and the U-Bahn and trains run into central Nuremberg all day.

Hotels cluster around the centre and the park, with a spa hotel on the wooded outskirts for anyone who wants an indoor pool and a sauna after a day's sightseeing. A sensible choice when Nuremberg itself is full, which during the Christmas market and the big trade fairs it very often is.

Erlangen is a university and research town north of Nuremberg, laid out on a tidy Baroque grid and busy with bicycles. Most visitors come for work or the conference centre, and the hotels reflect that: modern, well run and close to the station, which has quick links to Nuremberg and on towards Munich. The centre is pleasant for an evening, with plenty of bars and restaurants kept lively by the students.

Bamberg is the prettiest town in Franconia, and that is a competitive field. Its UNESCO-listed old quarter spills across the River Regnitz, with a town hall marooned on a bridge in midstream, a four-spired cathedral on the hill and a row of old fishermen's houses along the water. The local smoked beer tastes faintly of bacon and divides opinion; try it anyway.

Most people visit on a day trip from Nuremberg, well under an hour away by train, but staying the night lets you have the lanes to yourself once the coaches leave. Hotels are small and full of character: a count's old town palace with a courtyard, a family-run house above a cake shop, a half-timbered inn looking up at the cathedral.