Everything in Rothenburg leads to the Marktplatz. On its west side stands the Town Hall — a Gothic wing from the late 13th century with its tall, slender tower, joined to a grand Renaissance front built after a fire in 1501 — and on the north side the Councillors’ Tavern (Ratstrinkstube), whose gable holds the town’s most famous clock.
At set hours through the day, two windows open beside the clock and the figures of the imperial general Tilly and former mayor Georg Nusch re-enact the Meistertrunk (Master Draught): the legend that in 1631, during the Thirty Years’ War, Nusch saved the town from destruction by downing more than three litres of wine in one go. Historians doubt it happened; everybody watches anyway.
Top things to do: Market Square & Town Hall Tower
Climb the Town Hall tower
Around 220 steps — the last stretch on steep ladder-like stairs through a trapdoor — take you up the roughly 60 m tower to a tiny gallery with a 360° view over the roofs, the walls and the Tauber valley. There is a small fee, paid at the top, and opening is limited in winter. Not for anyone uneasy with heights or tight spaces.
Watch the Master Draught clock
The show on the Ratstrinkstube lasts only a minute or so and runs several times a day (usually on the hour from late morning to afternoon, and again in the evening). Arrive a few minutes early to get a spot on the square.
Explore the Town Hall vaults
Beneath the Town Hall, the Historiengewölbe (historical vaults) tell the story of the Thirty Years’ War in Rothenburg, with a dungeon you can peer into. It is a good rainy-day stop.
How to get there
- From the station: 10–12 minutes on foot through the Röder Gate and along Rödergasse and Hafengasse.
- From the car parks: P4/P5 by the Röder Gate is the closest large car park — about 8 minutes on foot.
- On a day trip: every coach tour from Munich, Frankfurt or Nuremberg ends up here.
Insider tips
- The Night Watchman tour starts from the Market Square in the evening — see our Night Watchman guide.
- Climb the tower first thing in the morning; the narrow top gallery gets crowded by midday.
- Opening hours for the tower and vaults are seasonal — check locally or with the tourist office on the square before you go.
- The tourist information office is right on the square, in the same building as the Ratstrinkstube.
Best tours & tickets: Market Square & Town Hall Tower
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Market Square & Town Hall Tower and the rest of Rothenburg:
Evening walk from €193 per group Rothenburg: Private Night Watchman Tour
Rothenburg’s most famous hour, but just for your own party. After dark the lanes empty out, and a night watchman in full medieval kit leads you past St. Jakob’s Church, the Town Hall and a stretch of the walls, telling you what his job really involved — fire, plague, thieves and the city gates.
- A costumed watchman with halberd, horn and lantern
- Stories of plague, war, crime and punishment
- Hotel or restaurant pickup inside the old town
Guided walk from €148 per group Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Private Old Town Walking Tour
The quickest way to understand what you are looking at. A licensed local guide adapts the route to your group — the Market Square and the Master Draught clock, the Plönlein, the castle garden, the town walls — and fills in the Free Imperial City history that the plaques never quite explain.
- A professional local guide just for your party
- Market Square, Plönlein, the walls and the hidden corners
- Pickup from your hotel or the station available
Day trip from €81 From Munich: Rothenburg and Romantic Road Day Trip by Bus
The best-selling way to see Rothenburg without a car. A coach takes you up the Romantic Road from Munich with stops at Harburg Castle, the meteorite crater of the Nördlinger Ries and Dinkelsbühl, then gives you the afternoon inside Rothenburg’s walls before driving back in the evening.
- Harburg Castle and the Nördlinger Ries crater on the way
- A stop in the walled town of Dinkelsbühl
- Free time to explore Rothenburg on your own
