The Würzburg Residence with children
Everybody under eighteen is admitted free. That is the whole of the money question, and it changes the arithmetic of a family day here more than anything else on this site: the adults pay about ten euros each, the children pay nothing, and the guided tour is included for all of you.
The cost, and why it barely is one
Free under eighteen is unusually generous for a building of this rank, and it is the operator’s standing rule rather than a family offer with conditions. Students over eighteen from general and vocational schools also go free on a valid ID, which covers the older teenager still at school. The published tariff is in the table on the tickets page, and it is the only place on this site that prints figures.
What will bore a child, honestly
Thirty minutes of ceiling and stucco, standing still, in a group, is a long time at five or six. Older children usually do better than their parents expect on the staircase, because the scale of it does the work — a painted vault eighteen metres by thirty with nothing holding it up is a fact a ten-year-old can enjoy. The rooms after it are harder going.
Under-14s may only join a tour accompanied by an adult, so splitting the party mid-tour is not an option. The workable version is one adult on the tour and one in the garden if you have two, or the shorter route: staircase, tour if the mood holds, church, garden.
Do the garden last, not first. It is free, it is open after the palace closes, daily until dusk and 8 pm at the latest, and it turns whatever went wrong indoors into the part of the afternoon everybody remembers.
The free half is the family half
The Court Garden costs nothing, needs no ticket and has no queue, and it is open later than the building. The Court Church is free as well and takes minutes. The Martin von Wagner Museum in the south wing is free and runs on slots — antiquities Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 1.30, picture gallery from 1.30 to 5 — which suits a family with an hour to fill and a child who likes antiquities more than gilding. All three are on what costs nothing here.
Around town, with children in tow
The road train is the one reviewers keep recommending for families: forty minutes, an audio guide in six languages and a loop of the old town by road. “Sehr schöne Tour mit einem super Guide. Perfekt mit Kinder” — Rene, Germany, on Würzburg: City Tour with the Bimmelbahn Train. Another put it at more length: “Sehr freundlicher Fahrer und auch beim Ticket Kauf war alles super. Die Tour ist zu 100% weiterzuempfehlen auch für die Kinder ein Erlebnis wert ;) ein super tolle Tour. Dankeschön” — a GetYourGuide traveller from Germany, on the same listing.
What to avoid booking for a family: the two wine tours. The old-town tour with tasting specifies three Franconian wines “for participants 16 years and older”, and the Brückenschoppen is an hour built around a glass on the bridge. Good evenings, not family afternoons.
Most bookedWürzburg: City Tour with the Bimmelbahn Train
The standard walkWürzburg: Guided Walking Tour
Private, per groupWürzburg: Private Walking Tour With Professional Guide
The private walk is priced for a group of up to fifteen rather than per person, which is worth knowing with four or five of you; it is compared with the rest on every tour we list. How much of a day to allow is on how long you need inside.
Frequently asked questions
Do children pay at the Würzburg Residence?
No. Everyone under eighteen is admitted free, and students over eighteen from general and vocational schools go free with a valid ID. Children under fourteen may only join a guided tour with an adult. The published tariff is on the tickets page.
Is the Residence good for young children?
The staircase is, because the scale does the work. Thirty minutes of stucco afterwards is harder at five or six. The Court Garden is free, open until dusk and the part most families remember, which is the argument of what costs nothing here.
Which Würzburg tours suit a family?
The forty-minute road train is the one reviewers keep recommending for children, with an audio guide and a loop of the old town. The wine tours are not: the old-town tasting is for participants sixteen and over. All twelve are compared on every tour we list.