Goslar

Two days in Goslar and a morning in the Okertal

Two days in Goslar cover the Kaiserpfalz imperial palace, the old town and the Rammelsberg mine. Spend day one at the palace and its chapel of St Ulrich, the town hall's painted Huldigungssaal and the miners' Glockenspiel on the Markt, and day two in the Rammelsberg tunnels. Add a morning in the Okertal if you can.

Day one, morning. Start at the Kaiserpfalz, the restored imperial palace on its lawn south-west of the centre. The great hall is lined with huge 19th-century paintings of German history, and the chapel of St Ulrich holds the heart of Henry III. Walk through the Frankenberg quarter to the Markt.

Afternoon. See the town hall and its painted Huldigungssaal, then climb a tower of the Marktkirche for the view. Wait for the Glockenspiel on the Markt, where little miners and the knight Ramm act out how silver was found. Walk past the Kaiserworth and the Bäckergildehaus, then on to the Mönchehaus, where the Kaiserring winners' art is shown.

Evening. Dinner and a glass of Gose in the old town.

Day two, morning. Walk or ride up to the Rammelsberg mine museum. Choose between the mine train tour and the older galleries with their water wheels; with time, do both. The surface buildings, built into the slope in the 1930s, are impressive on their own.

Afternoon. Return along the green belt of the old walls to the Zwinger tower and its museum of late medieval arms, then out through the Breites Tor.

Day three. Drive or cycle into the Okertal, a granite valley south-east of town, where a reservoir and dam sit above rocky cliffs and riverside trails. Alternatively, ride the bus to Hahnenklee for the cable car up the Bocksberg and a look at the Gustav Adolf stave church, built in Norwegian style.

Gose beer, Harzer Käse and Harz game dishes

Goslar's drink is Gose, a tart, cloudy wheat beer brewed with coriander and salt and named after the stream that flows through town. The food is Harz mountain cooking: Harzer Käse with caraway and onions, venison and wild boar in autumn, trout from Harz streams, and Grünkohl kale with sausage in winter.

Goslar has given the beer world one curiosity. Gose, a top-fermented wheat beer brewed with coriander and salt, takes its name from the Gose stream that flows through town. It was popular here for centuries, died out, then came back. Order a glass in the old town; it is tart, cloudy and refreshing, quite unlike a Pils.

The food is Harz mountain cooking. Harzer Käse, a small sour-milk cheese with a strong smell and a gentle taste, is eaten with caraway, onions and dark bread. Game from the surrounding forests, such as venison and wild boar, fills autumn menus with red cabbage and potato dumplings, and trout come from Harz streams. In winter, look for Grünkohl (kale) with sausage, a Lower Saxon favourite.

The old town's restaurants are mostly traditional, with a couple of Italian and French places offering cheap weekday lunches. Several historic houses, including the Kaiserworth, have restaurants in their ground floors.

Nightlife is mostly traditional Kneipen and a few theme bars, busier at weekends when students and young people from the surrounding towns come in. At Christmas, the Markt market adds mulled wine and grilled sausages to the mix, served among the lit fir trees.

Goslar seasons, Walpurgis night and winter in the Harz

Goslar's year starts in earnest with Walpurgis night on 30 April, celebrated across the Harz with costumes, bonfires and music. Summer, with highs near 21 °C, is the walking season, and winter brings snow to the higher Harz around the Bocksberg.

Goslar sits low enough to avoid the worst Harz winters but close enough to enjoy them. Spring comes slowly: March averages 7 °C and May 16 °C, and the beeches on the Rammelsberg turn green in early May.

The local calendar starts with witches. The Harz has long been linked with the legend of witches gathering on the Brocken on the night of 30 April, and Walpurgis night is celebrated across the region with costumes, bonfires and music; Goslar itself executed its last accused witch in 1657, a darker note behind the souvenir broomsticks.

Summer is the walking season. Paths lead from town up the Rammelsberg and the Steinberg, and the Okertal and the Harz National Park are close by. Long light evenings suit a walk round the green belt of the old walls.

Autumn brings the Kaiserring award ceremony, as the town honours a contemporary artist with a ring and an exhibition at the Mönchehaus.

December is the busiest month. The Christmas market fills the Markt, and the neighbouring Schuhhof becomes a small forest of lit fir trees. Up in Hahnenklee, if snow falls, the lifts and the cable car on the Bocksberg open for skiing and tobogganing, with cross-country trails nearby. Other Harz ski areas, such as Torfhaus and Wurmberg, are a short drive away.