going to Bayreuth this Aug.
 

Looking for information about the best way to get to Bayreuth, Germany from NYC. Is the closest airport Munich? If so, how do you get there from Munich? Any suggestions, I am going with my husband who is attending the opera festival. Any suggestions for good place to stay? Marian

It's probably equal distance from Munich and from Frankfurt.

My understanding is Bayreuth is packed during the Wagner festival. Hope you can still find a place to stay!

german towns and cities have a standard website address - www.town name.de
try www.bayreuth.de

they usually list all the accomodations and sometimes have online booking

As yk already stated, the distance is almost the same for Munich and Frankfurt to Bayreuth.
But there is more choice in going from NYC to Frankfurt as to Munich.
The best way to reach Bayreuth (if you are not going to rent a car) would be the train. Look at www.bahn.de. They have also an English version. Anyway, you have to change train in Nuremberg.
The trip takes between 3 and 4 hours, up to the connections.

Thanks for the information. We will be flying from NY to Nuremburg. Wondering if anyone has ever taken a taxi from Nuremburg to Bayreuth. I am concerned about taking a train to a train from the Nuremburg airport after flying for so long since I just had a disc problem. Any help with info related to transpotation from Nuremburg airport to Bayreuth would be very helpful. Marian

A taxi from Nürnberg or Nuremberg (not -burg) to Bayreuth will cost a small fortune. Can't tell how much, as I'd never dream of taking one for such a long distance.

Take a taxi or the underground (U1 if I remember correctly, but there is only one line departing from the airport so you can't go wrong) to Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof (central station). www.bahn.de will tell you the train connections from there, click "internat. guests" for the English version of the page.

As for accommodation in Bayreuth during the festival, I assume you'll have to take whatever you get if you book this late.

You'll need the help of the tourist information office in Bayreuth to find a place to stay. bigtyke has already mentioned the link to Bayreuth's official website. At the moment the thing doesn't work properly, let's hope it's only temporary.
But I found the tourist office's website: http://www.bayreuth-tourismus.de/eng/welcome1024.html
And their pdf with all the hotels: http://www.bayreuth-tourismus.de/pdf...nis%202007.pdf
Use their online booking system or phone them, they can be expected to speak English.

You really need to learn to look up schedules on your own on the Bahn website. Use http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en.

The trip from Nürnberg airport (Nürnberg Flughafen) to Bayreuth takes just under 1-1/2 hour, including a 12 min trip by U-bahn from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof, then an hour's trip from Nürnberg Hbf to Bayreuth.

You can buy your ticket at a DB counter in the airport. If your back is really bothering you by then, a 1st class ticket is €23,40 pP and would give you a larger, possibly more comfortable seat.

Optionally, for 2nd class, you can buy a Bayern-Ticket at the counter for €29 (it's valid for both of you, up to 5 people actually, from 9 AM weekdays, midnight weekends, all day long, on any regional trains in Bavaria). It's 2 Euro less (€27) from a ticket automat.

We flew into Frankfurt and rented a car. It was less complicated and it is very easy to drive in Germany.
Your post is dated April, so you probably have made hotel reservations. The hotel where we stayed was not air-conditioned and the streets are very noisy. You may want to address that if possible. Next time I will try the Goldener Hirsch Hotel.
Bayreuth and surrounding area is gorgeous.
Hope you have a great trip.

Will you be seeing the controversial production of "Der Meistersinger von Nuremberg"? I saw pictures of the production in today's newspaper--extremely odd, to say the least, with those gigantic false heads on the cast.

oooops, that's me again - not checking how old a question actually is.