5 Best Performing Arts Venues in Franconia and the German Danube, Germany

Opera and operettas are performed at this impressive glass-fronted theater from September through July.

Bamberg's own world-class resident symphony orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, plays in the Konzerthalle Bamberg.

The city's first-class ensemble, Capella Antiqua Bambergensis, specializes in ancient music featuring lute, harp, hurdy gurdy, and other early instruments. They perform (in medieval costume) at several venues in town.

If you don't get Wagner Festival tickets, console yourself with visits to the exquisite 18th-century opera house. In May the Fränkische Festwochen (Franconian Festival Weeks) take the stage with works of Wagner, of course, but also Paganini and Mozart.

Opera lovers swear that there are few more intense operatic experiences than the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. The festival is held in July and August, but you'll need to start planning your trip around 9 months in advance. First, register on the website of the Bayreuther Festspiele Kartenbüro ( ticketshop.bayreuther-festspiele.de/en). Then, on 1 December the year before your desired festival visit, all registered users will receive a notification that the booking system is open. A maximum of eight tickets can be purchased per performance on a first-come, first-served basis; these tickets are hotly contested, so don't make any travel or accommodation arrangements until you're sure you have them. If you manage to get tickets, try to book your hotel accommodation as soon as possible; Bayreuth rooms sell out fast, so you may even need to stay outside the city. For those who are unsuccessful, there's a box office open on the day of each performance where you can buy returned tickets, but don't rely on being able to secure tickets this way.