Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WAGNER FESTIVAL
The
Wagner Festival
(
www.bayreuther-festspiele.de
)
has been a summer fixture in Bayreuth for
over 130 years and is generally regarded as the top Wagner event anywhere in the world. The
festival lasts for 30 days (from late July to late August), with each performance attended by an
audience of just over 1900. Demand is insane, with an estimated 500,000 fans vying for less than
60,000 tickets. Until recently all tickets were allocated in a shady lottery with preference given to
'patrons' and 'Wagner enthusiasts'. Ordinary, unconnected fans sometimes had to wait five to 10
years before 'winning' a seat. However, in a bid to introduce a bit more transparency into pro-
ceedings, the festival organisers recently decided to release some tickets onto the open market
through travel agencies, making the procedure of bagging a seat considerably less frustrating and
angering many a Wagner society in the process. Alternatively, it is still possible to lay siege to the
box office two and a half hours before performances begin in the hope of snapping up cheap re-
turned tickets, but there's no guarantee you'll get in.
Once in the Festspielhaus, ticket holders to one of Germany's premier classical music festivals
face uncomfortable hard wood seats and poor ventilation - all part of the experience, diehards
claim.
Sleeping
Don't even think of attempting a sleepover in Bayreuth during the Wagner Festival as
rooms are booked out months in advance.
Hotel Goldener Anker €€€
( 787 7740;
www.anker-bayreuth.de
; Opernstrasse 6; s €98-128, d €148-198;
HOTEL
)
The refined elegance of this hotel, owned by the same family since the 16th century, is
hard to beat. It's just a few metres from the opera house, in the pedestrian zone. Many of
the rooms are decorated in heavy traditional style with swag curtains, dark woods and an-
tique touches. Parking is €15 a day.
Hotel Goldener Hirsch €€
( 1504 4000;
www.bayreuth-goldener-hirsch.de
;
Bahnhofstrasse 13; s €65-85, d
€85-110; )
Just across from the train station, the 'Golden Reindeer' looks a bit
stuffy from the outside, but once indoors you'll discover crisp, well-maintained rooms
with contemporary furniture and unscuffed, whitewashed walls. Some of the 40 rooms
have baths. Parking is free.
HOTEL
