Erlangen

Erlangen  is a city of 113,000 people (2019) in Franconia, Germany. It is home to most of the Friedrich-Alexander University (two faculties are in Nuremberg) and the Siemens company. It grew as a result of settlement of Huguenot refugees from France, and because it was the secondary residence of the margraves of Ansbach Bayreuth.

Understand
About a third of the residents are involved with the university (students, researchers, etc.), and roughly another third work for Siemens.

Medicine is one of the specialties of the university, so you are in luck if you fall ill with more than six clinics in the city.

Tourist information
The

Early history, the Margraves and the Huguenots
While Erlangen can trace its history back to a first mention (as "Villa Erlangon") over a thousand years ago, it was soon overshadowed by its neighbour, Nuremberg, which is 50-odd years younger. The biggest lasting influence upon Erlangen was its former rulers, the Margraves from the Ansbach-Bayreuth branch line of the Hohenzollern (the leaders of Prussia and later all of Germany) dynasty. They ruled the city for most of the early modern period, but preferred to reside in Bayreuth and Ansbach respectively most of the time.

When the French Protestants were expelled by Louis XIV, the Margrave, much like his distant relatives in Brandenburg, decided to invite them to come to Erlangen. The old houses, the one-way streets of the "Huguenot-town" (which are almost unnavigable unless you ride a bike like most locals do), and a centrally located rather impressive reformed church (right next to Hugenottenplatz) still bear witness to this era. With the Huguenots a certain wealth entered town and Erlangen has been a centre for various industries, trades and research ever since. This was aided when the Margraves decided to open a new university in Erlangen, which later got two faculties in Nuremberg. A common joke (probably made up by a student of theology from Erlangen) claims that Erlangen is the only German place mentioned in the Bible with the (real sounding but fake) quote "Suchet das Himmelreich zu erlangen". This can be translated either as "seek to reach heaven" or "Search for heaven in Erlangen". However, no such quote is to be found in any common German version of the Bible.

Industrialisation and World War II
When Erlangen became part of Bavaria in the first years of the 19th century, all universities in Franconia were to be shut down in favor of the universities of "Old Bavaria". But someone pointed out that Erlangen had a unique selling point no other university in the new kingdom had: an evangelical theological faculty. As the new king wanted Protestant ministers to be educated somewhere, he decided to shut down the university in Altdorf (near Nuremberg), and retain the university of Erlangen. This proved a good decision for the city and with the industrialisation, Erlangen became an important centre of cotton processing plants. ErBa (Erlangen-Bamberg) and Baumwollspinnerei (Cotton factory) are names from this period and still found in some place names in Erlangen. During the Weimar Republic the student body of the university became dominated by far right and Nazi elements and when the Nazis took power in 1933, Erlangen citizens destroyed a monument to Jakob Herz, a famous Jewish doctor who had worked in Erlangen. After the war it took a while for Erlangen to openly discuss its Nazi past but there is now a "monument to a monument" in honor of Jakob Herz and Stolpersteine reminding of former Jewish inhabitants of Erlangen who didn't survive the Nazi era. While Erlangen was not unaffected by the Nazis and the Second World War, it was not bombed despite being a garrison town. In the waning days of the war the mayor (who had been member of the Nazi party since 1933) together with a high ranking general called Walter Lorleberg surrendered the town to the American army despite orders to the contrary from higher up. While the details are not known, Lorleberg died in the waning hours of the war, presumably killed by fanatic Nazis or through suicide. A square in Erlangen is still named after him, which is controversial because he was a high-ranking Nazi general. The monument in his honor at the approximate site of his death is both the site of wreaths being deposited in his honor and leftist graffiti or other vandalism calling into question whether a Nazi should be honored for having a single decent moment at the end of his life. Still, Erlangen escaped World War II basically intact, the only notable damage occurring early in the occupation when the last city gate, Nürnberger Tor was torn down because tanks wouldn't fit through. Reportedly local merchants had desired the removal of the gate for decades, so that may have played a role as well.

Post-war
After the war, Siemens decided to move out of Berlin, which had been almost entirely destroyed. To avoid the Soviets, they decided to build two headquarters in the American Zone, one of which would become Erlangen (the other is in Munich). This decision continues to benefit the city. Siemens' policies and decisions are followed almost as intensely as mayoral politics in Erlangen.

Erlangen grew rapidly from just under 30,000 inhabitants in 1925. Between people moving in and the incorporation of suburbs such as Dechsendorf, by 1975 the city had reached 100,000 people. Thus attaining "Großstadt" status.

Erlangen had been the site of a garrison of the Bavarian Army since the mid-19th century and became a garrison of the German Army after World War I. After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the garrison was taken over by the US Army and expanded. However, in the course of downsizing the troop presence after the Cold War, the garrison was closed in the early 1990s, and was turned into direly needed housing as well as a nature reserve. Residents and local politicians still refer to the "Housing Area" when discussing the part of the city that once housed American soldiers and their families. This transformation is sometimes cited as an example of the "peace dividend" that many hoped would result after the cold war as military installations were turned over to civilian uses. On the other hand, the forests to the east of Erlangen that had been used for artillery training are still contaminated with unexploded ordinance and you should not leave the trails there.

Erlangen's mayor from 1972 to 1996, Dietmar Hahlweg, decided against building more and bigger streets or relying solely on public transport. Instead he encouraged cycling as a means of getting around investing in infrastructure and riding a bike to work himself to set an example. Today many residents (even those working for Siemens and the mayor) get to work on their bikes every day, and the cars clogging the streets often have number-plates of the surrounding villages and suburbs. Erlangen thrives economically today, but is still dependent upon its university and Siemens. If either coughs, the city gets pneumonia.

By plane
The next airport is in Nuremberg with domestic and limited international connections. The U-Bahn (subway) takes you to the Nuremberg main station in roughly 13 minutes, from where you can take a wide variety of inter-city (ICE and IC), regional (RE and RB) and commuter-trains (the S-Bahn) to Erlangen. The subway and regional trains are fully integrated within the VGN tariff union. There is also a direct bus (line 30) from the airport to downtown Erlangen every 20 minutes on weekdays (40 minutes on weekends). This option takes a bit under half an hour.

If you are flying in from Frankfurt airport, there are connections with one change (in Nuremberg) from the train station integrated into the airport. Erlangen can be reached somewhat more quickly from Munich Airport, although it is one more stop away on the train. For more on combined train and flight tickets see this article.

By train
Trains run regularly from Nuremberg and take about 20 min. Bamberg is about 30 min away in the other direction. Most ICE trains between Munich and Berlin stop in Erlangen. Since the December 2017 schedule change, trains take a bit under three hours from Berlin on their fastest runs. The Nuremberg S-Bahn network includes four stops in Erlangen (all of them ), two of them in annexed suburbs (,, and ) VGN rates apply for all local trains trams and buses as far as Bayreuth, but not on IC or ICE, even if you're only going from Erlangen to Nuremberg. If you plan on a round trip to Bayreuth, for example, look for a day ticket as they can be cheaper than two single trips.

By bus
Privately run Intercity buses stop close to the main train station at, which is also a stop or the terminus for some public buses. To get to the city centre you have to cross the railway tracks by going through the train station. From Nuremberg the public run bus number 30 (VGN rates apply) connectsthe city centre of Erlangen with the last tram stop ("am Wegfeld") before continuing towards the airport. Bus lines 20 and 290 also go to "am Wegfeld" but they take a more circuitous route and terminate there instead of going on to the airport.

Plans to build a light rail line (locally known as Stadt-Umland-Bahn or StUB) to Nuremberg (replacing at least part of bus line 30) and to Herzogenaurach are under way but construction probably won't start before the mid to late 2020s. Other surrounding minor towns and suburbs, including Herzogenaurach (lines 199, 200 and 201) are also connected to Erlangen by public buses. Around 2017, Erlangen, cities, towns and suburbs around it and the Landkreis (roughly county) of Erlangen-Höchstadt decided to improve bus service leading to more frequent departures into surrounding areas, sometimes dramatically so on erstwhile "low traffic" times like weekends. Under the new schedule, few routes have less-than-hourly departures, even during the weekends, making public transit a much more reasonable option even for exploring the suburbs.

By car
Two Autobahns pass through Erlangen. A3 serves as the municipal boundary with Herzogenaurach at the western edge of town before turning east through Frauenaurach and exiting the city limits towards the southeast. A 73 also called "Frankenschnellweg" - its frequent congestion notwithstanding - passes just west of downtown and follows a mostly straight north-south alignment.

Get around
While the old town walls are only preserved in very few stones and street names like (cardinal direction) Stadtmauerstraße, the rectangular area once inside the walls is still evident as the main pedestrianised and shopping area with driving inside it much more difficult than outside it. Four physical boundaries run roughly North-South and separate the city into eastern and western parts. Those are (roughly from west to east) the Main Donau Kanal, the Regnitz river with its extensive floodplains, the A73 (partially using the bed of the former Ludwig Donau Main Kanal through Erlangen) and the railway line. As there are only two crossings across the Regnitz anywhere near downtown that are open to cars, it is often easier to go by bike from one side of those four barriers to the other.

By public transport
Local public transport consists primarily of buses, and to lesser extent the S-Bahn (with only four stops in the city area). Erlangen is part of the VGN (Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg, association of public transportation of the Nuremberg metropolitan area). The VGN website allows for automated route planning and provides fare and network information. The local bus operator ESTW (Erlanger Stadtwerke) operates an information/ticket store which shares the office with the tourist information (for the location, see Understand section above).

Inside Erlangen price level "C" applies which means €2.30 for a single trip for an adult (child €1.20), €8.10 for a four-trip ticket (not sold by drivers, only through machines and at the tourist information) and €4.70 for a Tagesticket solo (€7.60 for a Tagesticket plus) (April 2018). A Tagesticket plus is valid for up to two adults and a combination of up to four kids (under 15), dogs or bikes (e.g. two adults, a dog a kid and two bikes). Bus rides inside the central areas are free of charge – stops where this applies are marked by their name being written on a yellow (not white) background on the station sign. Line 299 which runs every ten minutes during the day is free of charge along its entire route.

During the day buses are reasonably comfortable and frequent albeit usually slower than going by bike, but at night they only run on nights from Friday to Saturday, Saturday to Sunday or any night followed by a public holiday. Night buses also follow different routes from regular buses indicated on the schedules with a line number with a leading N. Night buses (or no buses) run from 01:00 to 05:00 with the last and first regular bus running some time in the hour before and after that time-frame respectively.

Buses are increasingly equipped with onboard Wi-Fi and there are real time departure screens at the central stops Hugenottenplatz, Arcaden and Hauptbahnhof as well as the bus/S-Bahn interchange point Paul Gossen Straße. If you're leaving the main station towards the pedestrian zone, there are two displays right in your sight line that show departures from nearby stops (Arcaden and Hugenottenplatz, both just a few minute's walk away) which allows you to judge whether it is worth walking there (or even running) for a particular connection. The bus departure board at Paul Gossen Straße also indicates the departures of S-Bahn services whereas the departure board at Hauptbahnhof lists only buses (no train services) to avoid getting the board too "crowded".

By taxi
There are a lot of taxi companies available throughout the city that are available 24/7. At night you won't have a problem finding a taxi near Hugenottenplatz or one of the partying hotspots. The printed timetables at bus shelters usually include a number you can call to get a taxi if you missed your bus or don't want to wait.

By bicycle
Cycling is the best way to get around and most locals bike to work and leisure activities. This is true for all ages, genders and income groups and a middle-aged man in a suit on a bike is no rare sight - in fact, you may even see a former or current mayor on his bike. You can rent one at various local bicycle shops or at the main train station. A large part of Erlangen was built with the Huguenot refugees from France in mind but before the advent of the car. Therefore a number of streets are too narrow for two cars to pass side by side. Almost all of these one-way streets can be entered by bike both ways. Thus cycling makes for the shortest trip lengths by distance. In downtown, the pedestrian zone is only open to cyclists on its entire length from evening to early morning with (somewhat confusing) signs advising which parts are pedestrian only during which times. The rule is frequently skirted and even the hyper-correct state police of Bavaria don't always enforce it. (Expect to pay a fine in the vicinity of if you get caught and the police make a point of enforcing the law that day) Many locals just go a bit slower when and where cycling is not permitted.

If your lodgings aren't in central Erlangen or if you want to explore beyond the city walls, the Wiesengrund is another barrier to east-west movement that is vastly easier to cross by bike than by car. Besides the shorter trip distances, it is also pleasant in almost any weather to see relatively intact nature a few hundred metres from the edge of downtown.

Bikeshare
Erlangen is part of the VAG Rad scheme. Bikes can be rented via the app for €0.10 starting fee plus €0.10 per minute. You can return the bike at any of the fixed stations throughout Erlangen, Fürth, Nuremberg and Schwabach or in the "Flex Zone" in central Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen.

On foot
In the heart of the city, everything is in a walking distance and there are a lot of pedestrian-only areas. Watch out for cyclists, especially around the university's main campus, as they often drive very fast and assume people will get out the way rather than the other way round. As in most of Germany, red bricks or white lines indicate cycle routes, so try and walk on the pedestrian side to make life easier for everyone.

By car
If you need to cross a cycle lane with your car, be prepared to reverse if a bicycle approaches. When you turn, give way to cyclists.

If you drive, avoid downtown. There are several streets that are partially or entirely closed for cars and a lot of streets you can only drive one way (Einbahnstraße in German a white arrow on blue ground with that word written on is the symbol for that a white bar on red ground means: wrong direction). On streets that are one-way for cars, cyclists may often use them in both ways. The best choice is to park outside downtown (e.g. the centrally located Großparkplatz (big parking lot) next to the main train station) and walk. If you stay for more than a couple of days, don't rent a car, rent a bike and do as the locals and bike everywhere.

See
Erlangen is a surprisingly eclectic mixture of old and new. It doesn't always coexist in harmony and sometimes clashes rather glaringly. However it often combines to create a unique blend. The area built for the Huguenots and the building activity of the Margraves who resided here are perhaps the best known landmarks of Erlangen. But outside a rather small area of the historic core, the city grew too rapidly in the 20th century for aesthetic concerns to always be taken into consideration. That said, the city has taken considerable efforts to commission murals and legal graffiti on surfaces such as underpasses that would otherwise be dreary naked concrete. Erlangen was not bombed in World War II despite being a garrison town and thus a lot of old buildings were preserved - or in some cases would have been if not for the needs of the expanding University and the need for modern buildings outweighing concerns of historic preservation.

In terms of nature, the serendipitously preserved meadows of the Regnitz (local parlance "Wiesengrund") are perhaps the most striking feature. They are passionately, sometimes jealously or over-zealously guarded against any potential destruction by the citizenry that uses the area for their daily bike commute, to relax, sunbathe, do sports and numerous other activities every day.

Streets and squares
The city centre is worth seeing, as most of its buildings have been preserved. As an example, the “new town” (Neustadt) was built as a planned community for the Huguenots who came as religious refugees from France. It spans from the and the square. The architecture has been significantly influenced by that fact. Its streets lie straight in a grid and the houses display façades in a continuous style. The market and palace square (Marktplatz/Schlossplatz) with the and the  together with the Huguenot square (Hugenottenplatz) form the centre of this baroque part of the city. The Pauli fountain was designed in new renaissance style and has been donated to the city by the merchant couple Pauli.

The historic old town is north of the new town; however, it burned down in 1706 and was rebuilt from scratch. The current buildings are nevertheless worth seeing, even though they are younger than the houses of the new town, and have been based on their style. When visiting, take a walk around the streets (especially the ones around Schiffstraße, Altstädter Kirchplatz and Theaterplatz). Archeologists have found out that the alignment of the cellars and basements follows that of the former houses in places more than that of the current houses.

Outside of the city centre, you will find further areas with buildings dating to the interwar years or earlier. These are mostly east and southeast of the centre (you can use Schillerstraße and Österreicher Straße as orientation points to find the areas). Further interesting old architecture can be found on the university's Röthelheim campus (between Artielleriestraße and Allee am Röthelheimpark). The former "Housing Area" (sometimes referred to by those words in German) of the military barracks is largely built in an interesting red brick style.

Museums


Somewhat out of the city:

Parks


Erlangen has a lot of parks and garden which enable you to relax in the green:


 * The
 * Just next to it, the
 * The
 * Some hundred metres north of the old town, you will find the
 * The
 * Green squares in the city such as Ohmplatz south of the centre and the Bohlenplatz in the eastern part of the new town. You may furthermore relax on the sunny Altstädter Kirchplatz or within the shadow at Neustädter Kirchplatz, potentially seeing some boule players.

Nature
Within its city limits, Erlangen offers two nature reserves, (slightly east of the centre) and (south of the centre, east of the district Bruck).

In the southern part of Erlangen, in the woods north of and east of the district of Tennenlohe, you will find the Furthermore, you can look for the  If you want to extend your walk some more, you can start in eastern Tennenlohe next to the firefire station and start your walk with the

The In many parts, it still shows the old watering canals that were used for agriculture; citizen initiatives even restored some of the old scoop wheels, such as the.

Do


In any case, for experiencing Erlangen, you should take a stroll through the small but cosy Altstadt (roughly said the area delimited by Hauptstraße, Schlossgarten and Theaterplatz) and Neustadt (the area south of Slossgarten) and the pedestrian zone (northern part of Nürnberger Straße and side streets). If you want to relax with a newspaper, take a time and read within the nice reading area of the at Marktplatz 1. On warm summer evenings, you could join the students by picnicking or having a beer at Bohlenplatz. For a city of this size, cultural offerings and events are plentyful and of good quality and you should just check what's on when you are here and what suits your interests.

Events
The Stadtverband der Erlanger Kulturvereine maintains a list of events. You will find a lot of current information in the magazines hugo! and curt.

In spring

 * International Film Festival for Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Obscure Films: Held every May in the Manhattan cinema.
 * International Film Festival for Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Obscure Films: Held every May in the Manhattan cinema.
 * International Film Festival for Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Obscure Films: Held every May in the Manhattan cinema.
 * International Film Festival for Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Obscure Films: Held every May in the Manhattan cinema.
 * International Film Festival for Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Obscure Films: Held every May in the Manhattan cinema.

In winter
Erlangen has three centrally located Christmas Markets, which are all atmospherically nice.



Venues
The following host a wide variety of events and are too multi-purpose to fit under any one category

Sports

 * There is an extensive network of designated bicycling routes, which are marked with white signs. For tours out of town, best consult the information provided by ADFC (German bicycling association), one of the nicer ways is cycling the Regnitz Radweg next to the river via Fürth to Nürnberg (~25 km one way; you may also take the train for the other direction but be sure to buy a ticket both for you and for your bike). Renting bikes is possible at several places in town (see Getting around section).
 * There is a golf course operated by.
 * Annual charitable football tournament "Football against cancer". Last Sunday of February in the sport hall of Friedrich-Alexander University.
 * DAV Erlangen operates a climbing and bouldering hall and a climbing tower.
 * HC Erlangen is the town's (Olympic) Handball club that made its way to the first division Bundesliga in 2014 and again in 2016. They used to play all home games in the Karl Heinz Hiersemann Halle in Erlangen (where their second team still plays) but since 2016 have played in their temporary home in Nuremberg. Plans to build a bigger venue to accommodate the bigger crowds were shelved due to cost concerns.
 * During the Cold War the city had an US garrison with all that entails and after the soldiers left, it largely fell into the hands of the city. While the living quarters were turned into housing and some of the former training grounds are now nature reserve, the baseball diamond was given over to the Erlangen White Sox while an American Football team, the Erlangen Sharks play right next door.

Public swimming pools

 * There are two swimming pools in the city open for the public. You can find opening times and prices (in German) here. Both swimming pools are combined open air and indoor facilities. They are perfectly adequate for swimming and certainly make for a fun time on a summer day for a price that's hard to beat, but if you are more into waterparks or "fun baths" the Atlantis in Herzogenaurach or the Palm Beach in Stein bei Nürnberg might be more to your liking.

Other

 * Take a stroll at one of the nice flea markets (see Buy section for best offers, come early, they usually start around 08:00).

Buy
For a city of its size, Erlangen's shopping opportunities are both varied and abundant. Probably the nicest aspect of shopping in Erlangen is that you have a mix of all the standards you may need but also a diverse scene of smaller and not-so-common shops that offer you another type of shopping experience and in many cases good personal consultation and advice if you wish. A lot of exquisite small shops have great things on offer, and are often highly specialised (e.g. arts and crafts, music).

The shops are mostly located in the areas of the Altstadt (old town) and Neustadt (new town) and around the axes of Hauptstraße/Marktplatz/Nürnberger Straße and Friedrichstraße/Obere Karlstraße; always also including the neighbouring streets around them. You can take a pleasant walk around all of these areas (which are all easily covered on foot). If you want to shop in the Altstadt area, note that there is an offer called Altstadtshopping on Thursday late afternoons: most shops are open somewhat longer (often till 20:00) and parking on the Fuchsenwiese parking space is free of charge as of 16:00.

Most shops open between 09:30 and 11:00 (most at 10:00), with smaller shops usually closing between 18:00 and 19:00 on weekdays and between 14:00 and 16:00 on Saturdays. Due to Bavaria's strict laws, no shops may open beyond 20:00 or on Sundays with the exception of those serving a travel need (e.g. shops in gas stations or train stations) or bakeries, which also open on Sundays but not after 20:00. There are some verkaufsoffene Sonntage on a semi-regular basis when most shops open on Sunday, but expect a lot of traffic on those days and crowded shops.

There is a long standing concern among business owners and politicians that the Old Town is slowly but surely losing its charm and particularly its businesses and the city is doing quite a bit to counteract this. Among other things there is a riksha that rides up and down the pedestrian zone that shoppers may use free of charge and there is a Tag der Altstadt ("Day of the Old Town") to promote the businesses and shopping opportunities in the Old Town.

Specialty shops
Antiques:

Beer (local) and liquors:

Books:

Clothes:

Ecological clothing:

Second-hand clothing:

Comics:

Flowers:

Gifts, arts and crafts:

Records and music:

Flea markets
Erlangen hosts some good flea markets, amongst the garage style sales, the following ones are recommended (for best offers, come early, they usually start around 08:00):

Eat
The region is famous for the number and charm of its beer gardens, where in summer you can enjoy a cool drink and a bite to eat (Brotzeit = German equivalent of a picnic) whilst enjoying traditional music. Entla's Keller (regional dialect for duck's cellar) is located on the Burgberg where the Bergkirchweih is held as well but outside of this festival operates as a normal beer garden (the locally preferred word is Bierkeller, beer-cellar) and sells typical Franconian cuisine and beer by the liter.

Budget




Further options

 * You can have sandwiches at several bakeries, e.g. &quot;Der Beck&quot; cafés and in some of &quot;Der Kalchreuther Bäcker&quot;
 * Furthermore, many of the Cafés listed in the Drink section offer a limited set of dishes at comparably low price.

Breakfast
If you are looking for a nice breakfast out of your hotel, have a look at the Café section as some of the cafés have the respective offerings.

Cafés
While Erlangen is somewhat short of nice street cafés, there are many places where you can enjoy a good cup in the rooms, quiet gardens or at some places even with a look outside to see what is happening. Some of the good addresses which are operating as cafés at daytime and partly as bars on the evenings are:

Neustadt area (around Neustädter Kirchplatz and Bohlenplatz)

On and around Market Square:

Old town (Altstadt):

Southern part of the centre (around Nürnberger Straße):

East of the centre (area towards Lorlebergplatz/Zollhof/Med Museum):

Out of core town:

Bars and pubs


Cocktail bars:

Venues with regular live music: Pubs: Wine:

Budget


Camping:

Mid-range


Apartments:

Go next
There are many interesting and charming destinations for sightseeing and day trips (or longer) in the Erlangen region. The surrounding countryside is beautiful (Franconian Switzerland, Franconian lake district) and there are many towns and villages of historical and architectural interest.


 * Augsburg - often overlooked nice medium-sized city near to and much older than Munich, historically important amongst others due to its strong banking business
 * Bamberg - old bishop-town - UNESCO World Heritage site
 * Fürth - Erlangen's next neighbour to the south, this city is much overlooked, but has over 2000 historic monuments to offer and is streadily improving its inner city offerings
 * Munich - the capital of Bavaria
 * Nuremberg - the big neighbouring city
 * Rothenburg ob der Tauber - a rather small city, famous for its mostly original medieval old centre
 * Würzburg - a nice city with a strong wine growing business in the surroundings and magnificent Baroque heritage (UNESCO World Heritage site), situated at the Main river

Smaller or less famous but nevertheless worthy destinations in the area:
 * Forchheim quite a nice small town with mostly intact old town a short S-Bahn ride from Erlangen
 * Herzogenaurach - a quaint and nice Franconian town that's home to Adidas and Puma with correspondingly many sports outlet-store shopping opportunities

Erlangen's sister cities around the world include Riverside, California San Carlos (Nicaragua), Bolzano, Beşiktaş, Eskilstuna, Jena, Shenzhen, Rennes and Stoke on Trent