Off the Beaten Track Nurburg

Posted on Wednesday 18 Jul 2007

Know your geography: Nurburg is a small town in the German district of Ahrweiler, in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It has a population of just 178 people, so please keep the noise down during your stay.

As you might expect, Nurburg and its surrounding villages don't offer much in the way of hopping nightlife or A-list entertainment, but there are a few good restaurants about, you just have to find them and be a big fan of schnitzel! 

Talking of food, if you do one thing that is not on your itinerary this weekend - try a Bratwurst or a pretzel from one of the stands outside the circuit, they might not look terribly appealing, but they are actually very good!  

If you fancy a quick pit stop on your way in or out of the circuit over the race weekend, why not pop into the Erlebnis-Welt am Nurburgring museum? Right at the entrance to the track, and covering an area of more than 10,000 square metres, the museum will take you into a fascinating world of motor sport history, entertainment and, of course, there’s the obligatory gift shop. Admission is 10 euros, and its well worth your time and your hard earned cash. A guided tour via headset is also available is for an additional cost of 5 euros. 

The countryside around the circuit itself is really beautiful, so why not take a drive around and admire the breathtaking countryside? Drive easy on the roads, though. Most people drive under the dangerous delusion that they’re Michael Schumacher when F1’s in town! 

While cruising round the region, you could always stop off for a quick look round the famous Nurburg Castle. Located south of Adenau, the castle stands a staggering 678 metres high and is one of Germany’s oldest fortresses. 

Just finally, don’t forget to flyby the great gas station just outside the circuit as it boasts a huge collection of interesting miniatures. You'll be filling your car up anyway, so drop by and see if any take your fancy. 

While we were doing our research for this edition of Off the Beaten Track, we have to admit we were somewhat stumped. Type “Nurburg” into Google and not a lot comes up (bar the circuit, of course). Germany’s official tourist board website doesn’t even register its existence, coming up with the always infuriating “No results” message. 

Having failed to come up with any pearls of our own, we thought we’d see whether you had mailed us with any suggestions. Expecting the normally chocker inbox, we were surprised to find it startlingly empty, not one message to help us out.  So, if we’ve done Nurburg an injustice and you have a secret gem up your sleeve you’d like to share with your fellow F1 fans, email us at insidetrack@williamsf1.com

Otherwise, we suggest you just set up your deck chair, put on some sun lotion and settle in for what promises to be another thrilling round of the Championship! 

Thank you to Sam Collins, who has emailed us since we posted this story with his top tip for a trip to the Nurburgring (Sounds nicer than the team's trip out! - Ed.): 

"The real trick is to fly on a budget airline to Franfurt Hahn, hire a nice car and drive down the Mosel Valley, stopping overnight at least once to sample the local produce, then meander up to the track - just 25 minutes away." 

Tristan Koberl has also emailed us:"With one of Europe's finest and most beautiful wine regions about 30 minutes away, how can anyone not find something to do?

I recently spent a week in Rheinland-Pfalz cruising the Rhein and Mosel and sampling the antiquities of Trier. Of course, a few laps of the Nordschleife provided a perfect foil to the more quiet delights of the region." 

Thanks to you both!