Self-Guided Walking Tour in Goslar

A self-guided walk through Goslar's UNESCO old town, from the Marktplatz and its golden fountain out to the Rammelsberg mine and back to the Goslarer Museum, 10 stops in all. This page gives you the full route map, the walking time for every leg, and the real hours and prices for each ticketed interior, plus shorter versions if you want to skip the mine.

10 Stops10.1 km~4 hours walking5–6 hours with stops
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Goslar Walking Tour at a Glance

This route is built for anyone who wants to see the whole of Goslar without a guided group and without guessing which lanes lead where. Every interior on it is optional: you can walk the entire loop for free and pay only for the rooms you actually want to step into. The order is planned so the dense market core comes first, the long walk out to the mine sits in the middle, and the quiet western streets close the day.

StartMarktplatz
FinishGoslarer Museum
Route typeA rough loop with a southern spur. The first six and last three stops cluster in the flat old-town core, while the Rammelsberg mine sits roughly 3.7 km south, so you walk out and back on that one leg before the route closes near where it began.
Realistic timeThe old-town core walks in well under an hour of pure walking, but the Rammelsberg out-and-back adds over 7 km. Count on a half-day at a slow pace, five to six hours if you do the mine and the palace properly.
DifficultyEasy underfoot in the old town but longer than it looks: 10.1 km total once the mine detour is counted. The core is flat and car-free on worn cobbles, with a gentle rise up to the Frankenberg and the palace, so nothing steep, just distance.
Cost to followThe outdoor route, every square, gate and church exterior, is free. You only pay for interiors: roughly €6 for the Huldigungssaal in the Altes Rathaus, €10 for the Rammelsberg mine, €7.50 for the Kaiserpfalz and €4 for the Goslarer Museum.
Best for:

Travellers who want the full UNESCO picture, old town plus mine, on foot and at their own pace, and who don't mind one longer walk in the middle to earn the second half of the World Heritage listing.

The Route

Free Walking Tour Map of Goslar

10 stops10.1 kmabout 4 hours
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The 10 stops along this route

  1. Marktplatz in Goslar, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Marktplatz
  2. Rathaus Goslar in Goslar, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Rathaus Goslar
  3. Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian in Goslar, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian
  4. Schuhhof in Goslar, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Schuhhof
  5. Kaiserworth in Goslar, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Kaiserworth
  6. Breites Tor in Goslar, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Breites Tor
  7. Rammelsberg in Goslar, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Rammelsberg
  8. St. Peter- und Paul-Kirche auf dem Frankenberge (Frankenberger Kirche) in Goslar, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8St. Peter- und Paul-Kirche auf dem Frankenberge (Frankenberger Kirche)
  9. Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar) in Goslar, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour
    9Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar)
  10. Goslarer Museum in Goslar, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour
    10Goslarer Museum
  11. That's the complete route.

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Your Goslar Walking Tour, Stop by Stop

  1. 1

    Marktplatz

    Marktplatz in Goslar, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    Step into the square and the first thing you notice is the gilded figure on the fountain, the Marktbrunnen, catching whatever light there is. This is the center of everything in Goslar, free and open around the clock. Time your arrival for the Glockenspiel on the gable across the square: it plays four times daily and works through 1,000 years of local mining history with moving figures, a short loop worth catching once. The square itself is small, so do not expect grandeur of scale. Expect density. Half-timbered facades, slate roofs, and the Rathaus arcade all crowd in close. Sit on the fountain steps for a few minutes and get your bearings, because almost everything on this walk threads back through here. When you are ready, the town hall is the low arcaded building right beside you, a few steps west.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  2. 2

    Rathaus Goslar

    Rathaus Goslar in Goslar, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    You are practically already here. The Gothic town hall sits on the Marktplatz with its open arcaded ground floor, the Diele, where market traders once sheltered. The reason to go inside is upstairs: the Huldigungssaal, the Hall of Homage, painted floor to ceiling around 1500 with saints, sibyls, and emperors. It is a small room but a dense one, and photos do not do the gilding justice. Entry is €6 for adults, €5 reduced. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Sundays, so plan around that if you are here on a weekend. If you are short on time or budget, the arcade and exterior are free and still worth a slow look. Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the painted hall. Leaving the Rathaus, head a short way west and the twin towers of the Marktkirche rise straight ahead.

    Hours
    Mon-Sat: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Sun: Closed
    Price
    Adults €6.00 (Huldigungssaal), reduced €5.00
  3. 3

    Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian

    Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian in Goslar, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    Two unequal towers mark this one out as you approach down the lane. This is Goslar's main Protestant church, named after the twin saints Cosmas and Damian, and it has been the council church for centuries. Best part: it is free to enter, daily 10:00 to 17:00. Go in for the stained glass and the cool quiet, then find the north tower, which you can climb for the classic rooftop view over the old town's slate roofs and the surrounding Harz hills. The climb is the payoff here, so check at the church whether the tower is open before you commit. Inside takes 15 minutes, the tower another 15 if it is open. After the church, double back toward the market and slip into the small alley just north of it. A few steps and you are in the Schuhhof.

    Hours
    Daily: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Price
    Free
  4. 4

    Schuhhof

    Schuhhof in Goslar, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the one that makes people stop and pull out their phones. The Schuhhof is Goslar's oldest square, a tight courtyard ringed by half-timbered houses that lean and sag at angles no modern builder would allow. It is open and free at any hour, tucked just off the Marktplatz, and most day-trippers walk right past the alley without noticing it. That is the appeal. After the bustle of the market it feels almost hidden, a pocket of leaning timber and worn cobbles. There is not much to do here beyond look, and that is the point: stand in the middle, turn slowly, and notice how no two facades line up. A few minutes is enough. Once you have your photo, return to the Marktplatz, where the most ornate building on the square is waiting on the far side.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  5. 5

    Kaiserworth

    Kaiserworth in Goslar, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    Back on the square, the building that pulls every camera is the Kaiserworth, the old cloth-merchants' guild house from 1494, directly facing the Rathaus. Look up at the statue-lined facade: emperors stand in a row along the front, and below them sits the Dukatenmännchen, a small figure doing something rude that locals will happily explain. It works as a hotel and restaurant today, open daily from 06:00 to 02:00 for guests, but you do not need to go in. The facade is free and is the real attraction, best read slowly from the fountain side of the square. This closes the loop around the Marktplatz, so you have now seen the dense core. From here the walk stretches out. Head northeast through the lanes toward the old town wall and its strongest surviving gate.

    Hours
    Daily: 6:00 AM – 2:00 AM (hotel/restaurant)
    Price
    Free to view exterior; hotel/restaurant prices vary
  6. 6

    Breites Tor

    Breites Tor in Goslar, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    The lanes open up and the crowds thin as you reach the eastern edge of the old town. The Breites Tor, the Wide Gate, is exactly that: a squat, massive fortified gateway that was once among the strongest town gates in Germany. This is the working edge of the medieval defenses, not a polished tourist stop, so expect traffic passing through and a more everyday feel. It is free and standing here at all hours. The walk out from the market is the point as much as the gate itself: you pass quieter residential timber houses and get a sense of how the fortified town was laid out. Spend a few minutes circling the gate to see the thickness of the walls, then turn back. The next leg is the long one. You are heading southwest, out of town and toward the foot of the Harz.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  7. 7

    Rammelsberg

    Rammelsberg in Goslar, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the longer haul of the day, around 1.8km southwest of the old town, and it is the reason to wear proper shoes. The Rammelsberg sits at the foot of the Harz hills and was worked for over 1,000 years until it finally closed in 1988. It is the second half of Goslar's UNESCO World Heritage listing, alongside the old town, and skipping it means missing why this town was ever rich. Entry is €10 for adults, €5.50 for children, open daily 09:00 to 18:00. The ticket gets you guided tours underground and through the old machinery halls, so budget real time here: 1.5 to 2 hours minimum, more if you take an underground tour. Bring a layer, it is cold below ground year-round. When you are done, walk back toward town and aim for the western quarter, where a Romanesque church marks the old miners' district.

    Hours
    Daily: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Adults €10.00, children €5.50
  8. 8

    St. Peter- und Paul-Kirche auf dem Frankenberge (Frankenberger Kirche)

    St. Peter- und Paul-Kirche auf dem Frankenberge (Frankenberger Kirche) in Goslar, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    Coming back uphill into the western edge of town, you reach the Frankenberg rise and its church, set in what was once the miners' quarter. From the outside it reads as a plain Romanesque box, but step inside for the surprise: a heavily carved Baroque interior that does not match the sober shell at all. It is free to enter, open daily 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October. In the winter months, November to March, it is only by appointment, so do not count on getting in off-season. Around it sit a few old buildings, a 1504 sexton's house and an old gate, that together give a real picture of medieval town planning. Ten minutes inside is plenty. This is a natural staging point: from here the Imperial Palace is a short, easy walk east along the slope, and it is the grandest building in town.

    Hours
    Apr–Oct: Daily 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Nov–Mar: by appointment
    Price
    Free
  9. 9

    Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar)

    Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar) in Goslar, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour

    The ground opens onto a broad green slope and the long pale facade of the Kaiserpfalz fills the view. This 11th-century Imperial Palace is the largest and best-preserved secular Romanesque building in Germany, and a chronicler of the time called it the most famous residence in the empire. The Salian emperors used it as a favored seat. Inside, the monumental imperial throne hall is the centerpiece, covered in grand 19th-century history paintings. Entry is €7.50 for adults, €6 reduced, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays, so check the day before you build your walk around it. Allow 45 minutes to an hour inside, and a few more on the lawn out front, which is one of the best free viewpoints in Goslar. From here it is a short downhill walk back toward the river and the city museum, the last stop.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue-Sun: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Price
    Adults €7.50, reduced €6.00
  10. 10

    Goslarer Museum

    Goslarer Museum in Goslar, stop 10 on the self-guided walking tour

    The walk ends by the water, at the Abzucht stream, in a 1514 canons' house that now holds the Goslarer Museum. This is the stop that ties the whole day together: the city's mining and medieval history under one roof, with a geology section of local ores, minerals, and fossils that connects straight back to the Rammelsberg you walked through earlier. The piece to find is the Krodo Altar, a rare bronze altar from the 12th century and the museum's signature object. Entry is cheap at €4 for adults, €3 reduced, and free for under-18s. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays, same as the Pfalz. Budget 45 minutes to an hour. End your walk on the riverside bench outside, where the stream and the timber houses make a quiet close after a long loop.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue-Sun: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Price
    Adults €4.00, reduced €3.00, under 18 free

How Long Does This Walking Tour Really Take?

The market core, stops one through six, links together in minutes rather than kilometres, so the numbers that stretch your day are the two long legs out to the Rammelsberg and back. Give the most standing-still time to the Kaiserpfalz throne hall, the mine's underground tour, and the Krodo Altar in the museum. Skip the mine and the whole thing is a comfortable half-day.

The town core, stops one through five and stops eight through ten, is dense and quick on foot. The distances between them are minutes, not kilometers. What stretches the day out is the Rammelsberg detour: budget a solid half-day if you do the mine properly, with the underground tour eating up two hours on its own. Without the mine, the old-town loop is comfortably a half-day at a slow pace.

Give the most time to the Kaiserpfalz throne hall, the Rammelsberg, and the Krodo Altar in the Goslarer Museum. Those three reward standing still. The Schuhhof and the Breites Tor are look-and-move stops. For a break, the fountain steps on the Marktplatz are the obvious mid-square rest, and the riverside bench outside the Goslarer Museum at the Abzucht stream is the quietest spot to finish. If you want a coffee mid-walk, the cafes ringing the Marktplatz are the natural pause before you head out to the gate and the mine.

Full Route, Shorter Walk or Two-Day Version?

The walk is one continuous loop with a single long spur to the mine, so it splits cleanly. Here are three ways to run it depending on how much time you have and whether the Rammelsberg is on your list.

The complete walk

All 10 stops, market core to mine to museum

Stops 1–10, Marktplatz to Goslarer Museum, roughly 5–6 hours

The full route as written. Do the tight market core first (stops 1–6), take the long leg south to the Rammelsberg mine mid-tour, then loop back up through the western quarter to the Kaiserpfalz and finish at the museum by the Abzucht stream. This is the only version that covers both halves of Goslar's UNESCO listing.

Old town only

The market loop without the mine detour

Stops 1–6, then 8–10, skipping stop 7, roughly 3 hours

Cut the Rammelsberg (stop 7) and you remove the two longest legs entirely, about 3.7 km each way. From the Breites Tor at stop 6, head straight for the Frankenberger Kirche and finish through the Kaiserpfalz and museum. A relaxed half-day that keeps every square, church and the palace but drops the mine.

Two easy days

Split the core and the mine across two visits

Day 1: stops 1–6, 8–10 in the old town; Day 2: stop 7, the Rammelsberg

Best if you're staying overnight or don't want a single long walk. Spend the first day on the whole old town at a slow pace, then give the Rammelsberg its own morning, arriving fresh for the underground tour. This turns the tour's one demanding leg into a short, deliberate trip out to the mine.

You can walk it in reverse, starting at the Goslarer Museum and ending at the Marktplatz, and nothing breaks. The given direction is recommended because it puts the dense market core first while your legs are fresh, gets the long walk to the mine out of the way mid-tour, and ends downhill by the river.

Is This Goslar Walking Tour Right for You?

This is one of the more self-guided-friendly towns in the Harz: small, flat in the core, signposted, and with both ticketed must-sees running their own on-site tours. Here's who it suits and how to bend it to your day.

A good fit if you…

  • Anyone who wants both halves of the UNESCO listing, the old town and the Rammelsberg mine, in one continuous walk
  • Slow travellers who like a dense, car-free core where the next sight is often just a few steps away
  • Visitors interested in mining, medieval trade and Romanesque architecture, from the palace throne hall to the Krodo Altar
  • Half-day walkers who are happy to add one longer out-and-back leg to reach the mine

Adapt the route if you…

  • You're short on time: drop stop 7 and the old-town loop alone runs about three hours
  • You're visiting off-season: the Frankenberger Kirche is by appointment only from November to March, so don't count on getting inside
  • You're here on a Monday: the Kaiserpfalz and the Goslarer Museum are both closed, so plan those for another day
  • The mine walk is too much on foot: a short local bus ride from the centre covers the Rammelsberg leg

Tickets & Skip-the-Line in Goslar

Most of Goslar is free open space you can just walk into. Only four stops on this route charge admission, and none of them normally needs advance booking, but the hours and closed days matter more than queues here. Below are the real prices and opening times so you can plan around them, plus the official pages where the facts pack lists one.

Rathaus GoslarThe painted Huldigungssaal costs €6 for adults, €5 reduced. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00–17:00, closed Sundays, so plan around that on a weekend. The arcade and exterior are free at any time. official ticket site ↗
Rammelsberg€10 for adults, €5.50 for children, open daily 09:00–18:00. The ticket includes guided tours underground and through the machinery halls, so allow 1.5–2 hours and bring a warm layer, it's cold below ground year-round.
Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar)€7.50 for adults, €6 reduced. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, closed Mondays. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the imperial throne hall; the lawn out front is a free viewpoint.
Goslarer Museum€4 for adults, €3 reduced, free for under-18s. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, closed Mondays. Budget 45 minutes to an hour, and look for the 12th-century Krodo Altar. official ticket site ↗
Everything elseThe Marktplatz, Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian, Schuhhof, Kaiserworth exterior, Breites Tor and Frankenberger Kirche are all free open squares, gates and churches you can walk into without a ticket.
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Tips for Walking in Goslar

  • The Rammelsberg sits about 1.8km southwest of the Marktplatz, a 25 to 30 minute walk or a short ride on the local bus from the center. Aim to be at the mine by early afternoon so you make the 09:00 to 18:00 window with time for a tour.
  • The old town is cobblestone throughout, uneven and worn smooth in places. Wear flat shoes with grip, not heels. The Rammelsberg leg and the climb back up to the Frankenberg add real walking, so this is a sturdy-shoe day.
  • Restrooms are reliable at the ticketed sites: the Kaiserpfalz, the Rammelsberg visitor center, and the Goslarer Museum all have facilities. Use the Rammelsberg ones before the underground tour, as there are none below.
  • For a break, grab a coffee at one of the cafes on the Marktplatz before the long walk out to the Breites Tor and the mine. For something local, the town is known for Gose beer; ask for it at a market-square pub.
  • Best photo is from the Marktplatz fountain looking northeast at the Kaiserworth facade, with morning light hitting the statues. For rooftops, climb the Marktkirche north tower around midday when the slate roofs are evenly lit.

Why Walk This Route?

Goslar is a town you walk, not drive. The old core is tight, flat, and almost entirely car-free, with around 1,500 half-timbered houses packed into a few hundred meters of cobbled lanes. UNESCO put the whole place on the World Heritage list in 1992: the medieval old town, the Imperial Palace, and the Rammelsberg ore mine just outside it. Most towns give you one or two big sights. Goslar gives you a thousand years of mining wealth turned into stone and timber, and you can see most of it on foot in an afternoon.

This route starts where the town has always started: the Marktplatz, with its golden fountain and the Glockenspiel that clatters through the mining story four times a day. From there it loops out through the eastern gate, down to the Rammelsberg mine at the foot of the Harz, then back up through the old miners' quarter to the Imperial Palace and the city museum. It is not the shortest possible loop. The Rammelsberg detour adds real distance, around 1.8km each way southwest. But skipping the mine means skipping half of what got Goslar its World Heritage status, so it stays in.

The logic is simple: do the dense market core first while your legs are fresh, get the longer mine walk out of the way mid-tour, then end downhill in the quiet western streets near the Pfalz. Wandering Goslar at random is pleasant, but you will miss the Krodo Altar, the throne hall, and the mine, and you will not understand why a small Harz town has buildings this grand. This walk connects the dots.

Common Questions

Is Goslar safe to walk around?

Yes. Goslar is a small Harz town with very low crime, and the old core is largely car-free, so the main hazards are uneven cobbles and the odd delivery vehicle near the Breites Tor. There are no tourist scams to speak of. The only real caution is the Rammelsberg: stay with your guide underground and keep to marked paths.

What if it rains during my Goslar tour?

Goslar handles rain well because the best stops are indoors. Duck into the Marktkirche (free), the painted Huldigungssaal in the Altes Rathaus, the Kaiserpfalz throne hall, the Frankenberger Kirche, and the Goslarer Museum. The Rammelsberg is largely undercover and underground, so a wet day is actually a good day for the mine.

What's the best time of day for this walking tour?

Start mid-morning, around 10:00, when the churches, the Rathaus, the Pfalz, and the museum all open. That gives you the dense market core in good light, lets you reach the Rammelsberg by early afternoon, and brings you back through the western quarter to the museum before the 17:00 closings. Catch a Glockenspiel slot on the Marktplatz while you are there.

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