SPEYER , the final member of the triumvirate of imperial cathedral cities, is some 50km up the Rhine from Worms. It lies on a relatively minor rail line: there's a direct link with Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg, but from other points in the Rhineland-Palatinate it may be necessary to change trains at the sprawling industrial city of Ludwigshafen. In 1990, Speyer celebrated the 2000th anniversary of its foundation as a Roman infantry camp, and it's one of the few Rhenish towns to have come through World War II unscathed. Even though its role was once much grander, it stands today as an archetypal episcopal and market town, lively enough never to seem staid, yet not to the extent of spoiling its atmosphere of restrained dignity.

Speyer is a great culinary city with a really marvellous choice of restaurants. It also claims to have invented the Brezel, the crispy salted bread which is such a German favourite, and the main local festival , the Brezelfest , is held on the second weekend of July.