Augsburg lies between the rivers Lech and Wertach and is named after its founder, Emperor Augustus. Two patrician families - the Fuggers and the Welsers - transformed Augsburg into a rich and influential town through their banking and trading activities. The city prospered again after the Thirty Years War, this time thanks to its goldsmiths, silversmiths and printers. The legacy left by the Roman, rococo and Renaissance eras still draws visitors to Augsburg today, as does its reputation as a modern city of culture.

The magnificent buildings in the historical city centre – Elias Holl's Renaissance town hall with the Golden Hall and the Perlach Tower, the Fuggerei, the cathedral with its 12th-century stained-glass windows depicting the prophets, the two St. Ulrich Churches and the Church of St. Anna and burial chapel of the Fugger family.

Delve into the past: The Roman Museum is the place to go to see Roman finds, while other interesting museums include the Maximilian Museum for municipal history and the work of goldsmiths and silversmiths, the Fuggerei Museum, Brecht House, the synagogue and Museum of Jewish Culture and the Gersthofen Balloon Museum.