Weimar is small, about 65,000 people, and for a few decades around 1800 it was the cultural capital of the German-speaking world. Goethe moved here in 1775 at the invitation of the young Duke Carl August, and stayed for most of his life. Schiller came later, Herder and Wieland were already in town, and together they made the little court a place where poetry, philosophy and theatre were taken very seriously. The Goethe house on the Frauenplan and Schiller's house nearby are open to visitors, and the Park an der Ilm, a landscaped garden along the river, has Goethe's garden house. The UNESCO listing covers these and other buildings of the era.
Weimar has other layers. The Anna Amalia Library, a rococo hall of books that was damaged by fire in 2004 and restored, is a sight in itself. In 1919 Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus here, the school of design that changed architecture and furniture across the world, and the same year a national assembly met in the German National Theatre to draw up the constitution of what became known as the Weimar Republic. Not far outside town, on the Ettersberg, lies the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp, a sober reminder of what followed, and a memorial there is open to visitors.
Riding to Weimar from the surrounding Thuringian countryside is easy and pleasant. Gentle roads run through farmland, small woods and villages with church spires, with a long view over the Ilm valley. It is not a technical ride, and traffic in town can be dense, with cobbles in the old centre. Park on the edge and walk, since everything is close. Erfurt, the state capital, is about 20 km west.
Practicalities are simple. Weimar has fuel stations, supermarkets, cafés and plenty of rooms. The food to try is the Thuringian Rostbratwurst, grilled over charcoal and served in a roll with mustard, and the Zwiebelmarkt, the onion market in early October, is a colourful festival. Spring, when the park is in leaf, and autumn, with its golden trees, are the best times. A late afternoon walk in the Ilm park, with a coffee at one of the cafés near the market square, is a fine way to end a ride.