Laid out in the early 18th century as a summer retreat for the Bayreuth court, the Hermitage is a sprawling park some 4 km east of the city centre. The gardens mix formal French design with the deliberately rustic "hermit" aesthetic fashionable in the period: grottoes lined with shells and stones, mosaic-encrusted walls, and water features that still operate. The Margravine Wilhelmine — the same figure who commissioned the opera house — added a new palace and fountains in the 1740s. It's an odd, charming place, rarely on the tourist radar outside of Germany.
The Hermitage's most striking feature is the Upper Palace, built in a horseshoe around a courtyard with a central fountain topped by Apollo in his sun chariot. When the fountains run (usually on summer afternoons), the effect is theatrical and surprisingly grand for a town of Bayreuth's size. The original Old Palace at the heart of the park is partially open; some rooms show the 18th-century interiors, others house changing exhibitions. The walk from the city takes about an hour; a taxi or bike is more practical.