Hof sits high enough — around 500 metres — that summers are mild and winters are cold and snowy. The town is quiet most of the year. Two windows make a visit worth timing for: the Internationale Hofer Filmtage in late October, when the city fills with film-makers, critics and a faintly Berlin crowd, and the Schlappentag in late July, the annual schützenfest with parades, beer tents and brass bands that dates back to 1432 and is one of the oldest civic festivals in Bavaria.
If you are travelling for the Filmtage, book your hotel in early summer — the few central rooms sell out months ahead. Otherwise the city is uncrowded year-round.