This also is one of my favorite historic sites in Germany. The cathedral is just so, well, Romanesque! So free of all the gold and curly gew gaws of the later periods. The cathedral has a program of music, so you might be able to schedule a visit around a specific event.

The Christmas market in Speyer was pretty nice, and they also have a pretzel festival every year (Brezelfest) with a parade. Yes, pretzels on parade!

There is a a museum cattycorner across from the cathedral that is worth a visit, too. They have special exhibits: we saw a Jewish history exhibit that was one of the best I've seen in Europe. And stop in for tea at the museum cafe and its neat architecture. It's sort of hard to describe, but the cafe is inside the building, but outside the old building. So the old exterior wall has become the new interior wall of the cafe, and the ceiling is glass panels about 40 feet up, like a greenhouse.