Bayreuth is mainly famous for its Wagner Opera Festival which takes place every year from late July to August. Other attractions, many of which are connected with the life and works of the composer, include the Festival Theater (1872-1876); Villa Wahnfried (Wagner’s home, now a museum); Wagner Memorial (‘Chiming Museum’); Freemasons’ Museum, Wagner’s grave in the Court Gardens; the Old and the New Palace, the former residence of the Margraves; Margraves Opera House (largest European Baroque stage); Eremitage (park); and the parish church. The city is also a convenient base for excursions into the Fichtel Mountains, Oberpfälzer Woods and the ‘Franconian Switzerland’.