Forchheim is a town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland, referring to the region of outstanding natural beauty to the north east of the town. Nowadays Forchheim is most famous for its ten day long beer and music festival (Annafest) which takes place in late July in an idyllic wooded hillside, home to 24 beer gardens, on the outskirts of the town. Forchheim's population, as of December 2013, was 30,705, and its land area is 44.95 square kilometres. Its position is 49° 44' N, 11° 04' E and its elevation is 265 metres above sea level.

Franconian Switzerland is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main in the north, its relief, which reaches 600 metres in height, forms the northern part of the Franconian Jura (Frankenjura). Like several other mountainous landscapes in the German-speaking lands, e.g. Holstein Switzerland, Märkische Schweiz, or Pommersche Schweiz, Franconian Switzerland was given its name by Romantic artists and poets in the 19th century who compared the landscape to Switzerland. Franconian Switzerland is famous for its high density of traditional breweries.