The Romantic Road, from the vineyards of the Main to the castles of the Alps.

What is the Romantic Road?

A scenic driving route in southern Germany, the Romantische Straße. It was created in 1950 and is the country's oldest holiday route. It is about 460 km long and links 29 towns, from Würzburg, in the Main valley, to Füssen, at the foot of the Alps, crossing northern Baden-Württemberg and western Bavaria. It is not a single road: it is a route along minor roads, signposted with brown signs, that passes through walled towns, villages of half-timbered houses, Baroque churches and, at the end, the castles of Ludwig II.

The idea behind it, when it was created, was to attract travellers to an area that had been left far from everything after the war. That is why it mixes well-known towns with small villages. The interesting thing is not to drive all of it in one go, but to choose well where to stop and sleep.

How do you travel it?

By car, which is the natural way. By motorway, from Würzburg to Füssen is about 310 km and three hours; by the route it is 460 km of minor roads that go through the villages, quite a lot slower. The airports that fit best are Frankfurt, about 120 km and an hour and a quarter from Würzburg, and Munich, about 130 km and a little over an hour and a half from Füssen. Many travellers fly into one and out of the other, with the hire car between the two.

By public transport it can be done in parts. Würzburg, Augsburg and Donauwörth are on main railway lines; Rothenburg ob der Tauber is reached by a regional train from Steinach, and Füssen by regional train from Munich, with a change depending on the timetable. In between, the connections are slower. The Romantic Road Coach tourist bus runs from May to September, but now only covers the north of the route, between Frankfurt or Würzburg and Rothenburg.

By bicycle there is a signposted cycle route that accompanies the road. It is an option to do in stages, with luggage sent ahead or with a fixed base.

What is there to see on the Romantic Road?

Würzburg. The start. The Residence of the prince-bishops, from the 18th century, is a World Heritage Site, with the staircase and the Tiepolo frescoes. The city lives among vineyards, with Franconian wine in its flattened bottle.

The Tauber valley. Small towns such as Tauberbischofsheim, Bad Mergentheim, Weikersheim, with its palace and garden, and Creglingen. It is the quietest and most rural stretch, good for cycling.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The best-known stop: a centre of half-timbered houses, about 4 km of wall that can be walked along the rampart, and the Plönlein corner. In December it has one of the most famous Christmas markets in Germany. It is best to sleep inside to see it without the midday groups.

Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen. Dinkelsbühl is another walled town, smaller and less crowded than Rothenburg. Nördlingen has a complete wall and lies inside the Ries, a meteorite crater: from the tower of St George's church, the Daniel, you can see the circle of the town and the plain around it. Nearby, Harburg castle watches over the Wörnitz valley.

Augsburg. The big city of the route, founded by the Romans. Its essential visit is the Fuggerei, the social housing district founded by Jakob Fugger in 1521 and still inhabited.

The south. Past Landsberg am Lech and Schongau, the landscape becomes pre-Alpine. Beside Steingaden is the Wies church, a Rococo pilgrimage church in the middle of meadows, also a World Heritage Site. And at the end, in Schwangau, the castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, a few kilometres from Füssen.

When to go?

From May to October the route is at its best: the days are long, the gardens and terraces are open and the valleys are green. In September and October the grape harvest arrives in Franconia and the forests change colour. July and August are the busiest months, especially in Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein. December has its own trip, to the Christmas markets of Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen and Augsburg. January, February and March are cold and grey, with short days and some visits closed.

How many days do you need?

Five days allow you to do all of it at a leisurely pace, sleeping in three or four places: Würzburg, Rothenburg, Nördlingen or Augsburg, and Füssen. With three days you see one half: the north, from Würzburg to Dinkelsbühl, or the south, from Augsburg to Füssen. With a week you add small stops and a day of cycling or mountains at the end.

What is worth knowing?

Neuschwanstein can only be visited inside on a guided tour, at a fixed time. In 2026 the ticket costs €21 and is bought in the online shop of the Hohenschwangau Ticket Center, with a €2.50 surcharge; online tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded. What is left over is sold at the ticket office on the same day, but it almost always sells out by mid-morning. In summer, book in advance.

In the walled centres you park outside the wall. In Germany many small shops and restaurants still prefer cash; carry some.