Romantic Road

As many people on this website have observed, the Romantic Road, itself, is nothing special, just a winding two lane country road, choked in the summer with car traffic, tour buses, freight trucks, and farm equipment. It's the towns on the road that make it special, and the most significant towns on the road are connected by rail, or at worst, buses.

I know the Road well. In 2007, after years hearing self-appointed experts claim the the only way to do the Romantic Road was by driving it, I did it in five days using only public transportation. And instead of just going straight through, I spent most of my time in the most interesting towns, only traveling a few hours a day to get between towns.

In my experience, Würzburg is an interesting city and the northern most point of the Romantic Road. Rothenburg is another point of interest and very accessible by train from Würzburg. After Rothenburg, I found the most interesting town on the Romantic Road to be Nördlingen. It's kind of Rothenburg's little sister, far less touristy, lacking a Christmas shoppe and a Crime and Punishment Museum, but filled withe Fachwerk buildings, with a church tower you can climb and an almost intact wall you can walk on.

I've driven it, but if I had it to do again I would just do it by train. I really enjoyed both Rothenburg and Wurzburg. There are many wonderful places in Germany, but I didn't find the road to be very "romantic" :)

We rented a car in Frankfurt and drove the Romantic Road to Rothenberg. We loved Rothernberg, but the Romantic Road itself is worth skipping all together. Just a normal 2 lane road, with less than average scenery, connecting few pretty, old towns. The only other town we visited was Dinkelsbuehl. It was pretty, but Rothenberg would be our preference. 1 or two nights Rothenberg, get on the highway and then 2 nights in Fuessen.

Paul

Or take the train from Rothenburg to Füssen (4½-5 hrs) and enjoy the scenery, particularly the approaching Alps.

Thanks to all for your advice. I appreciate it.

If you are looking for a scenic road consider the Alpenstrasse between Fussen and Berchtesgaden. There are many pretty little towns and lakes along the way and the Alps are always in view.

Others have failed to mention the other memorable places on the Romantic Road.
http://goeurope.about.com/od/romanticroad/ss/romantic-road.htm
ROMANTIC ROAD

LENGTH: approximately 400 km

THEME: romance, arts, culture

HIGHLIGHTS:
Augsburg: Fugger city, puppet theatre
Bad Mergentheim: Castle of the Teutonic Order (Deutschordenschloss)
Dinkelsbühl: historical old quarter
Füssen: Hohes Schloss Castle, St. Mang Monastery,
Harburg: castle
Nördlingen: Ries Crater Museum and Rail Museum
Pfaffenwinkel: The Wieskirche Pilgrimage Church (UNESCO)
Rothenburg: medieval townscape, Christmas Museum, Crime Museum
Schwangau: King Ludwig castles, festival hall
Würzburg: Marienberg Citadel (Festung Marienberg), Residenz Palace (Unesco)

Both of these sources leave out the interesting city of Donauworth.

Nordlingen is fascinating. The old city walls were built at the edge of the crater caused by a meteorite. The city was built in a crater.

Geovagriffith's post emphasizes what others have said, it's the towns, not the Road.

I found the Deutschordenschloss in Bad Mergentheim fascinating. It's often neglected as a stop on the Romantic Road as it's on a loop from Rothenburg to Würzburg and people normally just go between the two towns and omit the loop of the Road between them. Also on that loop is the palace and gardens at Weikersheim.

I was disappointed in Dinkelsbühl, but loved Nördlingen. Harburg castle is a little difficult to get to but worth the effort.

I would put Landsberg and Feuchtwangen in the same "interesting but often ignored" basket along with Donauwörth.

Having driven the road in September in the past, I find it to be an easy enough drive. We have stopped a few times at a place for weinerschnitzel that we like. I also have driven a few times to the rococo styled church in Wies as I am fascinated by the ornate beauty of it. We have not made reservations in advance in the past as we have meandered along the road without a set schedule. We would stop and eat or visit a sight when the urge hit us. 2 nights in Rothenburg should suffice and I would make a reservation there if you are interested in staying in a particular hotel. The towns dynamics change once all of the tour buses have left and things quiet down. I wish I could be more helpful but I do not keep a travel log which would help in times like these.

When in Rothenburg, drive or walk down to Dettwang village and find the Riemenschneider carving ih the church. If you are lucky, it will be empty and sunlit, and you can appreciate its glory close up. The larger altarpiece up in town is more impressive, but Dettwang is almost personal. Dinkelsbuehl is less busy than Rothenburg, just, and is still one of my favourites to explore on foot. Both places are far more atmospheric in the evenings/early mornings.

When in Rothenburg, drive or walk down to Dettwang village and find the Riemenschneider carving ih the church.

If you have a car, go to Creglingen (20km NW). In the Herrgotskirche you will find the most impressive of all altars carved by Riemenschneider.