Rothenburg to Fussen

Dinkelsbühl is definately worth a stop. However, I think both Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl might sit off the same Autobahn exit (Rothenburg to the north, Dinkelsbühl to the south). So in this case, driving the portion of the Romantic Road that connects them makes sense.

You could also look into a diversion to Ochsenhausen, mainly for it's famous baroque abbey. Even if you don't know it by name, you've probably seen pictures of the interior.

I understand Memmingen is a rather attractive town, but I have not yet visited.

Tom, Thanks for the help. This is just what we were looking for. All these places look great. Don't think we would have found the abbey on our own, looks spectacular. Is Dinkelsbühl much different than Rothenburg? Worth the stop after two days in Rothenburg? Our would it be better to spend more time in the other two cities? Should have no problem filling the day on the way to fussen. Thanks again.

I also don't find the article online. In the Germany book, the Romantic Road chapter highlights Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen with one star each (out of a range of zero to four).

Correction, Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl are not off the same Autobahn exit, but they're still pretty close. I don't think it makes a much of a difference which option you choose.

Comparing the two... both have a nearly complete defensive wall, but you can only walk alond a small portion of Dinkelsbühl's. I've not seen another town in all of Germany that looks quite like Dinkelsbühl, the way all the houses are painted. Rothenburg is a variation on a theme that you find all over central Germany. Rothenburg is full of trinket shops, and tour buses vomit hundreds of tourists onto it's street's daily (although you won't see quite as many in March). Dinkelsbühl sees a much smaller load of visitors, and it has nary a trinket shop to be seen. Guess which one I prefer?

Of, forgot to mention something- the sort of technicolor scenery featured on postcards and travel videos usually isn't prominently on display in March. The air is often very damp, which limits visibility and gives the countryside kind of a dull gray hue. This won't affect your enjoyment of towns and cities, but it means that the driving scenery might disappoint.

Finally... on my list of towns in Germany to explore more thoroughly, I marked Biberach am Riß, which is near Ochsenhausen, but I honestly can't remember what sparked my interest about this town.

Tom, thanks for the advice. All these places look great. Should be a fun ride down from Rothenburg. Just noticed that I do have March in my original post. Actually going to be there Mid-October. Will it be like fall in the states at that time? With a lot of color to the forest? Thanks again, really appreciate the help. Looking so forward to going.

By mid-October, the atmosphere starts to get damp, which kind of blunts the color effects of the foliage change. Plus, a lot of the trees in parts of Bavaria are evergreen. There's a lot of great things about Germany in October (or any time of the year), but fall foliage generally isn't one of them.

By chance, I was in this very neighborhood earlier today. Traveling north, I left the Autobahn at around Kempten to avoid a massive Stau. I drove through Memmingen, and although I didn't get out and explore (raining too hard), it looks like it definately merits at least a quick look. Memmingen retains at least part of its old defensive wall.

Also, quite by chance, I stumbled upon Kloster Ottobeuren, also close off the Autobahn. It looked very impressive from the outside, but it wasn't until I got home and looked it up, did I realize that I'd seen pictures of it hundreds of times before.

Tom, Thanks again. This looks beautiful, will make a quick stop for sure. Beginning to think we did not budget enough time for this area, but will see what we can. We can always come back!!