Romantic Road/Castles MUST GO/SKIP...

The Romantic Road isn't an "area", really - it's a 350 km series of towns, with N'stein Castle (ho hum) at the very southern tip. Personally, I'd skip N'stein in favor of handsome Würzburg and Rothenburg, a marvelously preserved medieval town, almost at the other end of the RR, with some of the RR's best sights. Stay in Würzburg for 2 nights - see the Residenz, the Marienberg fortress, and the city itself in one day, Rothenburg the next. Or stay overnight in R'burg and daytrip to W'burg; lots of people do it this way to enjoy the Nightwatchman tour in R'burg. W'burg has reasonable accommodations near the train station for your outing to Rothenburg, if you stay there - it's about one hour away.

danielle, You'll undoubtedly get different opinions on this subject. IMO opinon both locations are worth seeing, but which one to choose will depend somewhat on what you most want to see in that area. I agree that both Rothenburg and Wurzburg are worth seeing, but they're somewhat of a "different" experience than visiting Füssen and the Castles. Although Neuschwanstein is not an "ancient" Castle, it's still somewhat of an impressive sight, especially when viewed from the metal bridge which crosses a nearby gorge (that's where many of the "classic" photos are taken from). While there you could also tour the Castle that Ludwig grew up in, Hohenschwangau. If you decide to visit the Castles, Munich is the best "home base" for that area. You can either travel to Füssen on your own and make your own reservations for the Castle tour OR you can take a guided daytrip. Check This Website for details. One point to note regarding the Neuschwanstein tour, is that photos are not allowed inside during the Castle tour, however taking photos from the inside looking out is allowed. Happy travels!

There is nothing in the world like Rothenburg for a fairy tale, picturesque town. Nothing comes close. Google "Rothenburg" images, and you will see what I mean. I was there in April, and it was not run over by tourists, it is a quaint lovely preserved village. There is a lot of charm to absorb, beautiful architecture, a fine public park- not a lot to do (there are lots of tourist shops selling gee-gaws but you can ignore them if that is not your thing) but the scenery & town square is wonderful. Go ahead and google it-also check trip advisor for impressions. If you go, you must do the Nightman's Tour (I think 7:00 p.m. walking tour from the town square. Highly recommended by all). I myself was very unimpressed by the Romantic Road-there is no doubt it was a road with towns sprinkled here & there, but I would never have known it was a destination in and of itself. If you have not driven on winding country road, it may be just the thing that delights you.

Actually SusieeQQ, there are dozens of towns that are just like Rothenburg, only Rick hasn't written about them and put them in his book. There are too many to even list them all, but for just a few, try Buedingen, Quedlinburg, Michelstadt, Idstein, and many more. Google photos of them if you don't believe me. The biggest plus is that they don't have hordes of tourists and no kitschy souvenir stores in them. So Danielle, maybe if you told us your starting and ending points we could give you some better suggestions. For example are you flying in and out of Frankfurt or Munich or someplace else? This will be helpful to us.

Hmm, Jo, you beat me to that comment. I like Rothenburg and it is impressive... but it isn't nearly as unique as you would think if you only read Mr. Steve's book. My thoughts on visiting for the first time were "This is nice, but it looks just like a bigger version of Michelstadt with more tourists." If I had to choose between several towns on Romantic Road versus Neuschwanstein, I would go with the castle. Yeah, it isn't an authentic medieval castle, but should that really make a difference? It's an authentic German Romantic era castle, and it has all the trappings of that particular age. Plus, if you pre-arm yourself with some knowledge of Wagner and his operas, the elaborate decorations make a little more sense and give you an insight into the odd mind of King Ludwig. Finally, the castle sits at the foot of the Alps, and the Alps are ALWAYS worth a visit.

I haven't made to Neuschwanstein or any of the Bavarian castles yet, but I initially didn't find them interesting since they weren't "real, old" castles. Since then I've read a lot more on German history (and seen some "real, old" castles which are cool as ruins but almost everything worth seeing has been significantly restored so you're not seeing something "really old" anyway!) and I am dying to visit all of Ludwig's palaces because he's such a fascinating figure. If you choose to go, definitely try to read up about the man and his place in history, first. It will add I think a lot of interest and context to the experience.

could anyone recommend good towns to visit closer to the Fussen side?

Wurtzburg is my favorite Romantic Road town. It offers much more than the other tiny medieval towns along the route. Stay a night in Wurtzburg and Rhotenburg, spend maybe a day stopping in at some of the little towns along the way (for me probably Dinklesbuhl and Nordlingen). Park, visit the TI for guidance on a couple of sites, get a bratwurst from a vendor, then head for the next town. You will want to do your driving on the autobahn rather than the slower Romantic Road itself, due to your limited time. I hate to say skip the castles, but missing some of the medieval towns along the Romantic Road would be a bigger loss IMO.

Danielle, I would definitely recommend the Fussen castles. They are very unique, particularly Neuschwanstein. The romantic road in and of itself is not much. Rothenburg is very interesting. The other small towns have some similarities, but pale in comparison. Although not on the "romantic road", two towns are nearby and far more interesting than any on the road other than Rothenburg. They are Ulm and more particularly Augsburg.