Romantic Road Questions

Simran, Fussen is about 2-3 hours southwest of Munich. Rothenburg is another 2-3 hours from Fussen using some of the Autobahn. You can leave Munich, see Neuschwanstein, and make Rothenburg by nightfall. Frankfurt is less than a day from Rothenburg taking all back roads. To get an idea of a timeline got to viamichelin.com and input your itener. We went from Frankfurt to Rothenburg, took our time and still made it in 1 day.

Do you recommend making the first stop in Rotherburg and second stop another city which can be driven to Frankfurt in 3 -4 hours?

First night near Neuschwanstein Castle and second in Rothenburg. Suggest start out by taking the train to Garmisch and renting a car there (you avoid the Munich congestion & start your driving tour more relaxed). From Garmisch, go to Oberammergau (option of seeing Lindau Castle) then to Steingaden (stop to visit the Wieskirche en route) and then on to Schwangau. You could visit Neuschwanstein in the afternoon or early the next morning. There are lots of places to stay near the castle. Next day drive on to Rothenburg via Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl.

There is extremely heavy traffic during the morning rush period (6:30am - 9:00am) around Frankfurt and the airport, so give yourselves extra time to get there if your return flight is on a weekday morning.

Simran, I suggest going at a slow pace and taking your time. If you're going between October and March you don't need to worry about hotel reservations anywhere along the Romantic Road. You should be able to find lodging cheaply and easily at that time.

Make sure you spend at least one night in Rothenburg. Also see Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Creglingen (all near Rothenburg).

Just take your time and enjoy the trip. It's fantastic by car.

We only have 2.5 days, so I was wondering if I could get options as to where all to stop at and what 2 towns to overnight at.

you might consider spending the second day in wurzburg. it's less than an hour north of rothenburg and has a residenz, a capelle, and the festung (fortress) on the hill. good restaurants and good hotels. for economy, the regina is good. for a nicer place, try the dorint or the mercur. neither of these include breakfast. it's fun to eat breakfast in the mill restaurant that hangs over the river, if it's open.

it's about 90 minutes from wurzburg to the airport in frankfurt. you could allow extra time and stop in wertheim or miltenberg. that might be pushing it timewise, but they are fun towns to visit for an hour or two.

email me if you want more info on wurzburg.

Too bad you don't have another couple of days. The area between Munich and Frankfurt starts with the Romantic Road (all the above suggestions are spot on), but there is another great attraction between those two cities...The Rhine River!

The Rhine is one of the most amazing and picturesque areas in all of Europe, and has the highest concentration of medieval castles and ruins as well as many beautiful medieval villages (Especially Bacharach!). But you really need at least one extra night to do it right. At the very least you should drive up the river between Mainz and Koblenz, then cross the river and drive back down the other side to Mainz to see the castles and drive through the villages, then on to Frankfurt.

I would stay the night in Rothenburg and take the night watchman's tour. Enjoy it when it's not full of tourists (I've seen it both ways, nights and mornings are much nicer).

The next day I'd go to Wurtzburg or St. Goar on the Rhine. Drive to Frankfurt in time to turn in your car and catch your flight.

Germans consider Frankfurt the "German Manhattan", new and lots of skyscrapers. I agree, that's why I don't spend time there.

Be sure to call the airport ahead to check your departure time. It probably won't change but if it does, it's better to wait somewhere nice rather than in the airport.

I just returned from a romantic road tour. I would go directly to Fussen and spend the night either there or in a small town along the way. Tour the castles and drive to rothenberg. It is an easy drive on in to the airport in Frankfurt. We spent the night in Fussen in the hotel Hirsch It was 113 Euro. nice quiet room then just a short drive to the castles. It is 4 Euro to park, It is short walk up the hill to Ludwigs but since I am 80 I had to catch to bus to mama's and papa's house. Really nice scenery.
We stayed in the hotel at the Gasthof Greifen right in the middle of town ,free parking. I love Rothenburg and this the perfect time of the year to go.no crowds.