Which castle between Frankfurt and Rothenburg?

there are small places along the romantic road you can stop by. can suggest any specific ones - some are just castles some are castle with a small town, so you'll have to decide on your own. you should be able to find a romantic road map in hotels or tourist info places, it'll list all the sites along the way with descriptions you can choose.

The 2 best places to visit, imo, along the way are both in Würzburg: the Residenz and Fortress Mirienberg. Check them both out on the net.....

Of the two places you mention in Würzburg, the Residenz is just that, a residence, a big, garish home with murals on the ceilings. Quite a place for a man who had taken a vow of poverty. The Marienberg is a real castle.

If you take a slightly less direct route (A5 towards Karlsruhe and Basle change to A6 towards Munich and Heilbron just to the south of Heidelberg then A7 to Rothenburg), you will directly pass several castles that you can see from the road, although most are in various states of ruin. Burg Frankenstein (from which Mary Shelley borrowed the name, although the castle itself has no connection with anything sinister) above Seeheim-Jugenheim provides an amazing view of the entire region. Scloß Auerbach above Auerbach and Bensheim also gives you a pretty good view. Although I've never visited, there's an interesting looking castle you can see on a hill from the A6 near Waldenburg. And if you're in the area, Schwäbisch Hall is a beautiful town comparable to Rothenburg... without all the trinket shops and tour buses.

Burg Ronneburg, near Büdingen would be a good choice. This is about an hour outside of Frankfurt. They have a good falcon show there too. The whole area around here is chock full of history, from Celts to Romans, to Witches and Medieval stuff galore. Stop by Büdingen on your way there or back. They have a beautiful 13 sided palace that is worth seeing too, though the Ysenburg family still live there. http://www.burg-ronneburg.de/ http://www.schloss-buedingen.de/index.php?q=startseite.html A bit north of Frankfurt which isn't really on your way though, is Kronberg, with perfect example of an intact Staufen castle. Kronberg is beautiful, set in the Taunus mountains and the view is great. http://www.burgkronberg.de/?page_id=58 Burg Frankenstein as mentioned by Tom is a good one, though a ruin. Magnificent view from the castle and you can see why it was a good defensive site. Actually, there is a bit of sinister stuff about one of the Frankensteins who was an alchemist, doing some nasty experiments. The Kaiserdom in Frankfurt has one of the Frankensteins buried in the church. The guy was a prince and a bishop!

Thanks...these are some great tips. I knew I could count on the helpline regulars to steer me in the right direction.....literally! I will look at all these and try to remember to post which ones we decided to vist after we return.

Wurzburg comes to mind for me, but there are so many places I haven't seen, it's impossible for me to say it's the best - a good choice, though, for your route.