Romantic Road

http://www.romanticroadgermany.com

Just in case you haven't heard this before, the Romantic Road is not "romantic" or even very scenic. It's a few of the old towns along it that are worth visiting. I'd use the highway if you are traveling any distance between towns of interest.

You may want to copy and post your question on the Germany travel forum. This here is the Trip Reports forum, for people who are telling others about a trip they already took.

Paul

This site is, I think, the official site of the Romantic Road. Click on the British flag for English. I used it for most of the planning for my 5 day trip up the Romantic Road in 2007. It has information (history, sights, accommodations) for 28 towns along the Road.

You may want to look at the special tourist bus network that serves the Romantic Road. Most of these towns have car-free zones in them so you need to park in lots outside the walls (Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuehl, etc). However, using a small car off the beaten track in that region does allow you to locate hidden gems like Dettwang village below Rothenburg (yes, you can also walk down and up) and side trips to less popular places, like Kirchberg, Langenburg, Schwaebisch Hall and so on. Rick's guidebook to Germany and 'Europe thru the back door'(ETTBD) have all the info you need. September is a great time to go to this region. In all cases, do your sightseeing early in the morning before the tour busses arrive, and after they have left, such as in the evening. All these cities are more romantic by night. English language guided tours are common.
Rick Steves (no 's) uses fact-checkers and local guides - you will learn a lot if you hire a local guide yourselves occasionally. As usual, never leave anything visible in your rental car, or risk having it broken into. Use the trunk. Read what Rick says in ETTBD about cell-phone use in Europe and swapping out your SIM card for a German one. Wi-fi is increasingly available everywhere in Germany. If you like exploring/shopping separately, consider taking two phones (+2 German SIM cards)to stay in touch with each other. This way one of you can walk the Rothenburg wall while the other window shops or collects prints in the unique print shop, for example.

The road was well marked and I had no trouble following it without a good map. Despite what others have said about it not being romantic ( I am not quite sure what does qualify as a romantic road???) I found the drive charming and very relaxing and often times many beautiful photographic opportunities. It is a meandering 2 lane road most of the time through the hilly countryside with some wonderful little towns. In the spring there were the beautiful bright canola fields and in the winter there were trees covered with icy sparkles visible through the fog. In the summer we stopped for roadside picnics.... I have driven parts of it 4 or 5 times and while some parts were long, it was always a very enjoyable part of my trips.