The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) was devised by promotion-minded travel agents in the 1950s. It travels between Würzburg and Füssen in southern Germany, specifically in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, linking a number of picturesque towns and castles. In medieval times, part of it was a trade route that connected the center of Germany with the south. Today, this region is thought by many international travellers to possess "quintessentially German" scenery and culture, in towns and cities such as Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg ob der Tauber and in castles such as at Weikersheim, Harburg, and the famous fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle. All along its 350+ kilometers, flowers spill from the balconies of half timbered homes, rolling vineyards bask in the sun, and lake-studded countryside sparkles against the grand Alps.

Würzburg:
Würzburg is a Baroque city offering southern German flair and Franconian hospitality. Architectural masterpieces from various eras shape the cityscape. Even from afar, the two imposing towers of St. Kilian Cathedral – the fourth largest Romanesque church in Germany – point the way to the city. Würzburg's famous landmarks are the Würzburg Residence with its Court Gardens and Residence Square (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Marienberg Fortress and the 180-metre-long Old Main Bridge, which is lined with impressive statues of saints. Gracefully straddling the banks of the Main River amid idyllic vineyards, the location alone is reason enough to visit Würzburg.

Tauberbischofsheim:
The old town, which was formerly completely surrounded by a defensive wall, features many historical buildings. The Kurmainz Castle and Türmersturm Tower date back to second half of the 13th century. The marketplace is encircled by half-timbered houses and the Gothic Revival town hall. It is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous historical buildings, including substantial remains of the medieval town fortifications.

Lauda-Königshofen:
Lauda and Königshofen are neighbouring towns in the pretty Tauber valley. As well as having some beautiful half timbered historical buildings, the two towns are known for their vineyards. The local museum is a wine growers house furnished from 1551. In the half-timbered house in the city center, visitors can immerse themselves in the past and, among other things, gain an impression of the life and work of a winegrowing family.

Bad Mergentheim:
Bad Mergentheim is another of the Romantic Road towns that can trace its days of settlement back before the days of the Romans. Between 1525 and 1809, Bad Mergentheim was the home of the Teutonic Knights, one of the most successful medieval orders of chivalry. In 1809, Napoléon expelled them as he marched toward his ill-fated Russian campaign. The expulsion seemed to sound the death knell of the little town, but in 1826 a shepherd discovered mineral springs on the north bank of the river. They proved to be the strongest sodium sulfate and bitter spa waters in Europe, with supposedly health-giving properties that ensured the town's future prosperity as a health resort, which continues even today.

Weikersheim:
Weikersheim Castle is one of the highlights along the Romantic Road. Boasting a unique triangular floor plan, the ancestral seat of the Hohenlohe dynasty is considered to be a masterful countryside residence. At the historic Weikersheim Market Place (Marktplatz) you may find a festival, a specialty market, or a lively antique flea market.

Röttingen:
Röttingen is one of the pearls on the Romantic Road with its gingerbread houses. The wine village which is over 900 years old has a delightfully preserved historic center. Röttingen is also known as the "City of Sundials". The little town deserves this nickname for its approximately 2-kilometer-long circular route with 25 different types of sundials.

Creglingen:
Creglingen is a peaceful village made up of half-timber houses (fachwerkhäuser). In the 14th century, a farmer plowing his field had a heavenly vision. The Herrgottskirche Church just outside the village was built on the site and has been an important pilgrimage site since then. The Herrgottskirche Church was built in the period 1384 to 1389. Today, it houses four altars, one of which is the altar of Virgin Mary, an internationally famous work by Tilman Riemenschneider, the best known wood sculptor of the late middle ages. This nowadays very famous work of art was created between 1505 and 1510.

Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber:
Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber (literally, the "red castle on the Tauber") is the kind of medieval town that even Walt Disney might have thought too picturesque to be true, with half-timber architecture galore and a wealth of fountains and flowers against a backdrop of towers and turrets. Rothenburg is perhaps the best-known of all the medieval "sights" on the Romantic Road. It is a prime example of a walled medieval town - one of the only ones left in Germany - and its beautiful buildings, walls and alleys have led to it becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bavaria.

Feuchtwangen:
Feuchtwangen is another walled town with colourful buildings. Less busy than some of the other towns with several restaurants in the town centre for those that want to escape the crowds.

Dinkelsbühl:
Dinkelsbühl is one of the archetypal towns which gives the Romantic Road its character. Dinkelsbühl is a town of Renaissance patrician houses encircled by Medieval walls and sky-scraping gatehouses. Although there is less to see here than in Rothenburg, the town is a pleasant break from the crowds, and you can relax among the locals at one of the Gasthauses in the town’s central Marktplatz.

Nördlingen:
In Nördlingen a medieval watchman's cry still rings out every night across the ancient walls and turrets. As in Rothenburg, its sister city, the medieval walls are completely intact, but here you can actually walk the entire circuit (about 4 km [2½ miles]) beginning at any of six original gates. Enjoy the peaceful atmosphere while taking in the riot of architecture, from the medieval to the Renaissance and the baroque, without the masses of tourists of its sister city. However; this city offers an additional attraction of geological interest - being located in the crater of a meteorite impact and with its impressive Daniel Tower being built of the rock formed from that impact. The outer crater ring can be seen from the top of the tower.

Harburg:
Harburg is a charming small village with an imposing castle overlooking the village below. The peaceful Wornitz river flows through the village and in the middle of the village an old bridge crosses the river providing an idyllic view of the castle and village below. As you stroll through the village on its winding streets you'll see many fachwerk (half-timbered) houses and then pass through the marketplace, flanked by several impressive homes from the 1600s and 1800s. If you have time to visit the Harburg Castle it will be a worthwhile experience as the castle walls will give you great views of the village and Bavarian countryside.

Donauwörth:
Donauwörth. One of the former Free Imperial Cities located along the Romantic Road, Donauwörth boasts an impressive location as the meeting point of the Wörnitz and Danube rivers. Today, the small town is best known for its eye-catching architecture, painstakingly restored after WWII and characterised by the rainbow of painted townhouses. In 977, a bridge was built across the Danube River which greatly increased both trade and the population. As the centuries passed, Donauwörth on the Danube also became the last port of trade for ships coming from Vienna and Eastern Europe.

Augsburg:
Augsburg is the oldest and largest city on the Romantic Road and has some very interesting sights to see. Shaped by Romans, medieval artisans, bankers, traders and, more recently, industry and technology, this attractive city of spires and cobbles makes an engaging stop on the Romantic Road, though one with a grittier, less quaint atmosphere than others along the route. Augsburg is probably most famous for the Fuggerei - a social housing estate in the city centre built by the Fugger family of bankers which dates back to the Middle Ages. Fuggerei, the town within a town, is unique in two ways, and by itself is enough to make a trip to Augsburg worthwhile. Firstly, it’s the very first social housing complex in the world, and secondly, residents here pay a rent of just €0.88 per year. Thanks to a contract drawn out by an immensely successful entrepreneur from these parts, the rent has remained the same for over five centuries.

Landsberg am Lech:
Landsberg am Lech, perhaps most famous for where the incarcerated Adolf Hitler penned his book, “Mein Kampf” one of the major pieces of propaganda that would push Germans towards the Nazi party, but fortunately Landsberg has more to it than this horrible history. It was an important point on the Via Claudia Augusta, a Roman trade route which came up from Italy and headed towards Augsburg. Today the fairytale Bavarian town will delight you with its cobbled streets and pastel coloured buildings. The town grew to prominence driven by wealth from salt mines and became a major trading center in the 15th Century under the Kings of Bavaria. That legacy has left a beautiful picture book town of red tile roofs and pastel walls surrounding a medieval market square with its frescoed city hall, fountain and cobblestones. Landsberg am Lech’s cityscape is particularly noted for its towers of curious romantic beauty and dark history. The Bavaria Gate Tower (Bayern-Tor) built in 1425, impresses as an example of southern Germany’s version of early Gothic, colorfully painted and built to a great height for the time as a demonstration of the city’s wealth and power.

Area known as Pfaffenwinkel:
This area is the heart of Bavaria between the rivers Lech and Loisach and is affectionately known as Pfaffenwinkel (Parson's Corner) 159 churches and many monasteries that have been built here. Their heaven on earth was right here. A countryside so unbelievably beautiful that it makes you gasp!

Schongau:
Schongau is one of those timeless towns in the shadow of the German Alps. Most visitors to Schongau come to see its well maintained medieval Stadtmauer. Funnily, for years this fortification defense wall protected villagers by keeping people out & now it’s the reason for wanting to get in! The main square in the centre of the old part of the town is dominated by the Ballenhaus - an old storehouse and council chamber built in the 15th century - at one end and the Church of Maria Himmelfahrt at the other. The statue of Mary gives the square its name - Marienplatz.

Rottenbuch:
Rottenbuch Abbey was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1073 on land granted by Duke Welf I of Bavaria. The Abbey church was constructed between 1085 and 1125 in the Romanesque style. The exuberant splendor of the Baroque and Rococo periods is overwhelming, and the rich interplay of stucco and colour is simply unforgettable...

Steingaden:
The wonderful monastery garden of the Abbey of St. John the Baptist is an oasis of calm, and it fortifies the visitor for the sights that remain to be discovered in Steingaden. There’s the imposing Minster, known as the Welfenmünster, the romantic market square, and finally, the Wies Church: in the early evening, when the rush has died down a bit and the light is shining gently through the high windows, the Rococo splendour is shown to perfection.

Schwangau:
Schwangau is the penultimate town on the route south along the Romantic Road and is home to perhaps the most popular sights in the whole of Germany.
The Neuschwanstein Castle:
Few places on Earth look more like storybook illustrations than Neuschwanstein Castle. With its towers, turrets, frescoes, and throne hall, Neuschwanstein looks like it was plucked straight from your favorite fairy tale. The castle was featured in the children's film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and was the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. The almost impossibly romantic Neuschwanstein Castle is perched high up on a crag above a gorge. Work began in 1869 with a vision of what the Middle Ages might have been, and was inspired by Ludwig’s musical mentor, Richard Wagner (its interiors are filled with references to Wagner’s operas).
Hohenschwangau Castle:
Hohenschwangau Castle was mentioned the first time in records of the 12th century. Until the 16th century its owners were the knights of Schwangau. During the following time it changed hands a couple of times and was partially destroyed during different wars. In 1832 the later King Maximilian II, father of King Ludwig II acquired the ruin and had the castle rebuilt according to original plans. After its completion it used to be the summer and hunting residence of the Bavarian royal family.

Füssen:
A walled town left untouched by World War II bombs, Füssen's red roofs and turrets stand in picturesque contrast to the turquoise waters of the Lech River that rushes alongside the town, separating it from the Romantic Road. The only town with the infrastructure to accommodate the crush of tourists from the famous castles nearby, Füssen has a lot of charm of its own. Home to violin makers for centuries, Füssen takes pride in its musical heritage, which it showcases during an annual summer jazz festival. There can be no more beautiful conclusion to the Romantic Road than Füssen. The town, situated between mountains, lakes and the Lech river, brings together everything that’s been encountered on the journey from Wurzburg.

Enjoy.