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 The
Romantic Road is an umbrella name that applies to a series of roads and
highways that connect a string of towns in Bavaria that are often scenic,
usually historic and almost always delightful to visit. Quite honestly, it
is the towns that are the attractions in the area, not the 'road" that connects them.
It is unlikely that
many travelers would be able to recite the names of the two dozen plus towns
along the Romantic Road or even to have visited more than a few. As
with most areas, there are some outstanding attractions that merit your time
and others that while interesting to visit, will not make or break your
vacation.
As you may have concluded, touring the towns on the Romantic Road does not
require driving the highways designated as the Romantic Road, unless you
have decided that you want to see every town along this circuit. As an
alternative, we
suggest you either drive between the towns using the assistance of a
navigation device, like a TomTom or a Garmin, or using routes you have
prepared in advance using your favorite online mapping site. You will
want to wander and if you do, be sure to bring an up-to-date paper map.
During our recent research visit to the area, we rented a Mercedes B class,
with an in-dash system and also used a TomTom 920. Both systems were
great, although both got us lost (for a short time) more than once. So, be
sure an take a good quality paper map for backup
For the most part, the towns of the Romantic Road are small, and even the
largest (e.g. Augsburg and Wurzburg) are modestly sized. The treasures that
many of these towns can claim range from the spectacular (e.g. the
Residenz in Wurzburg) to the modest and in many cases (e.g. Dinkelsbuhl), it
is the town itself that is the treasure.
If you are going to
vacation in the towns along the Romantic Road, be prepared to do some
walking when you arrive, as exploring the unique look and feel of these
towns and villages is one of the main reasons for visiting them. We
suggest you make a base in one of the towns and make day trips
to the surrounding attractions. Using two towns for bases over four or
five days should allow you
to see the best of the Romantic Road.
The Romantic Road travels through scenic landscapes in a highly agrarian
section of Germany. Tidy farms and neat fields are usually just a few
minutes away from most destinations and the restaurants in many towns serve
cuisine made from local produce and meats. You won’t run into a shortage of
good food in this region. As you might expect, you will encounter a broad
selection of hearty Bavarian food and rich sauces will be served on just
about everything. On the other hand, we, quite unexpectedly, found some
excellent pizza and Italian food in this area during a recent exploration.
 Although
a number of towns along the Romantic deserve you attention, it would be
impossible to visit all of them in the time most travelers have for a vacation. We think that the leading destination on the Romantic Road is
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, although more travelers visit the
Neuschwanstein
Castle in Hohenschwangau.
Wurzburg and
Augsburg are standards of the
Romantic Road and we would add
Ottobeuren and
Dinkelsbuhl as places that
deserve a visit. Our guide to the Romantic Road covers all of these locations
in detail. So choose one from the selection in our menu to the right and get ready for a
wonderful tour of the Romantic Road.
We provide a map showing the locations of the towns we cover on the Romantic road
and the map can be used to create routes between the towns. 
We provide detailed city maps for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Augsburg and
Wurzburg on the pages describing these towns. Hohenschwangau,
Dinkelsbuhl and Ottobeuren are small enough that if you can find the town,
you will have no problem finding its sights.
In most of these towns, you will easily find the tourist office and most
of these have excellent , free maps for walking the town. In addition,
many hotels stock these maps and will gladly provide you one during your
visit.
 The best way to see the towns along the Romantic Road is to rent a car and
explore the areas of interest to you. Not all towns on the Road have rail
services. A tour bus (the Europabus -which you can hop-on and hop-off)
connects some of the major attractions and you can find more about it
here.
Lodging opportunities are plentiful along the Romantic Road, but it is a
popular tourist destination, especially in summer. If you are
interested in staying in one of the towns we recommend (especially
Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Hohenschwangau), be sure to book ahead. Numerous hotels can be booked online, while some can only be reserved by contacting them directly. There are some spectacular places to stay
in this region and you will have to do a little research to find them. Of course, that's part of the fun of planning a trip.
As you
travel the Romantic Road, you will find that its towns all have some
connection to the Thirty Years War. Since the effects of this epic war
are a common
theme of the towns in this area and an important fact of German history, we
have prepared a summary of the event, its causes and affects.
The Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648) was a series of wars that marked a
changing power structure in Europe and those interested in exploiting it. Initially a religious war that began as a conflict between Protestants
(Calvinists and Lutherans) and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, the
conflict later became more a politically oriented disagreement between the
Bourbons and the Hapsburgs. Besides Germany (which was not a unified country
at the time), France, Spain, Demark and Sweden were involved as major
players, but at different times during the war’s prolonged extent.
The Majority of the wars and major battles were fought in German
territories. The Thirty Years War devastated the most German cities,
decimating their populations and ruined the regions economy for many years
after. Numerous towns never recovered
their pre-war stature; others fell into disrepair and ruin.
The result of the Thirty Years War was a realignment of power in Europe.
France became the dominant power, while Germany was reconstituted into a
series of territories that were relatively independent of the power of the
weakened Holy Roman Empire.
For a detailed map of the Romantic Road and information about many of its
towns, visit the
official website of the Romantic Road.Click below to visit our
Romantic Road guides to:
Augsburg
Dinkelsbuhl
Neuschwanstein Castle
Ottobeuren
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Wurzburg
If you need to find information about another travel destination, try
Googling our site or the Web
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