Romantic Road

The Romantische Strasse was created in 1950 by a group of towns and tourist offices as a marketing route, linking Würzburg in the north to Füssen in the Alps over about three hundred and fifty kilometres through Franconia and Swabia; the name was chosen for its appeal, particularly to American visitors, and the route was not historic. It works because the towns along it genuinely are: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen all keep complete walls, and Würzburg, Augsburg and the Wieskirche anchor the ends and middle. A signed cycle route and a seasonal coach service follow the same line.

What you actually see

• The walled towns - Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen in sequence.
• The two ends - Würzburg's Residenz in the north, the Alps in the south.
• The cycle route - a signed long-distance path following the road.
• The 1950 invention - a route created for tourism rather than history.

When to go

May to October; the coach service and most attractions run seasonally. Rothenburg is crowded through the middle of the day in summer and at Christmas.

Honest expectations

It is a marketing route, not a historic road, and much of it is ordinary countryside between highlights. Rothenburg in particular is very crowded.

Nearby

Würzburg is the northern end; Füssen the southern.