Romantic Road to Munich

How you divide your time between Munich and towns along the Romantic Road is really a matter of personal likes. Munich is a large city with a wealth of things to see and do, from Biergartens to Museums to a large popular park. You could probably spend 5 days there if you wanted without being bored.

Romantic road by Train or car? Again it is personal choice. We like train travel in Germany as it is more engaged.

I would consider Würzburg, Rothenburg and Füssen and all are serviced by train. Würzburg is a lively, beautiful college town with medieval roots. (If you decide to rent a car, I would do so as you are leaving Würzburg. The traffic between Frankfurt and W. is the pits.) Rothenburg is a showcase small medieval town. Füssen has the royal castles and the Alps.

All these places are good. You can not lose.

Regards, Gary

If you are driving from Frankfort, I would definitely see Rothenburg and stay the night. You can park outside the walls if your hotel doesn't have parking, then drive the Romantic Road to Munich. You can drive or take a train then to Fussen to see the castle if you like. I don't like changing hotels all the time so I would pick 2 places to stay and sight see along the way.

I agree with what Sue said about spending a night in Rothenburg, but it is easy to get to by train. The train connection from Frankfurt to Rothenburg has a change in Würzburg, so you could stop a few minutes to see it.

I would see Rothenburg and Füssen, and maybe Nördlingen in between. There are buses between Rothenburg and Nördlingen, but the require changes. The Romantic Road coach leaves Rothenburg around 11:15 and goes directly to Nördlingen (13:35) with stops in Feuchtwangen and Dinkelbühl. That would give you a chance to actually see "the Road". I wouldn't spend more time than that on it. You could tour Nördlingen, spend the night, and then go by train to Füssen.

I did the RR, going north from Wieskirche to Würzburg, entirely with public transportation last October. You can read about it at www.geocities.com/larry_aufderstrasse.

The Romantik Road to me was not romantic at all but a busy two-lane thoroughfare - the name was conjured up by the German Tourist office in the 50s i believe strictly for tourist appeal.

that said Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen and Rothenburg are simply dreamy medievalesque small towns

Or go straight away to Munich and then day trip from there to Fussen and Neuschwanstein Castle or Salzburg, Austria (1.5 hrs from Munich) or Oberammergau or Garmisch (for the Zugsptize) or Berchestsgaden or Herrenchiemsee for another Mad Ludwig Castle, etc and one of the cutest Baroque towns in Europe or even to Rothenburg from Munich and do it all by train.

We didn't find the RR to be especially busy when we last drove it. But that was a couple of years ago. And it really isn't all that romantic a drive--the towns are the attraction.

When we're on vacation time is of somewhat more importance than money, so unless we're travelling between major cities we will usually opt to rent a car.

I second Würzburg, Rothenburg and Füssen by train. Munich is fine, but I like the smaller towns better.

But Rufus, when I use public transportation, the few more hours I spend saves me enough to "buy" a few more days of vacation. I will trade hours for day anytime.

I agree with PalQ about the non-appeal of the Romantic Road. The name is really about linking the romantic towns such as Rothenburg, Nordlingen, etc. The little towns are enjoyable to visit, but the actual road isn't especially pretty.

Further south, the Alps are gorgeous. I'd probably take the train from Frankfurt. The Autobahn around Munich can be incredibly congested.

Larry--good for you. But we wouldn't lengthen our vacations because we saved some money on something. We go for the amount of time we want to be gone no matter. It just depends on your personal situation.