Daytrips from Rothenburg
 

My husband and I will travel to Germany in mid to late October. We will fly into Frankfurt and train to Wuerzburg for 1 night.

We will rent a car and drive to Rothenburg, where we will base for 4 nights. We will be driving on to Munich for 5 nights after this.

I would like to know of some quaint little Bavarian towns to visit while we are in Rothenburg. I would also appreciate any advise on how to organize these daytrips, such as which towns to group together.

Thank you for your help! Laurie

Dinkelsbuhl is south and an easy drive. A smaller version of Rothenburg.

Nuremburg is east and you can make a full day out of this. Plus, the countryside is nice for a drive.

We just returned from Rothenburg. Have been going there off and on for 35 years. Be sure to do the Nightwatchman's Tour at 8pm..but be prepared for a crowd. The word is out.

They also have weekly concerts in the square going on of various US high school students performing from one state in the US. We saw Nebraska and it was fun. The kids were great. This may be oveer in October. But it was good.

Check out the patio at the Reichs Kuchenmeister Hotel for lunch or dinner drinks. Directly next to St Jacobs Church. The indoor restaurant there is also very good and priced right.

You might consider taking 2 nights in Rothenburg, then driving south on the Romantic Road and spending 2 nights in Munich. This will allow you to drive to Munich through or near the Alps.

Bad Mergentheim near Rothenburg is very nice. A beautiful town, and I don't think we saw another tourist there.

Thank you for your reponses, Traveldawg and Bob. I will add Dinkelsbuhl, Nuremburg, and Bad Mergentheim to our list!

Traveldawg, Do you think Rothenburg will be very crowded in mid October? We are staying at the Gasthof Greifen. Do you know anything about this guesthouse?

Bob, We will drive to Munich for 5 nights after our stay in Rothenburg. I'm glad to hear that you agree with this decision.

Thank you both for your help! Laurie

woops, I meant to say, 2 nights in Fusssen (cutting your Rothenburg stay in half)_, then on to Munich. This would allow you to see some of the southern Bavarian small towns.

If you go to Bad Mergentheim, don't miss the palace in nearby Weikersheim. Both together could easily be done in one day.

Here's a note I wrote previously about the Gasthof Greifen. I'm off to a Bastille party but will check back tomorrow to see if you have other questions.


Author: mvor
Date: 01/20/2006, 08:45 pm
igpjazz, we stayed at the Greifen in November for four nights (based on recs here) and the people are, indeed, lovely. The little boy is about four-five now and the daughter was expecting a baby shortly. We didn't dine in their restaurant but it was always busy.

If you're driving, I'd print directions to the hotel from mappy.com since the map provided by the hotel was difficult to follow, at least for us, the first time.

Some towns we enjoyed for daytrips include: Bamberg, Dinkelsbuehl, and Bad Wimpfen. Enjoy!

I'm planning to do the same and another quaint small town I'm including is Iphofen.
If you go to Bad Mergentheim, you should also include Miltenberg which has a very attractive oldtown. It's picture perfect with a colorful timber houses hilly cobblestone squares & meandering lanes along a small river.

In Wurzburg you will see references to Tilman Riemenschneider, the "master of Wurzburg" who was the mayor and, more importantly for tourists now, an amazing sculptor. You can see his "Holy Blood" altarpiece at the St Jacobskirche in Rothenburg. If you are intrigued by his work there are other beautiful altarpieces in Ceglingen and Detwang between Wurzburg and Rothenburg.

On the Romantic Road Nordingen is less touristy than Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuhl and has town walls that circle the old city. Schloss Harburg, a fortified castle overlooking the the Wornitz river, is another interesting destination.

Bad Wimpfen is a beautiful imperial city not too far from Rothenburg

If you have any interest in the history of the Roman Empire in Germany, an important Roman garrison town, weissenberg is not far from Rothenburg (to the SE). there are the remains of old Roman baths, a museum and a reconstructed section of the fort.
http://www.deutsche-limeskommission....issenburg.html
This doesn't fit in the category of "quaint bavarian towns" but is interesting!

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! I have not heard of some of the towns that were mentioned so I will be sure to research them.

Mvor, Thank you for the advice about getting a map to Gasthof Greifen. Did find the rooms to be clean and spacious? What were the breakfasts like? Was their a refrigerator in the room?

Did you find Rothenburg to be very crowded in November?

Vttraveler, thank you for the mention of the Roman site. We enjoy Roman history and seeing the ruins.

Thanks again to everyone for your great advice! Laurie

Hi Laurie,

Our room and the common rooms at the GG were spotless but dated, think 70s decor w/some good wood furnishings. Our bed was very comfortable which for me is key. I would definitely stay there again and have recommended the place to family/friends--very good value for expense.

The breakfasts were typical cheese, meats, rolls, w/some fruit etc. and there may have been yogurt. We're veggie so we always stock our own fruit. The one thing I do remember is that they made me hot chocolate even although it wasn't on the menu...the owners/staff are very sweet.

The tourist office just up the street off the main square has free Internet. We were there at US Thanksgiving and the Christmas market was open so there were quite a few Americans (mostly from army bases, I believe)...otherwise, touristy but not overwhelming. We basically day-tripped out and spent our early mornings and evenings in RodT.

I think our room at GG was #13, which faced the square and I had lots of fun people watching. We had snow on Thanksgiving morning...very picturesque.

Enjoy!

P.S. Bamberg is NOT a quaint little town but I still highly recommend it--interesting architechture, setting on the water, restos, etc.

P.S. My apologies for not answering all of your questions:

We had one large room that had a bedroom with an adjacent sitting room w/small dining area and tv and armoire plus a separate bathroom/w.c.

We did not have a refrigerator so we stored our fruit in our room and chilled our wine in the snow in the car park (sounds a little sordid now but worked well at the time)...perhaps you can request a refrigerator, or use of theirs, if you need it.

Again, have a terrific time.

On the way from Wurzburg to Rothenberg, do try to stop in Iphofen if only for a short walk around this lovely little town. It is located about 30 minutes southeast of Wurzburg off the B8.

www.iphofen.de

mvor, you have been very helpful and I really appreciate it! I think we will like the GG and chilling your wine in the snow sounds like something we would do.

Thanks again for all the advise! Laurie

Hi Laurie,
If you like castles, Burg Harburg is an impressive, well-preserved medieval castle right on the Romantic Road.
http://www.fuerst-wallerstein.de/harburg/index.html
(website is in German but they offer English tours)

It could be combined in a day trip with some of the other towns people have mentioned along the Romantic Road. It is east of Noerdlingen on the B25.

hausfrau, thank you for the suggestion of this castle. I am sure we would enjoy a visit there.

Is the castle in or near Wallerstein? I can find Wallerstein on my map but not Burg Harburg. Are there signs on the road to help direct you?

Thanks again for the suggestion! Laurie

Here's a website for the Harburg castle hotel:

http://www.burgschenke-harburg.de/index.htm

The castle is in the city of Harburg:

http://tinyurl.com/2p6lzz

If you have a map that shows the Romantic Road (Rte 25), Harburg is southeast of Nordlingen (impressive walled town I mentioned) which is south of Wallerstein
In my Michelin guide Wallerstein is mentioned as having a view out over the Ries Basin which is an area formed about 15 million years ago when a meteorite hit the earth. There is a museum about the meteor crater in Nordlingen.
I have never stopped for that view in Wallerstein but it sounds impressive and it would be easy to combine a stop there with a visit to Harburg and Nordlingen

I think there is another castle at Wallerstein, but as bettyk and Vttraveler said, Schloss Harburg is actually in the town of Harburg. Once you are on the B25 approaching Harburg, you can't miss the castle because the road literally goes through a tunnel right under it. You'll see signs directing you to parking for the castle (which is set high on a hill, so you don't actually go into town). If you have time for a meal or want a snack, there's a nice little restaurant at the castle with a lovely outdoor seating area.

We loved Nuremburg and highly suggest a visit. The old town is very nice and walkable, with some terrific restaurants and cafes. A great way to spend a day or afternoon.

Definitely 2nd the Nightwatchman's Tour!

Tracy