<<<Thus, based upon the replies there is no difference in the frequency of tour buses and tourists during the day on a Sunday late in October than other times of the year...?>>>

Well, it's even worse at Christmas...I've been there twice at Christmas and once in the summer. I stayed for several nights at Christmas and yes, it was a zoo, but after the buses left and the markets closed, all became peaceful again, except for the English Nightwatchman's Tour and Hell, both of which were mob scenes.

If you're going to go, I suggest you spend at least a night so you can experience it with and without the crowds from the buses.

My husband and I were there last October on a Sunday. It was fairly crowded in the afternoon, but not so bad that we couldn't enjoy the town or get lunch without a wait. We did do the night watchman's tour and it was very good! I had been previously about 25 years ago in the middle of the summer and remember it being fairly crowded then. It's a cute town, I think you'll be glad you go,

Well towns like Rothenburg are mobbed for a reason - they are so so exceptional - that's why they are best savoured by a n novernight stay as their romance only comes out when the tour bus groups have departed.

When we were there besides the clock tower event (I think at noon) there was also a parade of locals (it was some local holiday) all through the town. And we had lunch at a restaurant right across the square from the Rathaus - and the waitress did not speak English. My german is good enough for menu and ordering but another table of diners was having trouble and we had to help them out.

Poor old Rick - gets both blame and credit for tourism he has/had nothing to do with. He did not even start his travel business until1976 when he was only about 21. I was living in Germany and first went to Rothenburg in 1976, based on recs from German friends. It was crowded even then on weekends and in summer.

Call me odd, but I would rather stay in a town where I don't have to wait until evening or wake up at dawn to not be surrounded by 1000's of tourists, and tour buses. I want to be someplace that is quaint and romantic all day long.

Rothenburg is lovely, just not that exceptional.

This is Rothenburg in Advent (Christmas Markets) in 2008. It is not an overall mob scene, only in the main square in the Christmas Market. There are some pictures of Schmied Gasse, the main drag, with very few folks.

http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Germany...6787052_jw7Xdk

Same thing in April 2014:

http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-2...8728926_cxtQqD

In peak tourist season, it is busy. I am not sure about late October.

BDJ:

We stayed in Rothenburg for 2 nights on a trip to Germany in May. It was full of tourists, but we enjoyed it very much. It has a different feel when you stay overnight.

Check out my web page on our trip:

http://www.travel.stv77.com/germany/germany.htm

Sorry -

Our visit was in May - in the early 80s.

Oh - and we did also stop in Dinkelsbuhl - which was very cute. And saw a road sign for a town called Wart - but didn't have a chance to get there.

Dinkelsbuhl was beautiful. It was just as nice as Rothenburg, just without the hordes of tourists.

There are two obvious ways to enjoy Rothenberg obt at night, when it is at its best, and still avoid the daytime crowds and tourist trap atmosphere of the place. We have done both at other places and will probably do one or the other at Rothenberg when we eventually make it there.

One is to spend a couple of nights there and get out of town during the day. That worked for us for Ludwig’s castles at Hohenschwangau, as well as Vianden, Luxembourg, while daytrippers missed out on viewing the castles at their night-lit best.

The other is to stay outside the town, where costs are less and the experience is still authentically German. For instance, two places friends have recommended are a castle hotel at Colmberg and a brewery hotel at Steinsfeld. Both are just a few miles outside Rothenberg. That would enable you to go into the town at dusk for the evening and visit less touristy places during the day. We did something similar on the Mosel, where Bernkastel is packed with tourists by day and great at night; there we stayed at a winery on the Kues side of the river.

These are obvious things that a lot of people do. But most don’t.

It is too late to change the misspellings, but at least I was consistent.

Dinkelsbuhl was beautiful. It was just as nice as Rothenburg, just without the hordes of tourists.>

ditto to that!