Our suggestion of a car ride along the Romantic Road, starting at our b&b in Diessen.

This world-famous road starts in Wuerzburg on the river Main and ends in Fuessen, close to the Alps and the Austrian border - all in all 350km scenic countryside with old castles, unspoiled villages and historic places from the Romans to this day. We will highlight three stages of the Romantic Road on three seperate days:

 





FIRST DAY:

We leave Diessen rather early, take the autobahn to the north and will reach Schillingsfuerst, our first stop, around 10 am.(baroque mansion with 70 rooms, rich stucco work, fine porcelain, valuable furniture)

By noontime we'll drive into Rothenburg, this completely preserved medieval town with its encircling wall and defensive towers, a magnificent market place and great gothic churces: romance pure. You'll be invited to take a two-hour guided tour (English) followed by a visit to the Criminology Museum for forensic science, well-stocked with all kind of torture instruments. The Jakobskirche with its impressive wood-carved altar, the Meistertrunk spectacle on the market square and a shopping tour through Christmas shops opened year-round, are additional highlights for the remainder of this afternoon.

The Romantic Road leads through Creglingen and Weikersheim and one of the most charming of river valleys to Lauda-Koenigshofen, a wine-making village, nestling in the midst of terraced vineyards. Wine lovers will enjoy the local Franconian wine in a cosy cellar, before we'll hit the road to drive back home.

 

  
SECOND DAY:

We leave Diessen around 9 am and have our first stop in Landsberg on the Romantic Road. A town sight-seeing circuit takes about 1 ½ hours on foot along the city wall, beautiful fountains, the alpine river Lech and lovely art-shops. The circuit involves climbing considerable heights and requires some physical effort.

By noon-time we are heading for Augsburg a town developed over 2000 years. I suggest we take a guided bus tour this time, which will last about 2 ½ hours and limits ourselves to the main historical buildings: the city hall, the Fuggerei (the world's oldest alms houses built in1516), the cathedral, numerous fountains, St. Anna and St. Ulrich church, the Mozarthaus (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father was born here), the synagoge, to name a few. The day may end with a opera performance at the open-air theatre at the Rote Tor (June, July)

  
THIRD DAY:

We leave Diessen to the south, heading towards the Alps and soon we arrive in Fuessen. In the hundreds tourists from all over the world are visiting each day Neuschwanstein, the creation of the mad king Ludwig II of Bavaria, known as the fairy-tale king. From the car-park we reach the castle on foot in about 30 minutes or by a horse-drawn carriage. Highlights of the guided tour (English): singers room (taking up the entire fourth floor with pictures of the Thannhäuser saga), knights room, the throne room, the living room, the chapel.

Before we drive back, we will stroll through the old pictoresque town of Fuessen and take delight in its alleys, places and souvenir shops.

One last attraction before we reach Diessen again: the pilgrimage church Wieskirche in the midst of meadows and forests, the quintessence of a Bavarian rococo church, which today is a UNESCO World Cultural Inheritance.