Driving Inspiration: The Romantic Road
A stunning drive through some of Germany's most spectacular landscapes.
- Driving inspiration
- Germany
- Fall in love with the Romantic Road
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What is the Romantic Road?The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) is a 220 mile (355km) route in southern Germany that takes in some of the country’s most picturesque scenery, historic towns and enchanting castles. It was devised by the German Tourist Board in the 1950s to encourage post-war visitors, and mostly runs through Bavaria, with a short stretch in Baden-Württemberg. It can be driven either way, but many people prefer to start in the north, from Würzburg, and end in the Alpine foothills, dramatic site of the imposing and fantastical Neuschwanstein castle.
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Driving the Romantic RoadTo get to Würzburg from the LeShuttle terminal in Calais, is a drive of around 7 ½ hours. You might want to break up your journey at one of the cities along the way, including Brussels, Cologne or Frankfurt. The roads are a mix of Autobahn, urban and country roads, and the brown ‘Romantische Straße’ signs are frequent. Pick up a map of the route before you leave Würzburg (or Füssen) and you should not have any problems with navigation.Get more tips on driving in Germany
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Distances on the Romantic RoadIf you are driving north to south, these are the distances between the main towns and cities on the Romantic Road:
- Würzburg to Bad Mergentheim – 59 km
- Bad Mergentheim to Rothenburg ob der Tauber – 44km
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Dinkelsbühl – 45 km
- Dinkelsbühl to Donauwörth – 61 km
- Donauwörth to Augsburg – 44 km
- Augsburg to Schongau – 68 km
- Schongau to Füssen – 50 km
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How long does the Romantic Road take to drive?Even taking the time to stop at the major attractions during the route, without feeling like you’re rushing things you can drive the Romantic Road in about 3 days. With this itinerary below you should be driving for no more than two hours each day.
But you could easily take much longer travelling the Romantic Road, if you wanted to spend more time exploring the towns and cities along the way, or venturing into more of the surrounding countryside.
A Romantic Road itinerary
The following itinerary is a 3-day tour, giving an idea of where to book overnight accommodation in advance (we highly recommend this, as the Romantic Road is very popular with coach parties). But you may want to stop for longer or just go where the mood takes you.
Day 1 - Würzburg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Your first day starts in Würzburg, a city on the River Main that sits at the heart of one of Germany’s biggest wine-growing regions. Make sure you visit the Residence Palace, a huge baroque palace with stunning ornamental gardens on a grand scale. On your way down the attractive Tauber valley you pass by the quaint towns of Lauda-Königshofen, Tauberbischofsheim and the spa resort of Bad Mergentheim, and the magnificent Weikersheim Palace, ancestral seat of the Hohenlohe dynasty.
Journey’s end for the day is the famous town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, perhaps the best preserved example of a medieval walled town in Germany. You may know it from scenes in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. As you wander its cobbled streets and narrow lanes, you certainly won’t be alone, as it is one of Bavaria’s historic honeypots. But it is still quite magical, and as the sun begins to set and the crowds disperse, try a guided walking tour to really capture its atmosphere.
Day 2 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Augsburg
You may be leaving Rothenburg, but the Romantic Road has plenty more historic jewels in store. Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen and Donauwörth are all on the route today. With their towers and churches, half-timbered houses and traditional brew houses and shops, these towns feel like gentle outposts now, but they were walled and fortified for a reason. All played a key role in the wars of the Middle Ages and Reformation. Find somewhere cosy for lunch and tuck into some hearty Bavarian fayre.
The road today leads to Augsburg, the largest city along the route, and one of Germany’s oldest. Dating back over 2000 years, the city is home to a stunning cathedral, a Renaissance City Hall and a marionette theatre. Take a well-deserved break from your journey and spend a few hours exploring the city. It was home to the Fuggers, the 16th-century banking dynasty, and one of the city’s most popular places to visit is the Fuggerei, a social housing project founded in 1516 by the Fuggers and still in use today.
Day 3 - Augsburg to Füssen
The last leg of the Romantic Road draws you like a magnet to the Alps, which amass in the distance as the day’s driving progresses. Before then you will have seen the fairy tale towers and gables of Landsberg am Lech, a pretty town on the Lech river, and the Pfaffenwinkel, the ‘priest’s corner’ of churches and monasteries in the Schongau and Steingaden area of quaint hillside villages.
Then comes the showstopping moment of the whole route – the incredible sight of the Neuschwanstein castle. Perched on a craggy hilltop, its fairy tale towers rise out of the trees, you can see why it inspired Disney’s Cinderella castle! It was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, known as the ‘fairy tale king’, in the 19th century. From the viewpoint you will be able to see the equally dramatic Hohenschwangau Castle, and indeed the beautiful sweep of the surrounding Alpine plains, rivers, lakes and forested mountainsides.
A fitting end to an inspiring journey.
Food and drink of the Romantic Road
You certainly won’t go hungry on the road. You’ll find traditional Bavarian food like ‘sauerbraten’ (tangy marinated roast beef) and ‘maultaschen’ (meat and herb filled ravoli), along with the usual sausages and sauerkraut. In and around Würzburg the local Franconian wine, similar to Riesling, is very popular. Beer drinkers can look forward to exploring the distinctive taste of ‘rauchbier’, which literally means ‘smoked beer’. This is an old style lager made from the traditional method of smoking the malt, which the brewers around Bamberg steadfastly held onto.
If you’re into your beer, why not take a brewery tour while you’re on the Romantic Road? Just make sure you’ve finished driving for the day, as a tasting at the end of the tour is hard to refuse!
