Germany Guide
Northern Bavaria: Franconia
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The Romantic Road
Though there are tourist roads that crisscross Germany for everything from wine to fairy tales and half-timbered houses, the Romantic Road remains by far the best-known internationally. Created in the 1950s to boost tourism, it threads its way south from the River Main to the Alps as the landscape progressively changes from gentle, rolling agricultural country to the fringes of the mountains. Along the way, it passes by some of Germany's most remarkable and famous visitor attractions: the Residenz in Würzburg, the perfectly preserved medieval towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wieskirche and "Mad" King Ludwig II's Wagnerian fantasy castle of Neuschwanstein. Much the easiest way to travel the Romantic Road is, of course, by car, but if you don't have your own transport the Eurolines-affiliated Europabus ( 
www.touring.de ) travels the road daily from May to October between Frankfurt, Füssen and Munich, with special offers for hikers and cyclists and facilities to transport bikes. There's also a 424km cycle route, most of it fairly gentle and characterized by well-made local tracks or quiet local roads, or you can follow the route on foot; the GPS data for the entire walk can be ordered from the Romantic Road website, www.romantischestrasse.de .