This map shows the attractions along the Main from Würzburg to Hanau, mainly the Spessart, a mountainous forest north of the Main. The Main is a great choice for long bike rides, as there is minimal elevation gain and few major roads near the river. At the same time, there are few truly top highlights.
Castle Road, Odenwald
Romantic road. Dinkelsbühl and Feuchtwangen
Despite its popularity, the Romantic Road is not my favorite route. In my opinion, the attractions rate per kilometer is not very high. Often, from the description, you cannot decide in advance which city is really worth visiting on the road between the two touristic super monsters Rothenburg and Füssen.
It was all the more pleasant and unexpected to come across such an untouched and authentic city as Dinkelsbühl after the nice, but quite average Bad Mergentheim, Ellwangen or Feuchtwangen.
“Mountain road” Bergstrasse. From Darmstadt to Heidelberg
The region from Heidelberg to Frankfurt is usually overlooked by tourists. However, touristic route Bergstrasse has its own character and a fair number of quite decent attractions. It is not suitable for a full-fledged vacation, but for a pleasant few days, a day trip or a stop along a long route – quite excellent. You can get around by car, train or bike. The best time is spring and autumn.
Odenwald sightseeing
Odenwald is a forested and mountainous region between Frankfurt, Heidelberg and Heilbronn. The mountains are quite high in places. Every time we passed through Odenwald, it was a trip without confidence that we would get where we needed to go on time. The road stretched into infinity and led to completely unexpected places. In my opinion, ghosts from neighboring Spessart have long since moved to this enchanted place, namely to the village of Mudau, which, after two hits, we decided to avoid by any means.
Romantic Franconia
This map includes a significant part of the Northern Romantic Road route, the Romantic Franconia region, as well as the Franconian Lakes.
Schwäbisch Hall. Pie and Spring Festival
The first part was about Schwäbisch Hall picturesque old town. Not only buildings here are old, but also the traditions. Pie and Spring Festival (Kuchen- und Brunnenfest) dates from 1316.
Already the Celts discovered a source of salt in these places and founded the first saltworks. Thanks to this source, the city flourished in the Middle Ages.
Schwetzingen. Cherry blossom garden
Not far from Speyer or Mannheim, on the way to Heidelberg, is the city of Schwetzingen.
There is a summer residence built for the electors of the Palatinate in the 18th century. The palace with the rococo-style theater has been partially preserved, but the main attraction, which claimed to be included in the UNESCO list, is the palace park, modeled after Versailles. In my opinion, UNESCO is maybe a little too much for them, but the park is really picturesque.
Schwäbisch Hall. 1. What to see in old town
An old city with its own traditions, Schwäbisch Hall lies a bit off the tourist track. But it is certainly worth to visit. Schwäbisch Hall is a part of Castle Road (Burgenstrasse) – very good tourist road, with various attractions, although not so gut known as Romantic Road.
In addition to the old city centre, you can see the Darmstadt Madonna – the famous painting by Hans Holbein the Younger (and a couple of other famous paintings), the Comburg monastery and the Wackershofen open-air museum.
German vineyards in Autumn in Swabian Tuscany
Swabian Tuscany, this region was nicknamed for tourist purposes because of the warmer climate (here comes the air from the Rhine) and vineyards. Wine, perhaps, is not so good as along the Rhine, but in the end of October this section of the Castle Road becomes an independent destination.
In a not too rainy and cold autumn, all vineyards become bright, but not all are truly picturesque. For this you need a suitable relief – the most rugged hills possible.
Kraichgau and Castle Road from Sinsheim to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
From this section the Castle Road leaves the Neckar Valley and runs parallel to the A6 Autobahn towards Nuremberg. The three main attractions on this section are Sinsheim, Schwäbisch Hall and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. There are also a few smaller, lesser-known places along the way that are worth a visit. We also take a look at what’s to the south of the A6 Autobahn, covering the section from the Odenwald to the Black Forest and the region around Stuttgart. Top attraction is here Maulbronn.