Last Updated on February 27, 2021
JC and I’s first road trip in Germany after moving to Berlin was the Romantic Road or ‘Romantische Straße’ which starts in Würzburg and ends with the iconic Schloss Neuschwanstein, otherwise known as the Disney Castle (it is said to be the inspiration behind it). This themed route has been in existence since the 1950s and includes 29 stops along the way. Read below to find our entire itinerary and the best places to stop along the Romantic Road.
Our 5-Day Itinerary
We made the trip in 5 days and around 20 hours of driving with the following stops from Berlin: Leipzig, Würzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Neuschwanstein, Munich, Augsburg, Nürnberg and Dresden.
Highlights of Our Trip on the Romantic Road
Below, find some highlights from our trip:
Würzburg
A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Würzburg Residence is the top tourist stop in Würzburg. The gardens surrounding the palace are beautiful for a stroll. You can also pay to go inside the palace; however, since we were short on time and had a lot of driving to do, we opted just to tour the grounds outside.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg is Germany’s most well- preserved medieval walled town and by far the most beautiful. Easily our favorite town in all Germany, we also visited here again on our Christmas Market Road Trip. This fairytale dream town is also thought to be the inspiration behind the town in the Disney film Pinocchio.
Neuschwanstein
The crown jewel of the Romantische Straße, Schloss Neuschwanstein is said to be the inspiration behind Walt Disney’s castle. Not to be missed, but be prepared for crowds of tourists and tour buses also competing to catch a view of the castle. You have to trek up a steep hill to the castle from the parking lot, or you can hire horse and buggy to take you up there. You can then pay to go inside the castle, or, do as we did and just admire the walls and the view.
Nürnberg (Nuremberg)
Nuremberg is one of our favorite German cities that we have now visited three times, once for the Christmas Market, which it is most famous for. The town is beautiful, filled with half-timbered lattice houses — exactly what you dreamed Germany would look like.
If you want more lattice houses, you need to go to Weissgerbergasse, the most famous and instagrammable street in Nuremburg. Moreover, it is also the home to the most delicious ice cream shop that you for sure need to check out.
We climbed to the top of the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg to get the best view over the entire town.
Have you also driven the Romantische Straße? Let us know which stops you took along the way in the comments below!
