Würzburg Travel Forum

I'm in Wurzburg for 3 nights/4 days.

I shall explore the town itself, go to Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber (I know it's touristy but the history/architecture appeals...I shall visit early in the day) and possibly Bamberg (though I may go there from Nurnburg instead). From Nurnberg (3 nights, 3 days) I'll definitely visit Regensburg.

Given my interest in (early) history and archaeology, is there anywhere (accessible by public transport) which I might otherwise miss?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'll reply a bit more in depth later. You might wish to do a day trip, by train, westward, through the Main River valley to Aschaffenburg. It is a very pretty trip. You often are along the river, and you pass many hillside vineyards, and small towns. Aschaffenburg has a small castle you can tour that sits above the river. There is also another building that sits along the river of intersest. I never visited, and can't remember exactly what it is,lol. I'll have to work on that one. I don't think there is much in the way of ancient history in the area as invading armies were commonplace, and were quite thorough in their destructions. For the Wuerzburg/Rothenburg area, you might wish to look up "Tilman Riemenschneider". He did several remarkable wood carvings in that area. I need to go eat, but will think a bit more, and get back to you. Gary

An archaeologically hugely interesting region is further south of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the wider region of Aalen and the Swabian Forest. There are many sites of Roman castles and the Limes. In the area of Rainau-Buch you see the remains of Roman baths, and the walkways along the sites are about 10 kilometres, it is listed as open-air museum. I have seen bus stops in the area but the service is infrequent. There is also a Limes-Museum in Aalen (easy to reach by train from Würzburg). But I think to really get around and see everything you would need your own transport - and if it is only a bicycle hired in Aalen. I cycled there many times.

Here is some info (German only):
http://www.rainau.de/start.php?hauptnavi=freizeit&inhalt=freilichtmuseum

On this page is the contact of a guy who offers guided tours in this region:
http://www.rainau.de/start.php?hauptnavi=freizeit&inhalt=freilichtmuseum_limesfuehrungen

Another town with an uninterrupted city wall like Rothenburg is Nördlingen, south-east of Rothenburg. Nearly as beautiful as Rothenburg but a lot less tourists. Plus, you would be in the centre of the Nördlinger Ries, a huge meteorite crater.

In Ellwangen you have the Alamannen-Museum but if I remember right it is more a virtual exhibition, no remains as those spectacular Roman sites further south in Aalen. Further east of there, there was a site of the Celts (in Bopfingen) but nothing really to see, apart from the museum.

Thank you both....am making notes. :-)

There is a very interesting model inside the Wurzburg Rathaus that shows what the city looked like after the bombing of 16 March 1945.
Kitzingen on Main (16 Kilometers from Wurzburg) is a very quaint Bavarian town with a leaning tower and beautiful old bridge (Photo's on my page.) There is also a very nice swimming pool located on an island.
ST Peter and Paul Church which was built in the 900s is located at the bottom of the hill from Rothenburg ob der Tauber in a village called Detwang. It has a beautiful wood carving by Tilman Riemenschneider. I hope you have a great time in Bavaria J.

Thank you...excellent tips. :-)

In Rothenburg they will have the Imperial City Festival on September 4th thru 6th. There will be military parades, fireworks, and a staging of the "Shepherds Dance". In Wuerzburg, you might wish to stop by the Weinhaus Stachel for a glass of wine, or a meal. They have a very pretty inner courtyard there. Gary

The building in Aschaffenburg I'd mentioned earlier is the Pompeiianum. It is a "model" of a Roman villa. You can find more information on this building, plus many other of the Bavaria palaces and castles at: (www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/index.htm). Gary

Thank you.

I'm being very flexible about what I plan so all ideas are very welcome.....much depends on the weather, how I feel and whether Wurzburg & Nurnberg themselves require more time than I anticipate.

If you don't get a chance to stop by the Weinhaus in Wuerzburg, there is a very similar inner garden in the Cafe/Restaurant/Konditorei Baumeisterhaus in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It's probably quite a bit less costly than the Stachel. Gary

In Würzburg, be prepared to end up in hospital in the evening. (Old running gag in our family, happens to us any time one of us visits Würzburg).
The two oldest hospitals in Würzburg are Bürgerspital and Juliusspital, one foundated by the citizens and the other by the bishop. Both have been donated lots of real estate, including vineyards. Each of them operates a winery that makes excellent local wines (I hope you like dry whites?) and a good restaurant - highly recommended.

There are heaps of things to do in Franconia, ou will not run out of places to see. This is one of my favourite travel regions in Germany.
Regensburg and Bamberg are the most fascinating cities to me and each deserves a full day (actually more).
Besides Rothenburg, there are more places of interest in the Tauber valley. For example, Weikersheim with its renaissance resp. early baroque palace and garden, and nearby Bad Mergentheim with its castle/palace, centre of the Teutonic Order in Germany until 1806.

Thank you Kathrin.

One possibility I've already got sorted (with a downloaded leaflet) is a walk round some of the Wurzburg vineyards. It will depend on the weather and how I feel on the day, of course. I believe there are a couple of ine festivals on whilst I'm visiting too. Which is good. :-)

Visits to Regensburg & Bamberg are pretty much definite, a whole day devoted to each.

I really appreciate the ideas..thank you all.

:-) Ok, dear Mrs J, we will change our plans for Sunday :-) I show you one cute little town and later I ask you to compare it to Rothenburg :-)
And for Romans, on Saturday you will get loads of Roman remains, also parts of Limes in Odenwald :-)
As for the side trips: I am sure you would love Bad Wimpfen as well. But I don't know how easy it is to get there from Würzburg. Aschaffenburg is also lovely, but this means that you go back to where you change trains on Monday :-)

I know..Aschaffenburg is out because I have already bought the Darmstadt>Wurzburg ticket online. But next time..........

I like the idea of a comparison trip, Ingrid! :-)

A colleague suggested Castle Mespelbrunn:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mespelbrunn_Castle
But this looks like for a next time, together woth Amorbach and Miltenberg.

Your wish is my command mylady :-)
So we won't need to teach you to sing the island song but show you this cute little walled town which in my opinion is better than Rothenburg. And on top of that, we'll show you the cutest town ever a bit south of this village.
And then I am really curious what you say after your trip. Was Rothenburg ever shown to the world as motif on a German stamp? Ha, no, not that I know :-) The other one was :-)
Ingrid :-)

Yes, the castle for next time........

But you can teach me the island song anyway. And I'll teach you 'Ten Green Bottles', or some such.

We must have mutual agony. :-))

What are the names of these cute little towns? I might like to visit them in the Fall. Thank you!

William, these cute little towns are both in (Rhine/Rheinland) Palatinate on the other side of Rhein river, some 200 km southwest of Würzburg.
Their names are Freinsheim:
http://www.stadt-freinsheim.de/
and St. Martin:
http://www.sankt-martin.de/rundgang.htm
If you come in fall, you will be delighted, we have wine season and countless wine festivals :-)
Ingrid