Tips for Visiting the Romantic Road with Kids

Is the Romantic Road in Germany on your bucket list? Are you wondering if it’s a kid-friendly destination?

If so, you’re in the right place! I love taking my kids all around the world and finding kid-friendly things to do in places that interest me so that the entire family enjoys the trip!

The Romantic Road might be one of those places that doesn’t sound family-friendly, but it absolutely is! It has fairy tales, castles, pastries, playgrounds, and incredible sights.

I’m going to share our experience on the Romantic Road with kids to help you plan your trip in a way that works for your family!

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What is the Romantic Road?

The Romantic Road is a scenic tourist route in Bavaria, Germany that stretches from Würzburg to Füssen connecting 27 historic and medieval towns.

Prepare to see charming small towns with half-timbered houses, medieval city walls, a few bustling cities, fairy tale castles, and the jaw-dropping Bavarian Alps.

How Long Do You Need on the Romantic Road with Kids?

We spent 5 nights total on the Romantic Road, and that was plenty of time to see everything we wanted to see!

I think the answer to this is highly personal to each family and what their overall itinerary is. I’ll be sharing which areas I think are better for families and where I think you would enjoy a longer stay, vs which cities are only worth a short stop.

If the Romantic Road is your main destination, I think 4 days is enough to explore the towns along the way with the caveat that you should plan to base yourself in Füssen for a few nights or add on some time in the Bavarian Alps.

If the Romantic Road is just one stop as part of a larger itinerary, I think 3 days is enough, but you’ll have to pick and choose what you want to see.

Getting There and Getting Around

We flew into London and took an overnight train into Berlin where we picked up our rental car.

The closest city to fly into to reach the Romantic Road would be Munich.

I would highly recommend renting a car to travel the Romantic Road with kids! The train system in Germany is excellent, but you’ll have much more freedom to come and go as you please with a car.

My dad and my husband took turns driving our 8-passenger van on the trip, and they both said that driving in Germany was not difficult at all! The highways are easy to navigate, and parking, even in the small towns, was fairly easy to figure out. You do need an international driver’s license to rent a car in Germany, which my husband and dad got before our trip.

Places We Stayed On the Romantic Road:

Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber: Romantik Hotel Markusturm Rothenburg (one of my favorite hotels of the entire trip - they even had a room large enough for our family of 6!)
Dinkelsbühl: Meiser Altstadt Hotel Dinkelsbuhl (be sure to book the breakfast here! It was divine!)
Augsburg: Best Western Augusta
Füssen: Hotel Schlosskrone (this hotel was in a great location, and breakfast was FREE, and it included a chocolate fountain!)

Our Route and Which Cities to Visit on the Romantic Road with Kids

Cities We Visited on the Romantic Road with Kids from North to South:

Würzburg: this is the start of the Romantic Road and the center of Franconian wine country. This was a larger city that sits on the Main River. Famous landmarks to see here include the Würzburg Residence, the Marienburg Fortress, and the Old Main Bridge.
Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber: this is a small Bavarian town with a well-preserved medieval Old Town. It is one of the most popular stops along the Romantic Road! You’ll recognize the Plönline, the famous photo spot with the yellow half-timbered building and a fountain framed by two towers.
Dinkelsbühl: Another historic Bavarian town with its medieval city walls still intact.
Nördlingen: Another historic Bavarian town with its medieval city walls still intact.
Augsburg: A larger city known for its beautiful architecture and the oldest social housing complex in the world known as the Fuggerei. It has a charming old town, a majestic town hall, and lots of town squares and churches to see.
Füssen: Füssen is a charming small town nestled in the Bavarian Alps, and the last stop on the Romantic Road. The famous fairy tale Neuschwanstein Castle is located just a few minutes outside of town, and Füsen is a great home base for exploring the Bavarian Alps.

Here’s our itinerary for visiting the Romantic Road

Day 1: Würzburg and Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber

We drove south from Eisenach, Germany and arrived in Würzburg by early afternoon. We spent some time wandering the Würzburg Residence Gardens, then walked over to Old Main Bridge.

We intended to climb up to Marienburg Fortress to get panoramic views of the city, but when we arrived on the bridge we noticed everyone was enjoying they afternoon with a glass of wine in hand, and we decided to do the same. There are stands where you can buy a glass of wine to enjoy on the bridge and put down a deposit for your glass, which you’ll get back when you return the glass. After grabbing some dinner, we drove to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber (about a 40 minute drive) to check into our hotel, Romantik Hotel Markusturm Rothenburg.

One of the reasons we chose to stay overnight in Rothenburg is because it’s one of the most popular stops on the Romantic Road, and we wanted to make sure we could explore the town in the evening and early morning hours without the crowds. I’m so glad we did! It was so peaceful strolling the cobblestone streets of the Old Town before bed!

Day 2: Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl

We got up early to take pictures at the Plönlein (the famous photo spot in Rothenburg) before having breakfast at our hotel. Breakfast was not included in the price of the hotel, but we did pay the breakfast ahead of time when we booked the hotel.

After breakfast we walked the medieval town walls, played on a playground, visited the Medieval Crime Museum, at lunch along with some coffee and cake (Kafe und Kuchen), then stopped at a bakery to try Schneeballen or snowballs, a ball of deep fried dough topped with powdered sugar or flavored glazes. We also did some souvenir shopping, then ended up sipping one last coffee in the Market Square before heading to our next destination.

We drove another 40 minutes to Dinkelsbühl where we checked into our hotel, Meiser Altstadt Hotel Dinkelsbuhl. By the time we checked in and got settled into our hotel room it started pouring outside, so we decided to skip sightseeing that evening and just eat a picnic dinner in our hotel room.

Day 3: Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen, and Augsburg

We awoke to another rainy day in Dinkelsbühl, so we took our time at breakfast at the Meiser Altstadt Hotel. I wasn’t mad about it, though! The breakfast room was gorgeous, the breakfast spread was incredible, and there was a self-serve espresso machine for those of us who like to start our day with a Milchkaffee.

After a lazy morning we packed up and stored our bags before heading out to do some sightseeing. We visited St. George Church, the city wall, and the Marktplatz. I’m not sure if it was the weather, the construction taking place in town, or something else, but nothing really seemed to be open and the city did not have the same energy as Rothenburg, so we decided to move on to our next stop, Nördlingen.

Unfortunately, Nördlingen was more of the same. A few small shops, a few cafes and bakeries in the Old Town, and a medieval city wall. The energy also seemed to be lacking here, and the kids were starting to get tired, so we made an executive decision to make an early evening of it at our final stop for the day, Augsburg.

We checked into Best Western Augusta, took a nap, then walked to the adorable Old Town for dinner and ice cream.

Day 4: Neuschwanstein Castle and Füssen

We know we missed out on a ton of things we could have done in Augsburg, and someday I would like to go back and enjoy a proper visit. But we needed a break, and so we just used Augsburg as a stopping point to rest up before Füssen, which I was really excited about.

We grabbed breakfast at a cafe near our hotel, then drove straight to the Forest Experience Center in Füssen (Walderlebniszentrum Füssen) and walked the Treetop Trail. The drive was about an hour and a half.

The Trail Trail starts at the Exhibition Center and follows a wooden structure that takes you above the treetops. The views are incredible (though it was raining and cloudy when we visited), and the walk is easy, plus there is a spot along the path where you can stand in Austria and Germany at the same time. I wish we could have stayed longer to enjoy the Forest Experience Center, but we had reservations for Neuschwanstein Castle!

We toured Neuschwanstein Castle around 1:30 p.m., and after our 30 minute tour was over we walked to the Marienbrucke (Mary’s Bridge), a suspension bridge with incredible views of the exterior of the castle.

Finally, in the late afternoon, we checked into our hotel, Hotel Schlosskrone, then strolled through Old Town Füssen and got dinner at Restaurant Ludwig’s where we enjoyed some traditional German food.

Day 5: Füssen and Eibsee

While we were still based in Füssen on Day 5, we actually took a day trip an hour away to see Eibsee, Zugspitze, and we took a cable car up to the top of Mount Wank.

My Tips for Visiting the Romantic Road with Kids

Prioritize What Your Family Will Enjoy Most

If you like big cities, culture, museums, and the hustle and bustle of a thriving city, prioritize full days in Würzburg and Augsburg.

If you like quaint small towns, bakeries, half-timbered buildings, and cobblestone streets, prioritize Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, and Nördlingen (but you really only need a few hours in Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen - plan to spend most of your time in Rothenburg).

If you like mountains, lakes, nature, castles, and a quaint Bavarian town as a jumping off point for your outdoor sightseeing, prioritize time in Füssen.

If I could redo the Romantic Road with kids knowing what I know now, I would have allotted more time in Füssen since the Bavarian Alps were my favorite part of the trip! I would take one day to do the Forest Experience Center, Neuschwanstein, and maybe even Hohenschwanstein Castle. I would have spent another day exploring the town of Füssen, and I would have spent another 2 days in Garmisch Partenkirchen exploring Eibsee and more of that region.

I would also add an extra night in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber instead of staying overnight in Dinkelsbühl.

Book Popular Hotels and Sights in Advance

Be sure to book your timed tickets for Neuschwanstein in advance, as well as hotels in the popular old town areas. If you want to stay inside the city limits of some of these smaller towns, accommodations book up quickly, especially in the summer, and especially for larger families like ours.

Find Playgrounds

Kids can only see so many old buildings and museums before they lose interest. Find a playground or a bakery to help break up the day.

I really liked ending the trip in Füssen because the Alps felt like a great place to let kids be kids out in nature.

Bring Snacks

When you’re doing trips with a lot of sightseeing, be sure to stop at a supermarket and stock up on fruit and snacks you know the kids will eat. We always had a bag of Haribo Gummy Bears in my purse and called them our “Power Ups.” Whenever we could tell the kids were getting crabby or antsy, we would give them some Power Ups to reinvigorate them. (This works for grown-ups, too).

Bring Car Activities

The kids actually looked forward to our car rides in between cities because it was a time for them to relax and recharge.

We brought books, our Yoto Mini, activity and sticker books, and even the kids’ tablets and headphones. The roads are not particularly winding or rough, but if you have kids who get car sick from reading in the car, be sure to pack the motion sickness medication, mints, or ginger candy.

It’s OK to Bring A Stroller

In cities like Würzburg and Augsburg you will definitely want a stroller for all of the walking, and the sidewalks are perfectly modern and smooth.

You may not need a stroller in the smaller towns like Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, or Nördlingen depending on your child’s age and stage. We sometimes used it, and sometimes we left it in the car or hotel room. My daughter was 5 at the time of our visit, and could easily handle walking, but if the jetlag was hitting, or if it was a rainy day, we sometimes just defaulted to using the stroller. It’s a little bit tougher on the cobblestone, but our Zoe Traveler handled it well. Here’s a video of my husband pushing the stroller over the cobblestone streets in Dinkelsbühl.

Take it Slow and Enjoy Your Time on the Romantic Road!

The Romantic Road is best enjoyed at a slow pace. Savor your coffee and pastries. Get lost on the cobblestone streets. Don’t be afraid to take detours, linger, or spend longer than expected at a playground or in a market square.

While there are definitely experiences you want to prioritize, like visiting Neuschwanstein Castle, remember that the Romantic Road is a route full of beautiful places to experience, not things to check off a list.

If you want my full Germany and Austria itinerary, you can find that here:

2-Week Germany and Austria Itinerary with Kids