New hiking trail "Romantic Road" inaugurated

(Residenz in Würzburg)
The Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) has long been a favorite with tourists visiting Bavaria, offering such stops as Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Augsburg or Füssen with Ludwig II's fantasy castle, Neuschwanstein. But: It was limited to car or bus travel.

(Neuschwanstein close to Füssen)
Now, a hiking/biking trail - Romantische Strasse Weitwanderweg (German link) - has been created with 24 stops at easy walking or cycling distances along the 424km route. You can stay in simple pensions or rustic inns along the way, visit the local museums and enjoy the landscape as you make your way from the Main to the Alps.
(guide: Weitwanderweg Romantische Straße, author Dietrich Höllhuber, Hans-Carl-Verlag, 175 pages, €12.90)

It's good to see that this has been made official, although cycling the Romantic Road has been popular for decades so it's not really true to say that it was limited to motor transport. The unofficial English-language guide, published by Cicerone, has been around for nearly ten years. It's great cycling country and makes for a great tour. I can't say I'd recommend walking it though; the scenery isn't so varied.

Germany's Romantic Road: A Guide for Walkers and Cyclists

From my information the route is now completely separated from any main or side roads and on Wanderwege (limited to cyclists and hikers) only. Of course you could cycle it before, but you had to contend with the traffic.

Sorry, I should have clarified: the route suggested in the Cicerone guide also follows paths, tracks and quiet roads. The official car/bus route includes ever-more dual carriageway, so it was never suitable for hiking or biking. It's also decidedly unromantic as a result. The most romantic way to travel along the route is on a bicycle made for two!

WE recently cycled along it in two stages, each over three days. The kids (4 and 6) were on bike extensions, and we all had a great time, except for when we mistook a Romantische Strasse walking sign for a Romantische Strasse cycling sign. The walking path was definitely not bike friendly! The cyclingpath generally followed bike paths, with a few stretches of quieter roads along the way. We occassionally missed a sign and ended up a horror road, but generally it was well marked The tourist information centres were use to dealing with cyclists and could recommend bike friendly accommodation; places that could store bikes. The scenery was great and I would highly recommend the ride.