Saturday 16 August 2008

Around Bayreuth: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Although I am probably stretching the term "Around Bayreuth", the medieval walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located near the end of the so-called Romantic Road - a medieval trading route from Würzburg to Füssen (with the Royal Castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau) is well worth a visit. It is located 177 km from Bayreuth (map here), until Nürnberg on the E53 highway - approximately a 3-hour drive. Furthermore, the part of the Romantic Road is particularly beautiful in this area, with medieval towns scattered around the green hilly landscape.

It´s reported that advance booking of accomodation is essential this time of year (August), however plenty of hotels advertised with spare rooms when we visited last week. However, be warned, this is one of Germany´s prime tourist destinations with +1 million visitors per year. We experienced no problems with traffic or parking.











2 comments:

Chris B said...

I recently found your excellent site and now visit daily for my 'fix' of Wagner news.

I fully agree that Rothenburg o.d.t. is worth a visit. My wife and I have stayed there in the last 2 years (from the UK). It may 'heave' with day visitors but is far less crowded in the evenings.

We took in the Vlamsee Opera's Gotterdamerung in Ghent this year having attended their Rheingold in 2006. I thought Gotterdamerung a reasonably solid performance - but my wife hated the production.

We visited Bayreuth in 07 (from Rothenburg) and took the Festspiel House tour - an unforgettable experience, especially standing in the orchestra pit and on the stage.

Regards

Chris

mostly opera... said...

Thanks. I suppose that´s the biggest draw-back of visiting Bayreuth at the time of the Festival: Not being able to take the Festival tour. I´d love to stand in that orchestra pit.

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