Franconia: Nuremberg, Bamberg and the Romantic Road

The drive from Prague follows the D5 and the Bavarian A6 across the border crossing at Rozvadov, and it is an easy morning without a single mountain pass. By the afternoon you can already walk out onto the Hauptmarkt to the Schöner Brunnen fountain and down to the Pegnitz riverside. Nuremberg's old town is largely closed to cars, so leave the motorhome at the campsite and take public transport into the centre.

The Imperial Castle above the city is the place where you see the roofs of the old town and the church towers all at once; from the wall walk you can head straight down to Albrecht Dürer's house. In the afternoon choose between the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and the Documentation Centre at the former Nazi party rally grounds — check the opening hours of both in advance. The evening belongs to three Nuremberg sausages in a bread roll and a glass of Franconian beer.

In the morning you head east into Franconian Switzerland, where the road through the Püttlachtal valley winds between limestone cliffs and half-timbered farmhouses. In Tüchersfeld the houses stand wedged directly between the rock towers — it is the most photographed corner of the region. In the afternoon walk through the Teufelshöhle stalactite cave near Pottenstein, which is open to the public; inside it stays cold all year round, so a sweatshirt is useful even in August. The valley road is narrow and in places runs tight beneath the cliffs, so with a longer vehicle there is no rush here.

Bamberg has its entire historic core on the UNESCO list and you walk through it on foot from morning until evening. The Old Town Hall stands on a small island in the middle of the Regnitz, and from there you look across at the row of fishermen's houses known as Little Venice; above the town rises the four-towered cathedral. Save the evening for the Schlenkerla tavern and its Rauchbier — the smoked beer that Bamberg is associated with more than any other German town.

The Würzburg Residence ranks among the high points of European baroque, and Tiepolo's ceiling fresco above the staircase is usually described as the largest continuous fresco in the world. Across the Old Main Bridge you can walk up to the Marienberg Fortress, which opens up a view of the vineyards above the town. In the afternoon you set off south along the Romantic Road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so that the next morning is free.

Save Rothenburg for the early morning, before the coach tours arrive — that way you will have the half-timbered Plönlein and the circuit along the walls almost to yourselves. Around midday you can set off back; the route home leads through Nuremberg and Rozvadov and can be done comfortably by the evening. If you would like a calmer last day, add one more overnight stop to the whole trip.