About 70 km north of Rothenburg, Würzburg is the official starting point of the Romantic Road and one of Bavaria’s most enjoyable cities: young, green, full of wine taverns and dominated by baroque architecture rebuilt after the Second World War.
Its showpiece is the Würzburg Residence, the palace of the prince-bishops and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, with Balthasar Neumann’s grand staircase and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s vast ceiling fresco. Across the river, the Marienberg Fortress overlooks the vineyards, and the statue-lined Old Main Bridge is where locals gather with a glass of Franconian wine on summer evenings.
Top things to do: Würzburg
Tour the Würzburg Residence
Allow at least 1.5 hours for the state rooms, the staircase fresco and the court gardens. The interior can only be visited with a ticket; guided tours in English are available at set times.
Have a “Brückenschoppen” on the Old Main Bridge
Buy a glass of local white wine from one of the bridge-side taverns and drink it by the statues of the saints, with the fortress floodlit above you.
Walk up to the Marienberg Fortress
A 20–30 minute climb through the vineyards gives the best view of the city’s church towers and the river Main.
How to get there
- By train: Rothenburg–Steinach–Würzburg takes around 1–1.5 hours with one change.
- By car: about an hour via the A7 and A3, or longer via the scenic Romantic Road through the Tauber valley.
- By tour: Romantic Road tours from Würzburg include Rothenburg in a single day.
Insider tips
- Würzburg makes an excellent base if you arrive from Frankfurt: it is on the main ICE line.
- The Residence is closed on some holidays; check before you plan your day.
- Try Franconian Silvaner wine, served in the flat, round Bocksbeutel bottle.
- Visiting in Advent? Würzburg’s Christmas market is a good pairing with the Reiterlesmarkt.
Best tours & tickets: Würzburg
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Würzburg and the rest of Rothenburg:
Day trip from €53 Romantic Road & Rothenburg ob der Tauber Tour from Würzburg
Würzburg is the official start of the Romantic Road and only about an hour from Rothenburg, so this is a relaxed, good-value day. The tour follows the old route through the Tauber valley and gives you a proper afternoon inside the walls.
- Starts in Würzburg, the northern end of the Romantic Road
- Pretty Tauber valley towns on the way
- Guided introduction and free time in Rothenburg
Guided walk from €16 Würzburg: Guided Walking Tour
If you overnight in Würzburg before or after Rothenburg, this popular public walk is the easiest introduction to the city: its baroque churches, its wine-growing history and the view from the Old Main Bridge.
- The cathedral, the Falkenhaus and the market square
- Views of the Marienberg Fortress
- Great value public tour
Seasonal day trip from €108 Rothenburg & Würzburg: Romantic Christmas Moments
An Advent special that pairs Rothenburg’s Reiterlesmarkt with the Christmas market in Würzburg. You travel by modern coach with a guide, and have time in both towns to shop, eat and warm up with mulled wine.
- The Reiterlesmarkt in Rothenburg
- Würzburg’s Christmas market below the Marienkapelle
- Coach transport with a German/English guide
