Rothenburg ob der Tauber

A true medieval gem, Rothenburg ob der Tauber (meaning ‘above the Tauber River’) is a top tourist stop along the Romantic Road. With its web of cobbled lanes, higgledy-piggledy houses and towered walls, the town is the archetypal fairy-tale Germany. Urban conservation orders here are the strictest in Germany – and at times it feels like a medieval theme park – but all’s forgiven in the evenings, when the lamplight casts its spell long after the last tour buses have left.