Ever dream of overnighting in a castle? You can, while visiting the castle hotels of Europe.
Germany has more castle hotels than anywhere in Europe. Not surprisingly, the land of the autobahn, where the auto was actually invented, is a great place to take a road trip. Combine Germany’s rich history and beautiful scenery with the flexibility of being in your own car, and you’re on the road to a vacation that’s wunderbar!
A network of driving tours throughout the country makes a German road trip easy to organize. Both the Castle Road and Fairy Tale drives meander peacefully from village to village in the rolling hills of the German countryside, passing medieval castles dating back to the 12th century. German tourism has created maps of the routes and street signs along the Burgen Strasse (Castle Road) make navigating the tour on your own relatively simple. Yet, bringing or renting a GPS is still a must.
Medieval Times
Our Castle Road itinerary began in Bayreuth, home to composer Richard Wagner. The stately Hermitage Palace and Gardens were the highlight of this charming Bavarian town. We overnighted at Castle Rabenstein, just outside of town. It’s hard not to be awestruck about sleeping in this fortress dating back to the 13th century. Worried a castle hotel is more about character than comfort? Castle Rabenstein has modern bathrooms and plush beds, alongside a jaw-dropping array of antiques, armor and assorted weaponry from the medieval ages.
Next stop was the jewel in the Castle Road crown: Rothenburg ob der Tauber. As many of the streets are impassable, pick a hotel that’s centrally located where you won’t need to drive. We stayed at the charming Hotel Goldener-Hirsch, just off the market square.
An early morning walk along the wall surrounding the town is a great way to explore the cobblestoned streets. Want a guided tour? Join the crowds for the Nightwatchman’s Tour, where a costumed historian entertainingly tells tales of good old medieval days in Rothenburg, including the disposal of sewage into the streets.
Want more gruesome details of Middle Age life? Head over to the Medieval Crime Museum. On a more festive note, Rothenburg is renowned for its outdoor Christmas market and ornament shops.
A car lets you reach out-of-the way places you’d never get to by train. We stopped by the impressive Colmberg Castle, 15 minutes outside Rothenburg, for a memorable lunch. Perched on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside, this castle hotel has a first class farm-to-table restaurant serving venison and wild boar raised on property. As everywhere in Germany, the staff speaks English. You can even request an English menu.
We had another meal fit for a king at the hilltop Castle Hotel Hornberg, overlooking the Neckar River Valley. Family crests, knights in armor and medieval murals adorn the walls, while regional specialties of schnitzel, spetzle (German noodles) and cocktails crafted with local Johannesberries (forest berries) adorned our plates.
The castle hopping highlight for many is Heidelberg. A cable car carries you up to this massive complex of fortresses. Achtung—you’ll likely be storming the castle with armies of tourists, especially if you go in the busy summer months.
The Stuff of Fairy Tales
An hour north of Heidelberg, dungeons and dragons give way to Prince Charming, Cinderella and Snow White, along the Fairy Tale Road.
Our tour started in Steinau an der Strasse with its picture-perfect half-timbered houses and colorful window boxes. Our tour guide? Puss-in-Boots herself! We were charmed by the town square’s fairy tale fountain with Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood etched in stone.
The Brothers Grimm House lets you tour their childhood home and includes illustrations of their local legends, now called fairy tales. Although the exhibit is in German, there’s an English self-guided tour available as a downloadable app on your smart phone. Coordinated by a Grimm scholar (pun intended), this museum isn’t child’s play. If you’re looking for that, head to the Fairy Tale House (Maerchenhaus) in the town of Alsfeld, an hour and a half north. My 5-year-old delighted in seeing Little Red Riding Hood and the many puppets and dollhouses, as well as a witches lair.
Our final Fairy Tale Road stop is the town of Hameln, immortalized by the Grimm tale of the Pied Piper, who mysteriously lured away the town’s rats, along with the children. In the summer, costumed characters play out the legend every Sunday at noon in the town square. Wednesday afternoons bring a more humorous take on the legend in the slapstick musical, Rats.
No stop in Hameln is complete without a meal at the Rattenfangerhaus (Rat Catcher’s House). Dating back to 1603, this half-timbered house is infested by rats—engraved in wooden chairs, painted on walls and imbedded in colorful stained glass windows. The traditional German menu includes rat tails—actually a tasty meal of sliced pork. Accompany the kitsch and schnitzel with a stein of beer and you have a happy ending to a fairy tale road trip!
Disclosure: Information for this article was gathered on a research trip sponsored in part by the German National Tourist Office.
