Würzburg lies on the Main in Lower Franconia, in the middle of a landscape of vineyards, and it is the northern start of the Romantic Road, the touring route that runs through Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to Füssen in the Alps. The city has around a hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, a university that dates back to the fifteenth century and a great Baroque palace, the Residenz, built in the eighteenth century for the prince-bishops by the architect Balthasar Neumann. Its staircase has a ceiling fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, said to be the largest in the world, and the whole building is a World Heritage site.
Most of the city was destroyed in a single air raid in March 1945, and it was rebuilt, sometimes faithfully, sometimes plainly. Even so, the old bridge over the Main, lined with stone statues of saints, is a good place to sit with a glass of local wine and look at the Marienberg fortress on its hill above the river. The wine is Franconian, mostly dry Silvaner, and is sold in a squat, round-bellied bottle called a Bocksbeutel that you will recognise at once.
From here, the Romantic Road heads south through the Tauber valley, a gentle landscape of fields and half-timbered villages, and then to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a medieval walled town that is almost too perfect, with its towers, cobbled lanes and gabled houses. Dinkelsbühl is another well-preserved walled town, and Nördlingen, the end of this stage, sits in the middle of a giant circular basin called the Ries, a crater made by a meteorite impact about fifteen million years ago. The town's medieval wall can be walked in its entirety, and the tower of the church of St George, nicknamed the Daniel, offers a view across the crater.
The riding is relaxed. The roads are mostly good, with gentle curves and wide views, and the speed limits are generally observed. Tourist traffic is dense in Rothenburg, so arrive early or late. Autumn is a good time, with the vines turning gold, and early summer has the best light.
Fuel is easy in Würzburg and in every town on the way, and there are cafes and inns everywhere. Try a Franconian roast with dumplings and a glass of the local wine.