Tour of Southern and Central Germany

I should say at the outset that on other occasions I have passed through or stayed in southern and central Germany. In particular I spent a few days in Frankfurt am Main, which alongside its modern districts has a small historic centre; I slept in a hotel in Karlsruhe while strolling around the city; and I stopped at Lake Constance, in the city of the same name, and at Lindau. That said, let's talk about the Tour: it began in Füssen, where I arrived from Austria in my Fiat Tipo. I stayed at a fine hotel in the centre and, the following morning, I saw the two castles near the town, the most famous of which is certainly Neuschwanstein, reproduced on so many posters and the one Disney drew on for his fairy-tale castle.

The heavy snow covering Bavaria made everything more spectacular, such as a lovely little Baroque church and Linderhof Castle, a luxurious jewel box rich in stucco and mirrors commissioned by the mad Prince Ludwig, a friend of Wagner and cousin of Empress Sissi. From there to Munich to see the austere historic centre and the Christmas Market. Transfer and overnight stay in Regensburg. The next day, a tour of the city crossed by the Danube with the palace that was home to the Imperial Diet. Afternoon in Nuremberg with its unmissable Christmas market, and evening in Coburg, a city I found a little gloomy, from which came Albert, consort of Queen Victoria of England. The following morning a stop in Bamberg, the city of the Bishops of Würzburg, with a visit to the episcopal palace, then on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a stunning medieval town.

This is also Germany's Christmas city, and the immaculate decorations prove it; I took the chance to sleep in a hotel that looked onto the central square. The next day a transfer to Heidelberg, on whose hill above stands a beautiful castle full of themed exhibitions such as the Pharmacy museum and the Alchemy museum. Evening in Mainz (this was the home of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of movable type printing), in whose central square there was a Christmas Market as beautiful as ever, and an overnight stay with friends in Frankfurt am Main (a city I had already visited on a previous trip). After a day's rest, on to Cochem, a little town nestling on the Moselle, and Trier, where the Porta Nigra built by the Romans and the house of Karl Marx are found.

The following day a stop in the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden, once frequented by the European aristocracy, full of parks and Belle Époque palaces, where I visited a casino. Return to Switzerland via Basel (for the trip in SWITZERLAND see the relevant Tour). This Tour, taken in December, offers the chance to see the beautiful Advent Markets: distinctive, elegant, clean and with plenty to see, buy and eat.