Rhine & Main Explorer

Tour Würzburg’s Bishops’ Residenz, one of Germany’s ornate palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Drive with your guide to the former residence of the Würzburg prince-bishop that was built over a 25-year period, beginning in 1719. Admire the overhead ceiling with its stunning, 6,400-square-foot “Four Continents” fresco painted by Venetian artist Giovanni Tiepolo. You will see several of the building’s ornate rooms, the colonnaded chapel and the baroque and English-style gardens lined with ornate statues. A highlight is sure to be the Mirror Cabinet. Incredibly, the entire complex was meticulously reconstructed after suffering extensive damage from World War II bombing. Afterward, continue to the Old Town of Würzburg, where a walking tour shows you the stunning Romanesque Cathedral, the Neumünster church, the market square and Town Hall, and the oldest wine bar in town.

Follow the “Romantic Road” to one of Germany’s last remaining walled medieval towns, lovingly preserved. Drive along one of Bavaria’s prettiest roads to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the “Red Fortress above the Tauber.” Rothenburg was once ruled by the Holy Roman Empire and was a busy merchant city until the Thirty Years’ War and the plague threw it into poverty. This stagnation froze Rothenburg in time, until German Romantics rediscovered it in 1802. You will see the charming Plönlein square and the Kriminalmuseum. Enjoy views over the valley and along the Herrengasse, an inviting lane of old patrician houses. Admire the High Altar of St. Jakob’s Church and the Gothic-Renaissance Town Hall. After lunch, stroll the castle garden and see its system of weirs across the river. Upon return to Würzburg, visit the Bishops’ Residenz, an ornate palace and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.