The best-preserved walled medieval town on the Romantic Road, with a full circuit of towers and ramparts and a wine culture of its own along the Tauber valley just south of the main Franken appellation.
Tip: Walk the full Stadtmauer circuit before lunch; it is free, uncrowded in the early morning, and gives the best overview of the old town's layout.
UNESCO World Heritage old town split across the Bergstadt, Inselstadt and Gaertnerstadt districts, famous for its Rauchbier smoked-beer taverns rather than wine, a deliberate contrast to a Franken wine trip.
Pours: Local Rauchbier (smoked beer), as a change of pace from Franken wine
Tip: Treat this as the beer counterpart to a Franken wine week; the Bergstadt brewery taverns are the reason to make the drive.
Bavaria's second city, with the Nuernberger Burg castle and Lorenzkirche anchoring a rebuilt medieval old town, reachable directly by ICE train from Wuerzburg for a car-free day trip.
Tip: Take the train rather than drive; Nuremberg's old town centre is dense and largely pedestrianised around the castle and Hauptmarkt.
A compact city between Bamberg and Wuerzburg with a 500-year art museum including Duerer works, inside the Franken wine landscape with over 1,000 km of vineyard cycling routes.
Pours: Franken wine cycling route along the Main
Tip: Rent a bike here to ride the Main-side vineyard cycling routes rather than driving between wine villages.
Free-entry Baroque and rococo court garden begun in 1702 as the prince-bishops' summer grounds, with Ferdinand Tietz's 1765-1768 sculptures and April-October fountains, a short hop from Wuerzburg's vineyards.
Pours: Veitshoechheim and Wuerzburg Maindreieck Silvaner
Tip: Time the visit for 13:00-17:00 April through October to see the fountains running on the hour.
Half-timbered river town on the Main, the self-styled Perle am Main, at the edge of the Spessart and the Buntsandstein Mainviereck, home turf for the region's Spaetburgunder estates and its own Weinherbst.
Pours: Mainviereck Spaetburgunder, Spessart Streuobst Edelbrand
Tip: Pair the old town's market square with a Mainviereck cellar-door stop, Rudolf Fuerst and Fuerst Loewenstein are both a short drive away.