7 Best Sights in Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, The Romantic Road

Rothenburg's city walls are more than 4 km (2½ miles) long and dotted with 42 red-roofed watchtowers. Due to its age, only about half of the wall can be accessed on foot, but it provides an excellent way of circumnavigating the town from above. Let your imagination take you back 600 years as you explore the low, covered sentries' walkways, which are punctuated by cannons, turrets, and areas where the town guards met. Stairs every 200 or 300 yards provide ready access or departure. Called the Tower Trail, there are superb views of the tangle of pointed and tiled red roofs and of the rolling country beyond through viewpoints, many of which are narrow slits, since this was a protection against invaders.  Parts of the wall feature plaques of individuals and groups which contributed to the wall's restoration after WWII.

It's Christmas year-round at the German Christmas Museum, a hit among visitors even in the summer heat, as it provides an in-depth history of the holiday and many of its symbols, including Christmas trees. There's a unique collection of 150 historical Santa Claus figurines, mostly from the 1870s to the 1950s, and other holiday items, including hand-carved and hand-painted figures.

The museum is housed in two historic buildings filled with examples of torture and public humiliation from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, along with legal documents and books pertaining to all kinds of crimes from being drunk in public to misleading advertising to murder. You'll find a wide selection of handcuffs, finger screws, and metal facemasks, which were shaped to "fit" the nature of various crimes; for example, one mask has a very long tongue and was meant to be worn by a so-called blabbermouth. Want to know the origin of the modern drunk tank? Find it here: the drunk was imprisoned inside a large, heavy beer or wine barrel and forced to stick his arms out of this literal person-sized tank. On top of the anti-crime accoutrements, you'll also find an entire section on witchcraft. You'll return home with a greater appreciation of modern criminal punishment.

The heart of the city is the city hall, where a car-free square has become a popular gathering point with a great view. Half of the town hall is Gothic, begun in 1240; the other half is neoclassical, started in 1572, and renovated after its original facade was destroyed by a fire 500 years ago. You can climb the 220 stairs of the tower to get a good view of the Franken countryside.

Formerly known as the Reichsstadtmuseum (Imperial Town Museum), it is housed in a former Dominican convent dating back to the 13th century, including a cloister where one of the artifacts is the great tankard, or Pokal, of the Meistertrunk, which legend says saved the town in the Thirty Years' War in the 1600s when the conquering general could not empty it on a bet. The town purchased the property in 1933 and converted it into a museum. Exhibits include hunting weapons used by Marie Antoinette, a hunting rifle belonging to Frederick the Great of Prussia, musical instruments and original Biedermeier room reconstructed from a Rothenburg townhouse from the early 1800s. A large gallery is devoted to Jewish life in Rothenberg and their contributions to the city and region from the 13th century to the Third Reich.

This baroque castle of the Princes of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst is 20 km (12 miles) south of Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber. Standing on an outcrop, it can be seen from miles away. You can watch eagles and falcons swoop down from high in the sky to catch their prey during one of the Bavarian falconry demonstrations held in the courtyard here, twice daily from April to October. Castle tour highlights include the Red Salon, named for its wall color and filled with Nymphenbeurg porcelain, and the Billiard Room, with a wood-carved table from 1700.

This Lutheran parish church, constructed from 1311 to 1485, showcases 700 years of stained-glass windows and has notable Riemenschneider sculptures, including the famous Heiliges Blut (Holy Blood of Christ) altar. Above the altar is a crystal capsule said to contain drops of Christ's blood. The Twelve Apostles Altar, by Friedrich Herlin, has the oldest depiction of the town of Rothenburg.