Nuremberg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Private day trip

Main attractions • The most completely preserved medieval walled town in Germany — a circuit of 14th-century ramparts encloses a hilltop of half-timbered houses, cobbled market squares and Gothic churches above the Tauber valley that has remained essentially unchanged since the Thirty Years War halted the town's development in the 17th century • The Plönlein — a small cobbled fork in the road between two medieval towers — is Germany's most photographed street corner; the Christmas market filling the Marktplatz from late November is among the most atmospheric in Europe

What to eat • Schneeballen — deep-fried pastry dough balls dusted in powdered sugar, a Rothenburg specialty sold from every bakery in the old town