Füssen & Hohes Schloss

Füssen, at the southern end of the Romantic Road in the Allgäu region, is best known as the gateway to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, but its own old town rewards a stop in its own right. The late Gothic Hohes Schloss rises above the town, its courtyard famous for painted trompe-l'oeil windows and Gothic tracery on flat facades, a striking illusion best appreciated at close range. Inside the former Benedictine abbey below the castle, the Museum of the City of Füssen displays one of the world's finest collections of historical lutes and violins, reflecting the town's role as the birthplace of European lute-making from the 15th century onward. The Reichenstraße running through the old town is lined with colourfully painted merchant houses, and a short walk out of town leads to the Lechfall, a free waterfall on the Lech River. A visit to the castle courtyard and museum takes 2-3 hours; visitors overnighting in Füssen, rather than day-tripping from Munich, get to see the old town in the calmer evening light after the Neuschwanstein-bound coach crowds have left. Midday sees the heaviest foot traffic as castle visitors pass through en route to the shuttle buses.