Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [294]
Bayerisches Haus am Dom ( 349 7990; Johannisgasse 4; mains €6-10) Enjoy an elbow massage from the locals at chunky timber benches, while refuelling on Bavarian and Swabian dishes, cheap lunch options (€6) or a sandwich. Erdinger and Andechser are the frothy double-act that stimulates nightly frivolity in the beer garden.
Also recommended:
Bauerntanz ( 153 644; Bauerntanzgässchen 1; mains €7-14) A local institution serving big portions of creative Swabian and Bavarian food.
Fuggereistube ( 308 70; Jakoberstrasse 26; mains €11-20) Vintage 1970s hunting-lodge decor, with Bavarian food and good service.
QUICK EATS
Cheap eats abound on Bahnhofstrasse, and the local Stadtmarkt (btwn Fuggerstrasse & Annastrasse; 7am-6pm Mon-Fri, 7am-2pm Sat) is a picnicker’s feast. The usual sausage-pizza-Brezel culprits cluster around the Hauptbahnhof.
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Drinking
Elements ( 508 0759; Frauentorstrasse 2) Knock back a cocktail or five at this trendy bar which attracts the beautiful people of an eve. Weekend breakfast is ideal for those who rise at the crack of lunchtime.
Thing ( 395 05; Vorderer Lech 45) Augsburg’s coolest beer garden sports totem poles and often gets crowded in the evenings.
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Entertainment
Augsburger Puppenkiste ( 450 3450; www.augsburger-puppenkiste.de; Spitalgasse 15; tickets €9-22) The cele-brated puppet theatre holds puppet performances of modern and classic fairy-tales that even non-German speakers will enjoy. Advance bookings are essential.
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Getting There & Away
Regional trains run hourly between Augsburg and Munich (€11.30, 45 minutes), every other hour to Nuremberg (€23.30, two hours) and several times an hour to Ulm (€15 to €22, 45 minutes to one hour). ICE trains travel to Würzburg (€46, two hours).
The Romantic Road Europabus stops at the Hauptbahnhof and the Rathaus. Augsburg is just off the A8 northwest of Munich.
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FÜSSEN
08362 / pop 17,700
The final halt on the Romantic Road, Füssen is a bustling little tourist town nestled between towering Alpine peaks. It’s in the so-called Königswinkel (Royal Corner), home to Germany’s biggest tourist attractions: the fantasy castles of Ludwig II (see the boxed text, Click here), Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.
Most whiz in and out of the area, checking off fairy-tale castles on a whirlwind coach tour. Those who stay longer escape the crowds into a landscape of gentle hiking trails, Alpine vistas and pretty lakes.
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Orientation & Information
The castles are around 4km east of Füssen via the B17 (Münchener Strasse).
Füssen tourist office ( 938 50; www.fuessen.de; Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, 10am-noon Sun May-Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat Nov-Apr)
Hohenschwangau tourist office ( 819 765; www.schwangau.de; Alpestrasse; 11am-7pm May-Oct, 11am-5pm Nov-Apr) At the bus stop below the castles. Provides an informal left-luggage service.
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Sights
CASTLES
Schloss Hohenschwangau
Ludwig spent his formative years at the sun-yellow Schloss Hohenschwangau ( 930 830; adult/concession €9/8, with Neuschwanstein €17/15; 8am-5.30pm Apr-Sep, 9am-3.30pm Oct-Mar). His father, Maximilian II, rebuilt this palace in a neo-Gothic style from 12th-century ruins left by Schwangau knights. With all this faux medieval imagery filling his childhood, no wonder Ludwig turned out the way he did.
Far less showy than Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau has a distinctly lived-in feel and every piece of furniture is a used original. After his father died, Ludwig’s main alteration was having stars, illuminated with hidden oil lamps, painted on the ceiling of his bedroom.
Here Ludwig first met Wagner, and the Hohenstaufensaal room features a square piano where the hard-up composer