Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Romantic Road

This beautifully preserved town is one of only three cities in Germany that have completely intact city walls, dating back to 1070AD. A walk around the wall is approximately 1.8mi (3km) long, although in some sections houses back onto the wall, obstructing access for the full walk.

Highly regarded as an ideal German community during WWII, Rothenburg was at risk of being destroyed by the Allies when 16 planes bombed the town, destroying 306 buildings, 2,000ft (600m) of wall and killing 37 people. John McCloy, the US Assistant Secretary of War at the time, understood the town's importance and history. To spare Rothenburg from complete destruction, he ordered six men on a three-hour mission to enter the town and request its surrender. The local military commander, Major Thömmes, agreed to the terms, thereby saving the town and its history from complete destruction by artillery. In 1948, McCloy was made an honorary citizen of Rothenburg. After the war, Rothenburg began rebuilding its town, restoring many landmark buildings to their original state. An outpouring of international financial support helped Rothenburg rebuild itself to its former glory.

Germany is well known for its town squares, Christmas markets with big Christmas trees and stalls selling Christmas decorations, and delicatessens selling stollen (a sweet bread with dried fruit, nuts and spices, coated with icing sugar), which typically run for the month of December. However, Rothenburg goes a step further with a Christmas Museum that is open year-round. It began as an idea from Harald Wolfhart, who wanted to create a museum to showcase historical Christmas decorations from different parts of Germany. He began a private collection he built over nearly two decades, and by 2000, he launched the first permanent exhibition. The collection includes a wide variety of decorations from as far back as the 19th century, including postcards, nutcrackers, baubles, Christmas pyramids from the Erzgebirge region, and tree stands, made of various materials such as glass, cotton wool, pewter, and leonic wire. Besides devoting their time to the exhibitions, the museum team is also charged with collecting, preserving, researching, and documenting the customs and traditions of Christmas that have been handed down from generation to generation to ensure their survival for future generations.