Lower Franconia

Aschaffenburg - Schloss Johannisburg

Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) is a region in the state of Bavaria in Germany. The scenic attractions of the River Main including the Mainschleife at Volkach and the low mountain ranges of the Rhön with the spa town Bad Kissingen and of the Spessart with Mespelbrunn Castle belong to the major tourist attractions.

Cities

Marienberg castle and historical bridge

• 1 Würzburg — famous throughout Germany for its wine and as the northern end of the Romantic Road
• 2 Aschaffenburg — the gateway to the Spessart has a lot to offer culturally, including the city theatre, the Hofgarten cabaret, and the Jesuit Church art gallery
• 3 Bad Kissingen — one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe",
• 4 Schweinfurt — home of the Museum Georg Schäfer
• 5 Lohr am Main — the Lohrer Schloss claims to include Snow White's mirror
• 6 Mespelbrunn — a small village in the heart of the Spessart forest with a fairy tale castle
• 7 Miltenberg — it has a historic town centre with the Schnatterloch, the historic market square which served as a location for some scenes of the film The Spessart Inn (1958). Nearby are the Hotel Zum Riesen (one of Germany’s oldest inns, if not the oldest) and the old town hall. Miltenberg still has a total of around 150 half-timbered houses
• 8 Veitshöchheim — its Schloss is the former summer residence of the prince bishop of Würzburg
• 9 Rhön-Grabfeld — including the towns of Bad Neustadt an der Saale and Bad Königshofen im Grabfeld, it is home to one of the oldest breweries of Bavaria
• 10 Haßberge — including the towns of Ebern, Eltmann, Haßfurt, Hofheim, Königsberg, and Zeil am Main, its nature park has isolated castles and ruins that are connected by the park's walking paths

Other destinations

• 1 Spessart — a mountain wooded area that is popular for hiking and crosscountry skiing

Get in

By train

The main railway hub in this area is Würzburg, with regular ICE service along the North-South mainline that connects Hamburg and Munich. In addition, the ICE service between Munich and the western German cities also stops at Würzburg and Aschaffenburg.

By plane

You are most likely going to fly into Frankfurt Airport (FRA ^IATA). From there, there are several departures daily by ICE directly to Würzburg. Should you be unwilling or unable to use Frankfurt airport, Nuremberg (NUE ^IATA) or to an even lesser extent Munich Airport (MUC ^IATA) might be options.

Get around

Most towns are accessible by the regional trains (RE or RB) departing from either Würzburg or Schweinfurt. Travel between two cities itself takes 30 minutes with trains up to every half hour during the weekday. A Bayern ticket entitles you to use all trains and public transportation within the city proper, while the Franken ticket entitles train travel only to select cities.

See

Würzburg Residence and court garden

Panoramic view of Amorbach

• Baroque Residence of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, according to UNESCO "the most homogeneous and the most extraordinary of the Baroque palaces" (World Heritage site)
• Dettelbach, small town with almost completely preserved medieval fortification, half-timbered houses and narrow lanes
• Amorbach, picturesque small town, Baroque abbey with Rococo stuccos and colourful frescos
• Schloss Veitshöchheim (Veitshöchheim)
• Schloss Marienberg ( Würzburg)
• Dom (Würzburg)

Itineraries

• The Main Cycling Trail follows the winding course of the river Main through the beautiful landscapes of "Main Triangle" and "Main Quadrangle" where most of the region's sights are: (Bamberg –) Schweinfurt – Kitzingen – Würzburg – Karlstadt – Lohr – Wertheim – Miltenberg – Aschaffenburg (–Frankfurt)

Eat

See also: Franconian cuisine

Drink

Main Franconia, the region around Würzburg and Kitzingen, is a renowned wine-growing area, producing excellent white wines.

Breweries in Franconia lists breweries, beer cellars, brewery museums.