The cultural heart of Germany, Franconia is home to some of the most evocative and well-preserved mediaeval art and architecture in Europe. Based in Nuremberg, birthplace of Albrecht Dürer, we will explore the region’s charming towns and cities on Germany’s Romantic Road, and discover its fascinating history: from a patchwork of Teutonic tribes, through the Holy Roman Empire, to the turbulent 20th century. In addition to exploring Nuremberg itself, we spend a day each in mediaeval Rothenburg with its half-timbered old town, charming Bamberg which spans the Regnitz river, Würzburg with its magnificent Baroque palace and Wagner’s Bayreuth, where we see the composer’s former home and one of Europe’s few surviving Baroque theatres.