# Lower Franconia

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

* 49.7944449.9294441 Würzburg — famous throughout Germany for its wine and as the northern end of the Romantic Road
* 49.975759.14782 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
* 50.210.0666673 Bad Kissingen — one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe",
* 50.0510.2333334 Schweinfurt — home of the Museum Georg Schäfer
* 49.9936119.5783335 Lohr am Main — the Lohrer Schloss claims to include Snow White's mirror
* 49.9166679.2833336 Mespelbrunn — a small village in the heart of the Spessart forest with a fairy tale castle
* 49.7038899.2644447 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
* 49.8327789.8816678 Veitshöchheim — its Schloss is the former summer residence of the prince bishop of Würzburg
* 50.3310.259 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
* 50.0810.6710 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

* 49.90259.4286111 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). From there, there are several departures daily by ICE directly to Würzburg. Should you be unwilling or unable to use Frankfurt airport, Nuremberg (NUE) or to an even lesser extent Munich Airport (MUC) 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

* 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.