“I climb up to Saint Vitas of Staffelstein and see countryside surrounding River Main in front of me.” When visiting Upper Main Valley – Coburg Region it is very easy to understand and relate to Viktor von Scheffel’s enthusiasm for Franconian region and countryside that is expressed so wonderfully in his “Frankenlied” (‘Franconian song’).

When approaching from south you get a fantastic view of Upper Main Valley: The baroque gem that is Banz Monastery and Rococo Vierzehnheiligen pilgrimage basilica are located on both sides of beautiful valley between Adam Riese’s birthplace of Bad Staffelstein and Lichtenfels, home to German basket-making industry.

It is certainly not surprising that this valley is known affectionately as “God’s Garden”. The unique “Upper Main Musical Summer” series of concerts take place in many of area’s architectural masterpieces.

A visit would not be complete without a walk up Staffelberg hill, where Franconian countryside really does quite literally “lie at one’s feet”... From this point on it is already possible to see Veste Coburg fortress, known as “Franconian Crown”, which is yet another of region’s highlights.

However, while on journey to Coburg there are many charming and attractive towns with wonderful half-timbered buildings, such as Sesslach, Burgkunstadt, Altenkunststadt, Marktzeuln and Weismain, and idyllic landscapes, like Kleinziegenfelder Valley, that are well worth visiting.

Roughly 20kms to north of Lichtenfels, Coburg is located among some delightful and hilly countryside, and unlike many towns of a similar size (Coburg has a population of roughly 42,000) this former seat of Dukes of Coburg possesses an abundance of works of art, historical monuments, castles and palaces that truly outstrips its size.

Many of these are thanks to Dukes of former duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha which, through its marriage policy, established links with almost all European royal families.

Now Coburg is regarded as “Samba Capital” of Europe due to its hosting of International Samba Festival every July.

Furthermore, town has a truly diverse cultural programme that ranges from classical to modern, including operas, operettas, revues, ballets and plays, which take place in both magnificent State Theatre (Landestheater) and St Moriz Church, main church of town’s Protestant community and where Martin Luther once preached. There are also regular open-air concerts on Coburg’s Palace Square.

The whole Coburg region is home to many castles and palaces. Callenberg Castle, Rosenau Castle and Tambach Palace, to name just three, are worth visiting.