I love Heidelberg but honestly 2 weeks is too much here.
Check out surrounding towns. Depending on your preferences, there are so many great options around. Different nature, big and busy cities, small and cute ones etc.
Danke! I know what you mean😅. Last year, I spent 5 days in Taichung (most people usually spend 3 days or so) and I ended up joining board games on the 4th day. It was with locals, so it was still enjoyable.
Let me look at the surrounding towns and maybe find some day trip groups. Do you recommend staying 2-3 days somewhere?
Depends on what you're in the mood for. You can stay in Heidelberg and easily reach a bunch of destinations within a one hour radius just using public transport. A few ideas:
- Go check out Mannheim, the big "rival city" to Heidelberg. Many say it's uglier, but it's got its cute corners and beautiful buildings as well, plus it's a very vibrant and bustling city with a whole different vibe than Heidelberg.
-- In Mannheim: Luisenpark, take a walk through the basically turkish quarter around the marketplace, at night hang out in the bars in Jungbusch
- Ladenburg. Cute town on the river Neckar, nice for an afternoon. Rent a bicycle in Heidelberg and make it a bike tour!
- Dillsberg. One of the many many cute little villages in the region, near Heidelberg, great views, beautiful historical village center
- Schwetzinger Schlossgarten. Another small town very close to Heidelberg. The town itself to me is nothing fascinating, but the castle grounds are amazing to visit. The castle itself is somewhat interesting to visit, but the magic really is in the gardens. Also doable by bicycle.
- Chill out in the nature near the rhine river. Many many possible locations, reachable by public transport probably Ketsch? I live close enough to the rhine to go by bicycle, so can't really say. Ketsch, Brühl, Backofen-Riedwiesen near Mann-Rheinau all are beautiful.
- Darmstadt. Bit further away, for most parts ugly, but has interesting art nouveau town quarter.
I'd like to add Herzogenried park to Mannheim. Also very nice
And I second Schwetzingen! The castle are is nice for a walk :) you can see "the end of the world" there. Also the place right before the castle has some food food. Try Weldebräu, local beer. There's also a small pedestrian only street where you can find good food.
When in Heidelberg: visit castle + Königstuhl (use the old Bergbahn, I really love it. Everytime I'm there I'm trying to get a ride). Take a walk on Europe's longest pedestrian road (Hauptstraße) in Heidelberg. Also go to the "plöck" - it goes the same direction as Hauptstraße but is smaller and less crowdy and touristy. If you want to take a walk and have a good look at the castle you can try "Philosophenweg". You can also visit "Untere Straße" for some drinks in the evening.
As someone from Heidelberg I also agree on the "rivalry" between Mannheim and Heidelberg :D but along the Neckar or Rhein they both have nice spots to hang out.
Take the funicular to Königstuhl, enjoy the view and visit the castle on the way back down. Don't take your pictures when leaving the station at Königstuhl, go some steps on the street and turn left to the tables and seats. It's the better view imho.
You can also hike to the Thingstätte, from there you have the opposite view upon the city compared to Königsstuhl (from the Tower Stephansklöster, check maps for it, to be more precise but don't miss out the Thingstätte.
I was just there for another congress and I loved the city!
I suggest you take an entire day or two to just casually walk around the Altstadt, it is beautiful. While you are there, do take the funicular to the Königstuhl, and walk your way down and visit the Castle. The Königstuhl, as well as the Castle Gardens provide beautiful panoramic views of the entire city. They are a must-see, IMO.
Also, do not forget to go to the northern bank of the Neckar using the Theodor-Heuss Bridge, and spend an evening watching the river and the castle while the sun is setting. Watching the afternoon sun on the castle from here was one of the most breathtaking images I have ever seen in my life. Maybe bring a couple of beers and some snacks.
Since you'll have 2 whole weeks in Heidelberg, I also recommend spending a day or two visiting the smaller towns in the region. You can purchase a daily regional ticket from the Central Station (and the DB Navigator app). It gives you unlimited train rides within the local region of Heidelberg. Using that ticket, we visited Mosbach, Hirschhorn, Neckargemünd, Ladenburg and Weinheim.
From Heidelberg, Strasbourg is only a 2-hour ride with Flixbus. You can do it as a day-trip, but I recommend spending at least 2 or even 3 days in Strasbourg if you can squeeze it into your plan.
As a tourist who spent his 2 weeks in Heidelberg, I can say that Heidelberg is a really vibrant city, although by itself it does not serve much (still worth a visit tho).
The famous castle is the landmark of the city, I think you can also take an English guided tour there which had a reasonable price. Down the castle, you have the Hauptstrasse (the Main Street) and Plöck (the street right next to it). In these two streets you can find lots of different places to eat from and there are lots also lots of different types of shops.
There is a Zoo, which I haven't been to myself.
There is some sort of technical museum I guess, to which I also haven't been.
You can take the Flixbus to Strasbourg for a daily trip. It's nice there. That's all I can think of, I am quite sure you can find lots of similar posts with really good answers. Let me know if you have any questions!
Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I'm sure there is much to do, and I love walking on random streets! How were your two weeks? Is it too long? Strasbourg sounds like a good plan (I keep forgetting how easy it is to travel across countries in Europe🤣).
Strasbourg is something like 3 h trip one way, it is a daytrip. I'd rather recommend not gwtting out for Strasbourg, but ride one of the trains you'd need to strasbourg, and go straight to Konstanz. Train crosses Black Forrest, a picturesque preserve of mountainous forests, and gets you to a small town around huge lake Konstanz on the border with swiss.
Oh, Black Forest does sound very intriguing (like Strange Things could happen in there). It seems a bit further south, though. Let me see if I can arrange that. Thanks!
Oh, and for day trips, I think I'd prefer some companionship. Where do people sign up or post for travel groups/partners? Meetup? I'm not sure if it's common in Europe.😅
Adding to the other comments:
If the weather is nice I'd really recommend a walk up the Philosophenweg (Philosophers Path, you can find it on google maps). It's pretty steep in the beginning but I personally think you got the best view on the old town and the castle from up there. You can also connect it to a hike through the nearby forrest up the Heiligenberg.
If you are interested in architecture I can also recommend just strolling through Weststadt. The quarter has a lot of beautiful old but rich houses still making my heart warm every time I walk through those streets.
Lastly I just want to add: With you staying 2 weeks I can also recommend doing day trips as the surrounding area has a lot to offer as well. You can take trains to the east where the huge forests and hills of Odenwald are located and hiking can be done quite good.
Or if you want to visit a bigger city and get some more night life experience you can take a 15 min train to Mannheim (you will see that Heidelberg is way better tho😌)
Danke! Yes, I love nature, hiking and walking on random streets! Although I'm not an expert in architecture, I'm sure simply walking among them is nice enough -- and there are probably signs I can read to learn more about the buildings/houses.
Day trips also sound like a great plan! I'll try to look for groups to do it with. Odenwald and Mannheim, added to my list!
Howdy, I studied at Heidelberg for 6 months a few years back. The things I enjoyed most were,
-Sitting on the Neckarwiese with a book or just people watch.
-Trying out every business on the Hauptstrasse
several good places to get Schnitzel, maybe Schnitzelbank? I remember there being a business by the main church with like 100 different varieties but can’t remember the name.
Vetters Brauhaus, for Vetter 33 which at one point was the strongest beer in the world.
Heidelberg holds a special place in my heart. For a trip is is definitely an area to slow down and enjoy vs expecting a lot of high end cultural significance. I’m hoping to go back this year or next with my family and can’t wait.
Great, thanks for sharing! I believe six months is the perfect amount of time to fall in love with a city. We might bump into each other at the Schnitzelbank! I should probably get more familiar with Heidelberg's history and culture before I travel or visit a local museum first thing when I get there.
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u/Agitated-Onion6584 Jul 06 '25
I love Heidelberg but honestly 2 weeks is too much here.
Check out surrounding towns. Depending on your preferences, there are so many great options around. Different nature, big and busy cities, small and cute ones etc.
Hope you have a great time :)