Things To DoThis is a featured page

Things To Do Around Heidelberg On a Weekend


So, you're in Heidelberg (or Walldorf) on a business trip and you have a weekend to kill. What to do, what to do... (aside from work)

Around Heidelberg

  • Philosopher's walk and beyond...
So, most people visit HD, walk across the bridge and if they are feeling adventurous they walk up a couple of hundred steps to the philosopher's walk. (Philosophenweg) There are fantastic views of Heidelberg here but if you have time there is a lot to see further up the mountain. Continue hiking up the mountain by following trails that go up. There are many and it can be confusing but you can always ask for directions if you get lost. There are also guide stones at many of the trails. Follow arrows that point towards Heiligenberg. ("Holy Mountain")
If you go up from the trails close to the wooden art sculptures and the childrens park you will come across a signal tower. You can climb the tower and get some nice views of the Neckar river. After you get to the top (about an hour walk), you will come across some church ruins and a tower. The tower is a more modern tourist attraction (~1800 or 1900), but the church ruins are quite old. Yes, you can climb the stairs to the top and you can look down on all of Heidelberg. (This is the tower that you can see on top of the mountain if you look up from the old bridge). Across the street from the church ruins is a small pavilion where there is an old well. It is very deep - don't forget to push the button on the wall to turn on the light. Continue up the road and you will come to a bier garden. (if this is your first time to Germany than let it be known that there is no mountain in germany that exists where you cannot buy a beer on top). This is not always open so save your thirst for when you return to the altstadt - there is more to see... Just up the road is a Nazi amphitheater that has been built out of stone. It is called Thingstatte. Climb the stairs to the top and continue up the small hill to the Cloister Ruins. The ruins are the remains of a large cloister - you can see the crypts, all of the walls and rooms and there are a couple of towers remaining which offer great views of the surrounding forest. After exploring all the nooks and crannies walk back down to HD and get that well-earned beer. There is also an old Celtic ring wall surrounding the top of Heiligenberg, which can be seen by following the trails.

  • Koenigstuhl Hike
After you explore the castle and the gardens and you are looking for some way to work off the Semmelknoedels that you ate for dinner last night then plan a hike up to the top of Koenigstuhl. This is the mountain behind the castle. You can also take the bergbahn or the city bus to the top but that is not as rewarding as hiking it. Behind the castle near the parking lots you can find a trail that heads into the forest up the mountain. There is a long winding trail or a steep rustic stone stair way that goes up to the top. Just when it seems like it never ends you will come out to the top and the first thing you will see is... yep... you guessed it... a bier garden. Have a bier - you earned it. There is also a falcon show in the summer time but I think it is only in Deutsch. If there is one going on you will be able to see the falcons flying around with little bells on. Enjoy the bier and the great views of Heidelberg and Mannheim. Walk back down or take the bergbahn if dark is approaching.

Nearby Towns/Drives

Ladenburg (10 minute drive north, there is a brown sign on the A5). Cool walled medieval town, nice square, interesting church. Visible Roman ruins (old foundations, not Colosseum-scale!) Some good restaurants, in particular Backmulde. See this link for more info.
http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/baden_wuerttemberg/ladenburg.htm

Weinheim (15 minute drive north, also a brown sign on the A5). Another medieval town with an even cooler square than Ladenburg with many restaurants/bars. This is a weekend destination during the summer. Small jewish quarter (kinda interesting).
http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/baden_wuerttemberg/weinheim.htm

If you drive up the Neckar there are several small castles. Burg Hornberg is a fairly interesting ruin with quite a good winery on the north bank. Perhaps 30-60 minutes from Hberg.
http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/baden_wuerttemberg/neckar_river.htm

About 45 minutes south is Baden Baden. Located on the edge of the Black Forest it is world famous for it spas. (leave your modesty at home - it is so rejuvenating) Baden Baden also has many nice restaurants, cafes, a castle and a casino. (Casinos in Europe are mostly all formal dress)

Speyer (~45min by train). Small medieval city with several large cathedral and the Domgarten. The Dom is in the center of town, just off the High Street, which you can explore for free. Everything is well intact (wasn't bombed in WWII) and the whole town is easily walkable.

Day Trips

Slightly further afield is Schwabisch Hall, perhaps 2 hours from Hberg on the A6. Another medieval town with a very interesting church with good art. Behind the alter is an interesting glass window inset into the floor (check it out!). You could do this in combination with a drive up the Neckar.
http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/baden_wuerttemberg/schwaebisch_hall.htm
http://goeurope.about.com/od/germany/p/schwabisch.htm

The Alsace region in France is about 2 hours away. Great wine region and amazingly pretty any time of year, but especially summer/fall. Riquewihr is a town to head towards. Loads of easy winetasting in the nearby towns (just walk in and they will serve you & speak English). The drive from Riquewihr to Kientzheim & Kaysersberg is great, as are those two towns. For dinner, I cannot remember the winery name, but walk up the hill on the main street in Riquewihr. On the left you will see steps going down into a wine tasting cave. This place has a great restaurant (up the stairs to the left of the cave).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riquewihr
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=kaysersberg,+france&daddr=Riquewihr,+france&ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=48.146217,7.292862&spn=0.024339,0.058537&om=1

Colmar is the main city/town in the Alsace. Very cool town, great city center, loads of history.



Posted Anonymously Latest page update: made by Anonymous , Jul 1 2008, 7:23 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Posted Anonymously Edited anonymously

102 words added
22 words deleted

view changes
- complete history)
Keyword tags: activities tourist weekend (edit keyword tags)
More Info: links to this page

Threads for this page

Anonymous  (Get credit for your thread)

There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.