Heidelberg holidays

How to reach Heidelberg

Flight time: There are no direct flights to Heidelberg. Flights to Frankfurt take around 1 hour 30 minutes from London.

Transfer time: From Frankfurt Airport, the train to Heidelberg takes about 50 minutes, and a bus around 1 hour 15 minutes.

Price: A one-way train ticket from Frankfurt to Heidelberg costs between €15 and €30, while the bus is a cheaper option at around €10. A taxi will cost between €100 and €130.

Best time to visit Heidelberg

This will depend on what you want to do during your Heidelberg holidays; some events are seasonal, and the weather may also play a part in your decision.

March to May: Average temperatures in spring range from 12°C to 20°C, rainfall is moderate, around 40–60mm, with 8–9 hours of sunshine daily. If you can, try to time your trip with the annual Japan Day festival, one of the region’s cultural highlights.

June to August: Although this is high season, Heidelberg is rarely overrun with crowds of people - except during the ever-popular Heidelberg Castle Illuminations. Average temperatures hover between 20°C and 25°C, rainfall is low (around 50–70mm), and there are up to 10 hours of sunshine.

September to November: Cooler but still a very pleasant climate, with temperatures gradually dropping from 18°C to 10°C, increasing rainfall (50–90mm) and around 6 hours of sunshine. This is the perfect time (and weather) for staying inside and touring the city’s museums and galleries.

December to March: Heidelberg’s Christmas market is not necessarily the biggest, but it is among the best in the country, and despite colder temperatures (2°C to 8°C) and shorter days (4–5 hours of sunshine), the city has quite a buzz about it.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: German is the official language, but English is widely spoken throughout the city.

• Local habits and customs: To tip in a café, round your bill up to the next €0.50 or €1 and give the total directly to the waiter; at restaurants, you should leave around 10 percent of the bill. Jaywalking is illegal in Germany, so only cross on the green man – you could be fined if you don’t.

• Currency: Germany uses the Euro (€), with credit and debit cards accepted in most restaurants and shops.

• Getting around: Heidelberg is small, therefore eminently walkable, but the bus and tram system is handy. Single trip €3, 24hr ticket €7.70. Bus #20 or #33 links the Hauptbahnhof with the base station of the Bergbahn at the heart of the Altstadt.

• Electricity and plug types: Germany uses the standard continental 220-volt system. UK travellers will need a two-pin plug adaptor.

• Time zone: Heidelberg operates on Central European Time (CET), which is one hour ahead of GMT.

Best things to do in Heidelberg

With its Altstadt nestled in a wooded gorge on the River Neckar, this leading university town boasts a roster of sights that have inspired many great minds.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Alte Brücke: Goethe hailed the bridge’s beauty as “not equalled by any other in the world”, and it certainly provides a classic Altstadt vista.

• Philosophenweg (Philosopher’s Walk): A north-bank hillside path named after the university’s debating students, it’s one of a network of paths that run up and along these forested slopes. At sundown you can watch the Schloss blush in a play of light Turner captured beautifully in Heidelberg Sunset.

The best districts

• Altstadt (Old Town): A maze of cobbled streets lined with Baroque buildings, shops and traditional German pubs. Take time to wander down Hauptstrasse, Europe’s longest pedestrian street, and explore the quaint squares and hidden courtyards.

• Neuenheim: Leafy streets and pretty 19th-century houses mark Neuenheim out as a great spot for a quiet stroll.

Museums

• Kurpfälzisches Museum: Regional history museum and art gallery in a Baroque mansion on Hauptstrasse contains as its highlight Tilman Riemenschneider’s Altar of the Twelve Apostles, which has shed its suffocating polychrome coat to emerge as an expressive Late Gothic masterpiece.

Historical monuments

• Schloss: The semi-derelict Schloss is Heidelberg’s pride; the Dicker Turm (Fat Tower), blasted by French explosives despite 7m-thick walls, is impressive, but the southeast Pulverturm is the darling of romantics past and present.

• Heidelberg University: The Baroque Alte Universität on Universitätsplatz is the ritziest building of Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386 by Ruprecht III.

• Heiliggeistkirche: The 15th-century Gothic Heiliggeistkirche sports a Baroque mansard roof that allows traders’ stalls to snuggle between its buttresses, maintaining a medieval practice once common countrywide.

Parks and gardens

• Heidelberg Botanical Garden: Founded in 1593, this is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, harbouring tropical orchids, bromeliads, an alpine plantation and a fern canyon among its extensive grounds.

Day trips in the area

• Stuttgart: The city’s lovely setting between a series of vineyard-clad hills, along with its automobile museums, large parks and Renaissance palaces that grace the centre, make for an action-packed day trip.

• Worms: The Nibelungenlied saga is the star attraction in this handsome town with a fascinating museum on the subject.

• Speyer: The pleasant market town of Speyer, 25km southwest of Heidelberg, is the location for the magnificent Speyer Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a first-class transport museum in the Technik Museum.

Activities for families in Heidelberg

Heidelberg has plenty to offer families, from fun outdoor spaces to one or two of the country’s most involving interactive museums.

• Interactive museums: Most, if not all, of the gigantic Auto- und Technikmuseum Sinsheim will delight kids, who’ll also love the chance to slide down from the hold of a plane on sacks, race mini-karts and visit Germany’s largest IMAX cinema. It’s easy to spend the best part of a day here.

• Christmas market: Heidelberg’s Christmas market tends to be much less packed than some other German alternatives, which makes it all the more appealing, its wooden stalls offering handmade crafts, seasonal treats and mulled wine.

• Historical monuments: Kids will enjoy the cable car ride from the Old Town up to the partially-ruined castle, and once there you can take in a guided tour, have a meal or just soak up the views.

Free things to do in Heidelberg

Travelling on a budget? There are stacks of free activities in Heidelberg offering great experiences without denting the wallet.

• Street art: Heidelberg has a street art scene that’s a match for anywhere in Germany, and this is manifest in the annual Metropolink festival in July, which devotes three weeks to graffiti art, street murals and more.

• Festivals: If you’re visiting in summer, don’t miss the Heidelberg Castle Illuminations, when the castle and Old Bridge are beautifully lit up - it’s both magical and free.

• Heidelberg Castle Gardens: While there is a fee to enter the castle itself, wandering the castle gardens is free of charge.

Nature and outdoor activities in Heidelberg

Heidelberg’s natural surroundings make it an appealing destination for those with ambitions of spending time in the outdoors.

• Hiking: Heidelberg’s proximity to the Odenwald hills makes hiking a real possibility. While the Philosophenweg (Philosopher’s Walk) is the most famous hiking route in the area, a more challenging proposition is the hike up to Königstuhl Mountain, the highest peak in the area.

• Cycling: Provision for cyclists around the city (and state) is first-class. All the main Baden-Württemberg cities have a reasonable cycle path network – even from the centre of Heidelberg you barely need to touch a road to get to the fringes of the Black Forest.

• Wildlife watching: The surrounding forests offer opportunities to spot deer, wild boar and a range of bird species.

Local dishes in Heidelberg

One of the great delights of holidays to Heidelberg is discovering Swabian cuisine; inevitably, meat dominates most menus, but there’s much else besides.

Some typical dishes

• Maultaschen: Often described as German ravioli, these oversized pasta pockets are filled with meat or vegetables and served in broth or with melted butter.

• Zwiebelrostbraten: A Swabian classic, this juicy hunk of roasted beef steak is topped with crispy onions and served with potatoes or spätzle.

Meat dishes

• Schweinshaxe: A huge crispy knuckle which could grace a medieval banqueting table, usually served with potato dumplings or sauerkraut.

• Sauerbraten: A slow-cooked pot roast marinated in vinegar and spices, typically served with red cabbage and potatoes.

Street food

• Flammkuchen: A thin, pizza-like dish, Flammkuchen is typically topped with crème fraîche, onions and bacon.

• Bratwurst: The common or garden sausage, served countrywide. Varies by region but usually made of finely minced pork and marjoram.

Sweets and desserts

• Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake): A decadent chocolate cake layered with cherries, whipped cream and a splash of cherry schnapps.

• Apfelstrudel: Warm apple pastry, spiced with cinnamon and served with vanilla sauce or whipped cream.

Local drinks

• Regional wine: The vineyards around Heidelberg produce excellent wines, notably whites such as Riesling and Silvaner.

• Federweißer: Visit Heidelberg in autumn and you’ll likely come across this seasonal drink made from freshly pressed grape juice that’s just started fermenting. Sweet and slightly fizzy, it’s a great accompaniment to Flammkuchen.