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Heidelberg

Surrounded by forest, Germany’s oldest and most famous university town is renowned for its baroque Altstadt, beautiful riverside setting and evocative half-ruined hilltop castle, which draw 11.9 million visitors a year. They follow in the footsteps of the late 18th- and early 19th-century romantics, most notably the poet Goethe and Britain’s William Turner, who was inspired by Heidelberg to paint some of his greatest landscapes.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Schloss Heidelberg
Heidelberg
Towering over the Altstadt, Heidelberg’s ruined Renaissance castle cuts a romantic figure, especially across the Neckar River when illuminated at night…
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität
Heidelberg
Established in 1386 by Count Palatinate Ruprecht I, Germany’s oldest and most prestigious university comprises 12 faculties with 30,000 German and…
Kurpfälzisches Museum
Heidelberg
The city-run Palatinate Museum chronicles Heidelberg’s eventful past, particularly the Roman period – exhibits include original wood beams from a 3rd…
Universitätsmuseum
Heidelberg
The three-room University Museum, inside the Alte Universität building of Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, has paintings, portraits, documents and photos from…
Heiliggeistkirche
Heidelberg
For bird’s-eye views, climb the 208 stairs to the top of the tower of Heidelberg's famous church, constructed between 1398 and 1441. It was shared by…
Philosophenweg
Heidelberg
Winding past monuments, towers, ruins, a beer garden, and an enormous Thingstätte (amphitheatre) built by the Nazis in 1935, the 2.5km-long Philosophers’…
Alte Brücke
Heidelberg
Heidelberg's 200m-long ‘old bridge’, built in 1786, connects the Altstadt with the river’s right bank and the Schlangenweg (Snake Path), whose switchbacks…
Studentenkarzer
Heidelberg
From 1823 to 1914, students convicted of misdeeds such as public inebriation, loud nocturnal singing, freeing the local pigs or duelling were sent to this…