Heidelberg: Getting there & around

Heidelberg is on the north-south A5 linking the city with both Frankfurt and Karlsruhe.

At the modern west end of the city, or Weststadt, Heidelberg's Hauptbahnhof (central train station) is on Willy-Brandt-Platz at the intersection of Kurfürsten-Anlage and Lessingstrasse. There are at least hourly train services (www.bahn.de) to and from Baden-Baden (1hr), Frankfurt (1hr) and Stuttgart (40min).

Flughafen Frankfurt-am-Main (www.frankfurt-airport.de) is Germany's largest airport. Lufthansa offers an airport shuttle (www.lufthansa-airportbus.de; 75min, almost hourly). The smaller Stuttgart, Mannheim, Baden-Baden and Frankfurt Hahn airports are also close.

Reliable trams and buses (www.vrn.de, in German) cover Heidelberg and outlying suburbs. Many services connect the Hauptbahnhof with the main transport hub of Bismarckplatz - a square marking the border between Heidelberg's modern city and the Altstadt (old town).

Bicycles can be hired from Eldorado (06221 654 4460; www.eldorado-hd.de, in German; Neckarstaden 52).

Parking in Heidelberg's well-marked underground car parks is an expensive proposition. Taxis (06221 30 2030) line up outside the Hauptbahnhof, Bismarckplatz, Neckarmünzplatz at the east end of the Altstadt, and the Universitätsplatz.