10 Best Sights in Heidelberg and the Neckar Valley, Germany

A wealth of vintage toys, model trains, and vehicles, including motorcycles, awaits children of all ages. This private collection, open to the public, includes Porsche, Ferrari, and Maserati race cars, an original 1957 VW Beetle, and a rare 1954 Lloyd. Ask a docent to start up the HO trains or one of the antique musical toys. Kids can ride one of the old pedal cars. There's also a small café.

The majestic silhouette of this massive castle is visible from miles away. The Hohenzollern House of Prussia was the most powerful family in German history. It lost its throne when Kaiser William II abdicated after Germany's defeat in World War I. The Swabian branch of the family owns one-third of the castle, the Prussian branch two-thirds. Today's neo-Gothic structure, perched high on a conical wooded hill, is a successor of a castle dating from the 11th century. On the fascinating 45-minute castle tour you'll see the Prussian royal crown and beautiful period rooms, all opulent from floor to ceiling, with such playful details as door handles carved to resemble peacocks and dogs. The restaurant on the castle grounds, Café Restaurant Burg Hohenzollern, offers choices from vegan up to rump steak along with pastries from  the local confectioner,  and there's an outdoor beer garden in season. From the parking lot it's a 20-minute walk to the castle entrance; the shuttle bus is now included in the admission price. English-language tours on request. 

One of the oldest buildings in Tübingen, erected in 1547, the half-timber university building was significantly altered in 1777, when it acquired an Italian roof, a symmetrical facade, and a balcony decorated with two crossed scepters, symbolizing the town's center of learning. In earlier times grain was stored under the roof as part of the professors' salaries.

The word bursa meant "purse" in the Middle Ages and later came to refer to student lodgings such as this former student dormitory. Despite its classical facade, which it acquired in the early 19th century, the building actually dates back to 1477. Medieval students had to master a broad curriculum that included the septem artes liberales (seven liberal arts) of grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. The interior of the Bursa is not open for visits, but it's worth strolling by for a look at the outside.

Friedrich Hölderlin, a visionary poet who succumbed to madness in his early thirties, lived here for 36 years until his death in 1843, in the care of the master cabinetmaker Zimmer and his daughter. There's a small literary museum and art gallery inside, and a schedule of events includes concerts and poetry readings. An audio guide in English translates the exhibit information, including in the charming riverfront garden.

An art gallery north of the Neckar, the Kunsthalle has become a leading local exhibition venue and generates a special kind of "art tourism," making it difficult to find lodging if a popular exhibition is shown.

Houses of prominent burghers of centuries gone by surround this square, which is the busy heart of the Altstadt (Old Town), busy with open-air cafes in warm weather. At the open-air market on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 7 to 5 in the summer and 9 to 3 in winter, you can buy flowers, bread, pastries, poultry, sausage, and cheese.

Begun in 1433, this building slowly expanded over the next 150 years, and served from around 1471 to 1805 as the seat of the court of Württemberg. Its ornate Renaissance facade is bright with colorful murals and a marvelous astronomical clock dating from 1511. The half-timber halls and reception rooms are adorned with paintings from the late 19th century.

The original castle of the counts of Tübingen (1078) was significantly enlarged and altered by Duke Ulrich during the 16th century. Particularly noteworthy is the elaborate Renaissance portal patterned after a Roman triumphal arch. The coat of arms of the duchy of Württemberg depicted in the center is framed by the emblems of various orders, including the Order of the Garter. Today the castle's main attraction is its magnificent view over the river and town and—of course—its extensive collection of artifacts from ancient cultures, including Ice Age and Egyptian art. The astronomy observatory, dating from the early 1800s, has been restored and re-opened to visitors. It's a 90-minute walk from Schlossbergstrasse, over the Spitzberg, or via the Kapitänsweg that ends north of the castle. Alternatively, you an take the 916 bus from downtown (€2–€4, 44 min.).

The late-Gothic church has been well preserved; its original features include the stained-glass windows, the choir stalls, the ornate baptismal font, and the elaborate stone pulpit. The windows are famous for their colors and were much admired by Goethe. The dukes of Württemberg, from the 15th through the 17th century, are interred in the choir.