I've been reading/posting on here for quite a few months now, and no one seems to talk much about Heidelberg as a place to visit in Germany.

I've planned to stop there for the last 3 nights of our trip in April/May - is this not a good idea? It's not the peak tourist season, and it just looks so beautiful. One day would be spent taking a river tour on the Neckar...or a half day, I suppose.

I figured this was the end of a marathon 8-day trip, and we'd be tired of bouncing around by then. Is 3 nights too long in Heidelberg??

please advise! Thanks so much!

A marathon 8 DAY trip? I assume you mean 8 weeks! If you want to relax for three days at trip's end, Heidelberg is not a bad town to do that in. 3 nights really means two days of activities, and there's enough in Heidelberg to keep you pleasantly occupied for that time.

I wouldn't say this is a must see-it's a pleasant enough town but not nearly as interesting as a lot of other places in Germany. Since it's unclear how long you are spending in Germany I can't say if you should go or not (if only 8 days, no way does it deserve 3 nights, or even 1).

well, nycgirl,

there is nothing like a must-see but all of it is want-to-see.

Heidelberg is known for its scenic panorama and location in the valley of river Neckar. In addition, the partly ruined castle adds a touch of what Germans would call "romantisch" (this is more a certain feeling of nature and past glory as that what you would call romantic and means a very private feeling of lovers). As the whole region once was a large base for US military, Heidelberg also was a popular destination for trips of army people. It is said, that Heidelberg is still a popular destination for Japanese tourists.

Do some research of your own on this town and the area around.

Consider the fact, that Heidelberg is not as central as Frankfurt am Main, but still easy acessable by train and car.

The verse
Alt-Heidelberg, du feine,
due Stadt an Ehren reich,
am Neckar und am Rheine
keine andere ist die gleich.
(Old Heidelberg, you nice one, you town so rich with honour,at river Neckar and river Rhine, no other one rivals you)
still is known there. The panorama is beautiful, the castle impressive, the city is nice. You will find museums and also a cultural scene typical for an university town. Also a wide range of inns and restaurants.

In daaition, the area around offers a lot:

Mannheim is an industrial city, ugly on the first view, but ist offers some interesting museums and exhibitions.

The Palatinate, (towns: Neustadt or Bad Dürkheim) is a wine growing area.

Odenwald is off the beaten track, famous for its small towns with half-timbered houses, as Michelstadt

River Neckar valley offers also nice perspectives and views.
In Sinsheim you will find a museum (Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim, exhibiting an impressive collection http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/sinsheim/).

so, you might have there three nice days.

We ended our three week trip in Heidelberg with much anticipation. Quite frankly, though, I wish I had stayed elsewhere. I found it less than relaxing. In fact, what I most recall was the horde of 24-7 drinking college students with pants dragging below the the butt-crack line, litter everywhere and anything but old german ambiance. Reminded me more of a trashy, semi-urban college community. To say we were disappointed, and we seldom ever react to places in this way, would be a mild understatement.

Assuming you are flying out of Frankfurt, go to the Rhineland or Wuerzburg for your final few days.

The castle area is nice. If you have a car, I liked the Neckar Tal (Neckar river valley). The US Army Headquarters was there so I visited Heidelberg a few times and always enjoyed myself, though I did not stay downtown.

As someone mentioned above, I would prefer Würzburg as a final stop near Frankfurt.

Regards, Gary

From your previous posts, I see that you plan to visit Munich, Salzburg and the area around Fussen. If you are doing all this in 8 days, I think there are much nicer places to spend your last 3 days in Germany.

My vote would go for the Rhine River area. The Auf Schoenburg Castle Hotel in Oberwesel is only 1-1/2 hours from the Frankfurt Airport. You could easily see many of the cities on the Rhine and even the Mosel River.

Or stay in Bad Wimpfen, which is about an hour or so from Heidelberg, on the Neckar River. It's a beautiful little town, like a mini Rothenburg, with easy access to other towns in the Neckar Valley. We also did an day trip to Dinkelsbuhl on the Romantic Road and to Schwaebisch Hall from Bad Wimpfen.

As I noted in a previous post, there are many wonderful small wine towns near Wurzburg that would make a good base for a day trip to two.

You should see more of Germany than Heidelberg before you leave.

Heidelberg should be seen at least once by anyone visiting Germany if they have time. There is a reason it is full of tourists. Yes, it can be crowded - as is Rothenberg. By all means go down the Neckar Valley. It is not as spectacular as the Rhine, but very pretty in its own right.

I was going to add Bad Wimpfen to Hildebrandt's list of towns to visit around Heidelberg. However, with all due respect to Betty, I would rather stay in Heidelberg than in Bad Wimpfen. I was rather impressed by Bad Wimpfen when we stopped for dinner the very first time, but regretted our second visit. I have to say it's a bit boring to overnight but good for a day visit. I have a hard time imagining Bad Wimpfen as a mini Rothenburg. I also second betty's recommendation to make a stop in Schwaebisch Hall, in fact we've visited it 3 times en route to Stuttgart.

We've stayed in Heidelberg 3 times and always enjoyed it. I suppose it depends on how young/old nyc girl is. The row of student bars is part of the Heidelberg student culture & history. Some students may have overdone the binge drinking so I can understand how JN was turned off by them. We never actually saw people throwing up on the street or anything worse. Heidelberg is large enough that different parts give a different impression so perhaps it may depend on where you're staying. I think Heidelberg makes a good base.

Interestingly, it was in the towns along the Rhein that we saw people drinking themselves into a stupor during the Karneval/Fasching season. People literally passed out on the streets everywhere and many are beyond their foolish age to be doing so.

Annother vote for Bad Wimpfen. My favorite Christmas market. Despite those rowdy college students, I think a night in Heidelberg adds to ones understanding of Germany.

I think Heidelberg is worth a visit, but I don't know that I'd stay there for three days. I was there this summer and was disappointed to see how touristy it had become. I lived there in the 60's when the Hauptstrasse was more than just a long string of fast-food restaurants and souvenir shops.

I love Germany, but nowadays I prefer places like Staufen, Freiburg, Meersburg, Bamberg, Regensburg, Baden-Baden, Schwäbisch Hall, Beilstein, etc., to the better-known tourist destinations such as Heidelberg and Rothenburg.

Heidelberg is alright as an alternative to staying at Frankfurt airport on your finlal night; it's a nice place for a meal and a stroll in the old town area. But I don't think it's special enough to merit 3 days. It might be okay if you use it as a base for heading east to Michelstadt, Bad Wimpfen, etc, on a daytrip up the Neckar. If Burg Hirschhorn is open, stop there for a meal or drink on the patio overlooking the Neckar - a super view. I'd make it a 2-day stay in that case - one for H'berg, one for a daytrip - and add a day to some other destination you have on your itin instead.

nycgirl: To add another day in Heidelberg after the 2 day stay as recommended by Russ, you can visit Speyer and the wine villages of Bensheim & Weinheim. Alternatively, the leafy refined Baden Baden is just an hour train ride south.

Peg: I agree with you as we noticed that too over the years, however it's nycgirl first time. I believe many of us in the US define Germany as the Romantic Road,the Rhine/Mosel valley and even Heidelberg.

We still enjoy those popular destinations when we take along friends through Germany. We get to enjoy it through their eyes & excitement. Otherwise, we prefer to stay in the less travelled northern Germany to absorb a more normal Germany without the touristy/kistchy shops galore.

Sorry, DAX, but I don't think you were fair in your assessment of Bad Wimpfen.

The 13th century ruins of the Imperial Palace with it's still intact Blue and Red Towers and old town fortifications alone would be enough to recommend this lovely town perched above the Neckar River. But when you add the half timbered houses, churches, fountains, etc., we found it to be a treasure. It isn't teeming with nightlife, so I guess if that's your thing, then maybe BW isn't for you. But I'd hate for your statements to keep people from visiting BW.

Nycgirl, please check out this website in English:

http://www.badwimpfen.de/showpage.ph...ang=2&sn=1

Also, you might want to see some of the pictures my husband took in our album of Small Towns in Germany and Austria on webshots.com (search for dkubiak).

I agree. There are more attractive things to do than just see Heidelberg the last three days. If you are taking off from Franfurt at the end of this, I would probably suggest staying in Wiedbaden, doing a day trip to Heidelberg and another into the beautiful Rheingau wine country, and touring the Wiesbaden/Mainz area for a day.

We stayed in Heidelberg in 2003 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Central Hotel near the Bahnhof was v.good. Great breakfast included.
Visit the castle via the fuicular and make sure you see the Pharmacy museum. Visit the University museum. This University from which Goebells graduated played a large role in the rise of the Nazis in 1920 to the war. Visit the Studenten Kazaar.The Neckar river is beautiful. If you are staying a while the Heidelberg tourist card is worthwhile, it covers all transport.
Go you will enjoy Heidelberg

wow! this was really helpful, thank you!

I called our 8-day trip a "marathon" because we're going to be driving around quite a bit and I know my mother is going to get pretty worn out. We're pretty young and spry but it's sure to be an exhausting week!

I'll definitely take these recommendations into consideration. Thanks so much for all the feedback!

bettyK: On the contrary, I enjoy visiting Bad Wimpfen, that's why I wrote that I would add it to Hildebrandt's list of towns to visit from Heidelberg. I just wouldn't favor staying in Bad Wimpfen over Heidelberg. I only regretted my second visit to Bad Wimpfen when I led a group of 11 first timers and BW was the one town we stayed in that our friends were least excited about.
I enjoy seeing your pictures of Miltenberg & Wertheim as they are some of my favorite small towns as well. I've been to Lungern & the lake a couple of times but didn't expect anybody would bother going to Lungern, I can't help wonder what led you there?