We have just about settled on staying in Heidelberg instead of Frankfurt the night before our departure flight back to the US. We will be coming in from Salzburg.

Should we stay more than one day and night? We will arrive before noon and have an 11:20 flight the following morning. We are traveling in December.

How is the city at the holidays? Will there be enough to keep us busy for two full days?

thanks for any advice.

I think I'd stay two, but it depends on how much activity you like to jam into your day. The Heidelberg castle is beautiful, even in its partially ruined state, and is worth a tour. I'd suggest having a beer on even a meal at the Roter Ochs (the Red Ox), which is the classic student pub at which the Sigmund Romberg operetta "The Student Prince" is set.

The student jail is fun, and if you are walkers, you can cross the old Karl Theodore bridge and go to the Philosopher's Way for a good view of the town.

There's a pleasant walk along the Neckar River.

For my two cents, I would stay at Schloss Hotel Hornberg, just about 45 minutes south of Heidelberg

Oh, stay for 2 nights! the castle is quite beautiful and they have a Christmas Market that is fantastic!

Thanks for the replies so far. We do not have a car so will stay in the center. We love to walk and easily average 8-10 miles a day when in Europe on vacation.

It did just seem a shame to stay for just one night.

I booked a suite at the Bayrischer Hof for 85E per night. Any feedback on that hotel?

Hi, kfusto~

We spent 2 nights there at the end of our last trip before flying out of Frankfurt. We stayed at the Ibis, right next to the train station. Unglamorous, but extremely convenient, clean and cheap -- 49 Euros. (I found that Heidelberg hotels in the Altstadt were among the most high priced of any place we've visited...very little budget options for us frugal travelers.) We took the tram, bus, or walked the 25 minutes into the historic area. Getting to the airport in the morning was a breeze via train.

We spent the first day seeing the sights -- the castle, the Haupstrasse, University, and just walking around, sitting in cafes, etc. Frankly, you can see most everything in one day, if you wanted to.

However, on our second day, we took the commuter train to Neckarsteinach (20 minute ride), a small town on the Neckar River.

At Neckarsteinach, we climbed the hill behind the town to visit the ruins of 2 castles (there are actually 4, but 2 are residences and you can't visit them). Then, we crossed the Neckar (walked on the footbridge over the dam) and climbed about 30 minutes up a steep wooded path to visit the charming medieval village of Dilsberg, complete with a lovely castle and walls. Not much to do once you're there, but it was just a lovely little place. Great little chocolate shop there, too. It was a quick walk downhil and across the river back to Neckarsteinach, where we caught the train back. We had hoped to go to Hirschorn, too, but we ran out of time.

Gute Reise!

NanBug, thanks for that! I was going to start researching an easy day trip for the second day there and that sounds like a lovely option. I wonder how it would be in December...

Oh, good, I highly recommend it! The train ride along the Neckar is beautiful, too.

We were there in February, with snow on the ground. It was extremely quiet. All of the riverside restaurants, etc are closed, but we found a little cafe and pizza joint that were open. It was fun to feel like we had the places to ourselves. Have you seen this website? He has pages on Neckarsteinach: http://tinyurl.com/mw8vsj and Dilsberg: http://tinyurl.com/mjb7op. They helped me quite a bit.

Let me know if you need more details.

Heidelberg is pretty low on Rick Steves' totem pole, but I think he's wrong. I enjoyed my three days there a few years ago, even in the rain in mid-October, but two days would have been OK too. I also stayed at the Ibis since I was returning a rental car and planned on the taking the train to Munich from there. There's a McDonalds next to the train station and an internet cafe inside, very convenient.

Just another thought -- Wurzburg is an easy train ride from Frankfurt and a popular destination.

Stayed in Heidelberg last year before flying out of Frankfurt. Lufthansa has a shuttle that leaves from the Crown Plaza that takes a bit over an hour and is a good option for the train. It seems there was a change of trains, not sure. Hope this is helpful.
Glad you decided on two days, think you will love it.

<<Heidelberg is pretty low on Rick Steves' totem pole>>

Even more reason to head there -- I am not a Steeve's fan.

I did look at Wurzburg and still trying to make a final decision.

Würzburg is close to my favorite town in Germany. We are detouring a bit to visit it in an upcoming trip in December. We were there for two days last December. We caught the train from there to the Frankfurt airport. There was an artist market and a medieval market as well as the Christmas market. I really like the walk across the river and up to the castle. My wife most enjoys the Residenz. Our pictures from last December:

http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/gallery...34054479_HmScD

Still, Heidelberg is not bad. I visited there various times when I was assigned in Germany and always enjoyed myself. I do not think that you would lose in either case.

One day or two? I prefer two day stops though it does not always fit the schedule. I like to get a feel for place rather than just see the high spots.

Regards, Gary

we stayed at the marriott - dh was commuting from the states to waldorf for work and his employer put him in a hotel rather than an apartment(go figure); the marriott is a block or so from the train station and a relatively easy walk along the river to town.