vanessagillian

We are thinking of doing a two week house exchange in Heidelberg next September. We will have the use of a car if we go. What I am wondering is if there is enough to do and see in and around that area of Germany, within easy driving distance to get back to where we are staying each evening.
Thanks for any information you might have to offer.
vanessagillian

Pegontheroad

There's a good deal to see within the city, and a cruise on the Neckar is a good experience.

You can go to Hirschhorn and have dinner at the Schloss-Hotel (Castle hotel). Eberbach is nearby. It has a nice medieval center, and Speyer, with its beautiful cathedral is not far away.

A day trip to Stuttgart is also possible. There's a good deal to see there, including the Mercedes museum

I'd suggest you get a guidebook, which will give you more ideas.

agedude

Hello Vanessa,

I spent 3 years in the Heidelberg area (US Military), took a day trip pretty much every weekend, and was never bored. Get a Michelin Green Guide (Sorry Fodor's) and look for sights around the area. Speyer has an incredible cathedral and a fine war museum with a real U-Boat on display. Worms is the birthplace of the Lutheran religion and has many great sites. Bad Duerkheim has a huge winefest and sausage fair in Sept. You will have a blast and will not be bored.

bettyk

I found these websites helpful on my previous trips. We really enjoyed Bad Wimpfen. Small enough that you can see it in a day.

http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/...ckar_river.htm

http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/...ad_wimpfen.htm

NanBug

Another vote for Speyer and Bad Wimpfen, all easily accessible by train.

We also enjoyed a 20 minute train trip to Neckarsteinach to visit several castle ruins and hike to the tiny little medieval hill town of Dilsberg.

You can also reach the Rheinpfalz by train, too. Lovely wine country.

iris1745

Hi good suggestions. Besides being near the Rhine you are close enough to do a day trip to the Mosel with all its wonderful towns, Cochem being one. Richard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heidelberg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cochem

quokka

There is enough to see and do in that region for months, if not years.

In addition to the already mentioned places:
Schwetzingen palace and park
Maulbronn monastery
The Palatinate hills: forests, hiking, castle ruins and views
Trifels castle
All the pretty wine villages along the German Wine Road
Wine festivals - for example, the Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim on the 2nd and 3rd weekend of December (better take the train if you go...)
Ladenburg and Weinheim, two old town gems
Wine regions at your doorstep: Pfalz (Palatinate), Bergstraße, Kraichgau, Rheinhessen, Ortenau
Technical museum Sinsheim
Michelstadt/Odenwald
Baden-Baden and the Black Forest
the Northern end of Alsace is also within reach - Wissembourg, for example

... just to name a few. Google these places.

spassvogel

I am German and have never thought of the possibility to stay in Heidelberg for more than let's say 2 days.
But your thread made me think.

Of course you can spend 2 weeks based in Heidelberg - exploring the city itself - plus visits to surrounding cities, wine lands..........

Easy trip to Strasbour and the like.....explore ELSASS a bit..................go for it.

Sounds wonderful to me - especially as you will have a car!

Enjoy and buy some guide books and start reading/planning and anticipating.

SV

Pegontheroad

I was in Heidelberg for five years in the sixties, teaching at an American high school on base there. I don't think I ever truly appreciated Germany while I lived there, mainly because I was working all the time. On the weekends or on vacations, I tended to go to places more exotic than Germany--Egypt, Israel, England, etc., or I went skiing.

It's only been since I left that I really fell in love with Germany. There are wonderful towns and villages all over Germany and some very impressive scenery.

quokka

As usual Peg - the things at one's doorstep are available next week, too, so one procrastinates visiting them from one week/month/year to another. I moved to this region seven years ago and there are so many places still on my to-do-list. I am ashamed to admit, for example, that I have not yet been to Bad Wimpfen and have never done the Neckar cruise...

quokka

ARRRGGH... been posting about Christmas markets too often recently. Apologies for typo.
Of course the Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim takes place on the second and third weekend of SEPTEMBER.

klondike

We love the Heidelberg area! You won't run out of things to do. Though others dismiss the city as only deserving of a day, there are several wonderful museums and a very active cultural life. The Heiliggeist Kirche and the Jesuit Kirsche have regular free organ recitals and other concerts as well.

Unless I missed it, no one mentioned the stunning palace in Bruchsal and its fascinating musical machines museum (only in German, but well worth it even if you don't understand German)

Schwetzingen is loaded with ambiance and nice restaurants. For the kids, if you have any, there is the Bellamar pool complex. If you're a romantic couple any of the "bads", like Baden-Baden, Bad Durkheim or Bad Kreuzen would be a special treat for a bath, sauna, massage etc.

In September you have the Rhein in Flammen (sp?) and in Heidelberg itself there is the same special fireworks display that recreates the historical burning of the castle. It is a big occasion with many festivities. Best views are from a boat on the Neckar or across the Neckar river along the Philosophers' Way.

We just got in from a quick visit to Worms this afternoon and were taken by the beauty of the Dom (cathedral)--very impressive High altar by Balthazar Neumann and sculpted marble works saved from the demolished cloisters. We will need to return to see the museum, the synagogue and the oldest jewish cemetery in Europe--just ran out of time.

Rothenbourg o/d Tauber is only about an hour and a half away and is rated "worth the trip" by Michelin (see other posts here on Fodors).

Mainhattengirl

You are also quite close to Frankfurt, so consider going there for a day of sightseeing. There are several medieval churches that are well worth visiting, especially the Justinus church in the neighborhood of Hoechst. Built in 850, it is one of Germanys oldest churches. In the downtown area, St. Leonhards-built in 1219, Alte Nikolai built in 1290 and the Deutsche Ordens church-built in 1309. All of these churches are in original or almost orginal state. The Kaiserdom is well worth a stop too.

There are 46 museums to choose from, of all sorts and which cover all kinds of interests.

Frankfurt was famous for its very old and very large Jewish community. The old ghetto wall, the medieval cemetery, 2 museums and the Holocaust Memorial Wall are all worth a visit.

If you will be here the 1st 2 weeks of Sept. the wine fest spread out all along the Fressgasse is nice to visit. 30 vinyards from the Rhine region present about 600 wines. Music and great food to match.

Hans

I agree with everything said before and would just add that Heidelberg is close to Mannheim, one of the main rail hubs in Germany.

The high speed trains from there aren't cheap if you aren't able to get special offers (probably the same as flying). But I think that they're way more convenient than flying since you're more flexible (just show up at the train station), you don't have the trouble with security and the train stations are normally in the centre of the city you travel to, so no need for long and costly transfers.

For a day trip, you can for example be in 90 minutes in Cologne. If you think about maybe staying a night, it's about 3 hours to Munich or Paris.

vanessagillian

Thanks, everyone, for your great advice. I really appreciate all your feedback; it is going to be very helpful when planning our trip. We have the home exchange teed up for early September and are looking forward to it immensely. Now to go out and get some travel books----

hausfrau

Depending on when you will be there in September, you may be able to visit the annual Weindorf (literally "wine village" - a festival devoted to wine and food) in Stuttgart. It is wonderful (even better than the Weihnachtsmarkt in my opinion) and something few tourists get to experience. There are similar festivals in other towns, but Stuttgart's is HUGE and it is a great excuse to visit that fine city (where I lived for 2+ years).

And just to reiterate...YES! There is plenty to do in that area for two weeks. Having a bit more time gives you the opportunity to do more than the usual tourist just passing through. Do some research...let us know your interests...and come back with more questions. Enjoy!

wanderfrau

Lots of great ideas here! quokka has the right idea - hard to be bored in this area of Germany.

vanessagillian

I have heard that a boat ride down the Neckar River is worthwhile,as is a boat trip on the Rhein between Mainz and Koblenz. Also recommended is Sinshiem and a visit to the Technik Museum. Some other fascinating places that we've read about are Rotenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbuhl with their half timbered houses from the middle ages.
Any comments?

klondike

Anyone able to compare the two Techiks museums (Speyer vs. Sinsheim)? I will eventually get around to visiting, but since Speyer is so much closer, I wondered if there was an obvious reason to pass Speyer and go to Sinsheim.

Dukey

Love the area but if I were there for two weeks I would NOT limit myself to having to come back home every night...especially if you've never been to Germany, even that part, before.