travelinsong

Hi all,

I will be visiting Germany and Prague at the beginning of this September. I will be going straight to Prague upon my arrival for 2-3 days but then I come back to Germany for 6-7 days. I will be staying in the SW part of Germany, about 40 minutes from Heidelberg. Does anyone have any suggestions of interesting things to do/places to see/etc?

Thanks for your help!

fritzrl

Suggestion:

Click on "destinations", right next to the "Fodors" logo. Then click on the "Europe" tab, scroll down, looking for "Germany". Then click on "Heidelberg".

That should help a lot.

Fritzl

travelinsong

Thanks, fritzrl--

I have already checked this website and was curious to find out more from others and their own experiences. Places to stay, restaurants, things to do, etc. Anything that really stuck out during your own trip that wasn't necessarily in a guidebook or on a website. Thanks!

Pegontheroad

Among my favorite places in SW Germany are Baden-Baden, Freiburg and the nearby small town of Staufen, and Meersburg.

A little further north and east are Würzburg (with its gorgeous Residenz)and Bamberg, which I think is really charming. Schwäbisch Hall is nearby. It's a lovely medieval town with few tourists. Somewhat to the north and west of Heidelberg, on the Mosel River, is Beilstein, with my favorite castle (Burg Eltz) nearby.

There are just so many wonderful places in southern Germany...

buongiorno

I'm just curious, how did you decide to spend twice as long in Germany over Prague if you didn't have an idea why to go there?

fritzrl

Didn't mean to be rude, travelin' -- but at first glance your post looked an awful lot like one of those "I'm going to Europe, so where should I go, and what should I see?" inquiries that clearly indicate that the poster hasn't yet done any research.

So, glad to see your clarification.

I actually haven't visited Heidelberg. I have an internet pen-pal who lives there, though, who when he feels like escaping the mobs of visitors, retires to nearby Schwetzingen to visit the gardens and parks there. Perhaps that bit of info would be useful to you.

Also: I must second the vote for a visit to nearby Baden-Baden. I spent 2 days there last year, enjoyed both the Therme (spa) and the general ambience of the town. Quite pleasant, and well worth a day or so of your stay.

Fritzl

bettyk

If you want a small lovely medieval town without tourists then please go to Bad Wimpfen. It is amazing. It's only about an hour or so from Heidelberg on the Neckar River.

http://www.badwimpfen.de/showpage.php?lang=2

We have also visited Schwaebisch Hall and it is definitely worthwhile altho larger than Bad Wimpfen.

http://www.schwaebischhall.de/www_sc...l_de.37.0.html

Both of the above websites are in English.

quokka

Palaces and gardens in Baden-Württemberg: http://www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de/eng/index.php - contains info about Heidelberg palace, the Schwetzingen gardens and many other places to see. Two real jewels: Maulbronn monastery (Romanesque) and Rastatt (fully furnitured baroque palace).

Other suggestions:
A boat tour on the River Neckar to Neckarsteinach or Hirschhorn (haven't yet done that myself but heard that it's beautiful
Speyer with its amazing cathedral
A day trip to Strasbourg
Tübingen - romantic old university town
Train to Annweiler and hiking up to Trifels castle
The Black Forest is close

40 minutes from Heidelberg means where? I'm curious...

Feel free to ask further questions - you're talking to a local.

annesherrod

I agree with Pegontheroad's responce.

i would add a visit to Cochem. There is a lovely caslte and a great little twon right on theMosel.

I have a name of a great Hotel if you would like it. The rooms overlook the river and the vinyards on the opposite side. Very lovely. A short drive to Burg Eltz - my favorite German Castle.

Def spend some time on the Bodensee.A nice boat ride will take you to a place called Insel mainau. It is worth the trip. It is a tropical island in the middle of the lake.It boasts lemon trees and amazing rose bushes, gifts from Napoleon that are 12 ft high in some cases. There is actually a lot to see and do here.. checkit out.
have fun!!!

Tootsall

We've just returned from 3 weeks in Bavaria. I can highly recommend Passau which is located on the Danube and where you can find (and listen to in a daily, noon-hour concert), the world's largest church pipe organ... close to 18,000 (yes, thousand) pipes! While there you can hop one of the river boat tours (Wurm and Klocke) for a run down to Linz, Austria and then back by bus. Sit on the top deck and grab photo shots of the various "piles of stone" (as my son called all the castles) along the river banks and along the tops of the hills. Pay the extra 8 euro and get the lunch buffet onboard as well.

If you are staying overnight then the Passauer Wolf hotel was clean and extraordinarily well-located right between the old part of town and the Danube. I only wish we'd had time to rent bicycles... you can get the cruise company to drop you off 10, 20, 30 km "out of town" and ride back by bike.... meandering bike path paralleling the river and dead horizontal (35 meters of elevation drop over 71 km between Passau and Linz).

Tootsall

Oh... and I nearly forgot... you can walk to the train station in Passau. From there it's an easy 2-1/2 hour train ride to Munich where you can catch the "S-Bahn" which will run you out to the airport if that's your return departure location.

Dreamer2

I definitely agree with the recommendations of:
Black Forest
Lindau/Mainau (and Stein am Rhine)
Munich
A Rhine tour to see the castles from the river

And would add:
Rothenburg ob de Tauber
Visit to a vineyard (There are likely to be some nice local festivals that time of year! )

Most of the above would be within a two hour drive of the Heidelberg area (I think except for Bodensee/Lake Constance) . So they make for good, albeit long, "day" trips.

Enjoy!