What to do in Darmstadt??
 

Hi people,<BR>I'll be in Darmstadt for about a week towards the end of March. Mornings are mostly shot - work- but what to do in the evenings? <BR>What is there to see? how's the shopping? where to go?<BR>Also, any clue about what should I expect in terms of weather at the time?<BR>Thanks a bunch.<BR>

Long time since I was there but I do not envy you. Darmstadt has a certain amount of industry and is not a tourist centre at all. It was hit in the war but they did a reasonable effort in pedestrianising centre and rebuilding a pleasant centre - like lots of German industrial towns to their credit. As a reasonably large town you have a selection of standard German shops but again nothing special and you will have a standard set of restaurants but again do not expect anything overly special in total (fashionable + good food) terms - at least not in comparison to what you will find in say Frankfurt - nearest big city.

Like Travelnick said the town itself is not very scenic, however the town center is quite nice and there are tons of disco's for dancing.<BR>There are quite a few nice towns nearby. Heidelberg is just a 30 minute train ride South. Mainz or the Rhine river is not too far to the West. And if you can, take the train to Michelstadt. A quaint town with many half timbered homes.<BR>Just learn to use the train and you can see and do lots. <BR>Have a shot of Asbach for me while there will ya?

We had a nice lunch at the Burg Frankenstein restaurant on top of a mountain overlooking the city next to the Frankenstein castle. I don't know if it is open all year. Here is the info:<BR><BR>http://www.burg-frankenstein.de/index.html<BR><BR>The castle was in the process of restoration.

Though I agree that Darmstadt is not a tourist mecca, I would describe it more of a business center than an industrial town and as such offers better dining and nightlife than one would expect. As previously mentioned you will be only 30 minutes from Mainz and Heidelberg as well as 30 minutes from Frankfurt for more high-class dining and nightlife - really just a short commute! In addition to Michelsberg you might want to consider day trips to Worms and Speyer - 2 very historic towns. Actually I envy you! Enjoy!