Heidelberg
Travel and Tourist Information
ABOVE:
Heidelberg Castle overlooks the old
town, where a stone bridge crosses the Neckar River.
Heidelberg has a
long history of welcoming English-speaking travelers. One of the earliest (and
most celebrated) was Mark Twain, who spent several months in Heidelberg with his
family in 1878 and described the experience in
A Tramp Abroad.
Thanks to a long history of Anglo-Saxon infatuation with
Heidelberg, the city was off-limits to Allied bombing in World War II--which is why
you'll still see heavy, historic buildings of red sandstone in the Altstadt
or Old Town: buildings that look genuinely old, not restored or rebuilt from
ruins.
Heidelberg's attractions include a romantic castle, Germany's
oldest university, a hillside "Philosopher's Walk," boat trips on the Neckar
River, and countless taverns, cafés, and
restaurants where you can sample local wines and the comfort-food gastronomy of
Germany's Palatinate (now incorporated into the state of Baden-Württemburg,
which lies in Southwestern Germany near Switzerland and France). Heidelberg is
easily worth a visit of several days--or, better yet, a week--and because
English is widely spoken in the town, it's a great place for first-time visitors
to Germany who aren't comfortable with the language of Goethe, Heine, or Run
Lola Run.
Next page:
History and background
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