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Heidelberg

Travel and Tourist Information

photo - Heidelberg Kongress und Tourimus GmbH

ABOVE: Heidelberg Castle overlooks the old town, where a stone bridge crosses the Neckar River.

Heidelberg, Germany has a long history of welcoming English-speaking travelers--among them, 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. These buildings are 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, and Run Lola Run.

Next page: History and background




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