Go Citybreak: This medieval city has retained its charms despite a tourist boom, writes Tony Clayton-Lea
THERE IS something quite cool and charming about Heidelberg. It might be one of the most visited cities in Germany, with three million tourists a year, but it doesn’t seem to suffer from tourist ennui in the way that other cities in Europe do. Yes, the city’s Untere Strasse bounces with the buzz of stag and hen parties, in the dark hours at least, but its bars know when to pull down the shutters and send the merrymakers on their wobbly way.
There is a sensibility to the city, then, as well as a sense of perspective, that is directly related, you could argue, to its image of being pivotal to the Romantic era. In fact, it’s more than an image; the early-19th-century movement urged artists and thinkers to embrace their national identity and to see the city’s semi-ruined castles, densely wooded surroundings and then newly re-established university as ideal breeding grounds for a blend of pragmatism, culture, intellect and ideals.
Yet Heidelberg means different things to different people. The castle ruin is the best-known symbol of the city and one of the most significant cultural monuments in Germany. Ruprecht-Karls-University, which was founded in 1386, and its non-university research facilities – three of which are among the top 25 in the world: the German Cancer Research Centre, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Max Planck Institutes – have thrust Heidelberg forward as being one of the world’s most highly-regarded scientific hubs. Its second-largest group of non- natives (students are its first) are American, and some don’t visit voluntarily – the city is the European headquarters of the US army, whose personnel live in self-sufficient, self-administered “Little America” bases on the south side of Heidelberg.
Elements of all of the above commingle, which makes the city thrum to the mixture of scholarship, the military, idealism and science.
The focus, however, is the majestic castle ruin, seated above Old Town and the River Neckar. It’s an absurdly theatrical backdrop to a part of the city that hasn’t changed in a few hundred years – it was destroyed in 1693, during the Palatinate War of Succession, but was reconstructed in baroque style in the 18th century. The fact that it was spared destruction in the World Wars has also bestowed the city a veneer of luck and charm.
It is billed – perhaps too floridly – by the local tourism people as a romantic city of dreams in a storybook setting, but there is something truly lovely about the juxtaposition of the castle and Old Town.
While New Town does exactly what new towns do – high-street stores, fast-food outlets and so on – it is the extensive Old Town that transfixes the gaze, leading you to regard the comments of former visitor Mark Twain as well intentioned if understated: “One thinks Heidelberg by day – with its surroundings – is the last possibility of the beautiful; but when he sees Heidelberg by night . . .”
Strolling along the almost exhaustive Hauptstrasse, particularly as the New Town area around Bismarck Square fades into the distance, is a really cool small-city experience. Distinct buildings house singular bars; cafes, hotels and shops are to your left and right, while the side streets jostle for your attention.
No visit to Heidelberg, however, is complete without a stroll in the grounds of the castle (reached from Old Town by either more than 300 knee- wearying steps or the Castle stop on the funicular railway).
The heyday of this important Renaissance structure and world-famous landmark may have been from 1356 to 1693, but even now, with parts of it renovated to accommodate a stream of visitors each day, its majesty remains.
In a less hyperbolic, perhaps, but no less important way, there’s a regal quality about the city itself that stays with you even months after you arrive home. An imprint – for want of a better word – that is difficult to erase. Not that we’d ever want to, of course.
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go for a weekend in this ancient university city
5 places to stay
Hotel Hollaender Hof. Neckarstaden 66, 00-49-6221-60500, hollaender-hof.de. A charming, independently run hotel with a deft personal touch, located in the heart of Old Town. Doubles from €108.
Der Europäische Hof. Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 1, 00-49-6221-5150, europaeischerhof.com. A privately run five-star hotel that oozes luxury across its 118 rooms, junior suites, apartments and 200sq m penthouse suite. A beautiful, cultivated option – if you can afford it. Doubles from €168.
Hip-Hotel. Hauptstrasse 115, 00-49-6221-20879, hip-hotel.de. This is an amazing place – four storeys of rooms that are designed in the theme of the world's cities. Forget cliches – interior designer Karim Kischka has put much original thought and design nous into these smartly appointed rooms. Our favourite? Ottawa, with its frontier-pioneer chic. Doubles from €140.
Marriott Hotel. Vangerowstrasse 16, 00-49-6221-9080, marriotthotels.com/hdbmc.Brand hotels work for a number of specific and necessary reasons; this has all the amenities you would expect from such a chain, albeit with, alas, little charm or individuality. Weekend rates from €199.
Hotel Villa Marstall. Lauerstrasse 1, 00-49-6221-655570, villamarstall.de. Situated in the centre of Old Town, this hotel dating from 1876 offers bright, airy rooms with views of Heidelberg Castle. Doubles from €105 (excluding breakfast).
5 places to eat
Schnookeloch. Haspelgasse 8, 00-49-6221-138080, schnookeloch.de. One of several places in the city where students in their university uniform can congregate and talk about the next day's fencing contests. Think charm in abundance, dinner and a pint from €14, and more archive photos than you'll have time to peruse.
Casa del Caffè. Steingasse 8, 00-49-6221-29969, casa-del-caffe.de. Something of a charmer – a narrow, idiosyncratic coffee house where the sounds of milk being frothed and coffee being ground sit side by side with friendly staff. Reasonable prices, too: cappuccino or caffè latte from €2.30.
Café Perkeo. Hauptstrasse 75, 00-49-6221-6500056, perkeo.info. This streetside cafe looks small from outside, but once you enter it widens into a circular room garlanded with picture frames and posters, and girded by beautiful carved wooden wainscoting.
Pop. Untere Strasse 17, 0049-6221-25559, pop.heidelberg.de. Excellent Italian cooking here has been enjoyed by the likes of Neil Young and Frank Zappa. The historic interior is a protected heritage site, its walls graced by works of art by Andy Warhol and Roy Liechtenstein. Pop, indeed.
Merlin Bar Restaurant. Bergheimer Strasse 85, 00-49-6221-657864, cafe-merlin.de. Ever so slightly out of the city centre, this is nonetheless worth a visit for a relaxed approach that reflects a New York frame of mind. Very reasonably priced beer and free Wi-Fi.
5 places to go
Heidelberg Castle. It took 200 years to build, and is now partly in ruins, but much of it remains – not least the "Great Wine Barrel" and the impressive gardens, which have made it one of Europe's great cultural monuments.
The Philosopher's Way. This is the path along the southern slope of the Heiligenberg mountain, considered one of the most beautiful walks in Germany. Much exotic flora (cypresses, pomegranate, pines and palms) flourishes here.
Mark Twain's Footsteps. In his book
A Tramp AbroadTwain describes his journeys in Europe, including a stay in Heidelberg, in 1878. He stayed at the Schloss Hotel (Zwingerstrasse 20, 00-49- 6221-14170, schoenbergerhof. de), a stop on the route.
Absinthe House. Untere Strasse 14, 00-49-6221-4339230, absinthehouse.com. Three words: fab, fab, fab. Houses the world's largest selection of absinthe (and a multitude of accessories and "absintheabilia") in a bottles that range from the ungainly to the beautiful.
Ruprecht-Karls-University. Germany's oldest university (founded in 1386, a "centre of excellence" since 2007) is one of the world's highest-ranking institutions of higher education.
Hit the shops
Running east from Bismarckplatz to Karlstor, and cutting a swathe through Old Town, Hauptstrasse is one of the longest pedestrian shopping zones in Germany. Shopping starts at Galeria Kaufhof, on Bismarckplatz, with the likes of HM and Mango and continues towards the end of Old Town with rather less conventional retail outlets. Check out most of the side streets and some of the parallel streets (including Plock Strasse, Neugasse and Sophienstrasse) for small, independent shopping.
Hot spot
Print Media Lounge. Kurfürstenanlage 60, 00-49-6221-653949, printmedialounge.de. Known in shorthand as PML, this seriously postmodern building (in layman's terms it's a futuristic glass cube) boasts the coolest interior in the city and the hottest selection of cocktails (more than 130) and whiskies (more than 60).
Check out
The Record Store. Brunnenstrasse 186, 00-49-6221-658658, recordstoreberlin.com. There are larger record shops that deal exclusively with vinyl, but this has to be one of the best small ones I've laid eyes on. It's a compact space, but its walls are stacked with racks, sectioned into genres and subgenres. Browse the €3-€9 racks – you never know what you might uncover. All the albums I bought were in mint condition, including a German release of Meet the Beatles. Fans of rare jazz and classical music should also try Vinyl Only (Hauptstrasse 133, 00-49-6221-168816, vinyl-only. eu).
On your bike
Forest rails and wine routes are not far away, so why not hire a bicycle at Rent-a-Bike (Old Bridge, Neckarstaden 52, 00-49-6221-6544460, eldorado-hd.de). Rental costs €5 per hour or €15 per day.
See more for less
The HeidelbergCard – which comes in one-, two- and four-day versions (€12.50- €22), as well as a two-day family variety for two adults and three children up to the age of 16 (€30) – gives you unlimited journeys on trams, buses and the funicular, admission to the castle and city museums (including the Museum of Church Art and Liturgy and the German Packaging Museum) and money off guided tours. Available from the town hall, Käthe Wohlfahrt, University Square, and many hotels.
Go there: Aer Lingus (aerlingus. com) and Lufthansa (lufthansa. com) fly from Dublin to Frankfurt Airport. Airport Bus (lufthansa-airportbus.de) leaves for Heidelberg, 80km away, from Terminal 1, Arrivals Hall B. Booking is advised. Trains (bahn.de) leave for Heidelberg from Fernbahnhof station, opposite Terminal 1.
heidelberg-tourismus.de