Heidelberg

Travel times from Augsburg:
Train – 2 hours, 30 mins.
Car – 2 hours, 30 mins.

Continue northwest to the university town of Heidelberg, which has attracted a steady stream of literary greats like Goethe, Eichendorff, Hölderlin, Brentano, Keller, Carl Maria von Weber, Alan Ginsburg, Mark Twain and many more. To see what inspired the Romantics, go for a stroll on the Philosophers’ Walk, one of Europe’s most beautiful walks, high above the town and the Neckar River. For more than 250 years, Heidelberg’s philosophers and university teachers have walked and talked there, inspired by a beautiful view of Heidelberg and a climate much like that of Tuscany.

Twain spent quite a bit of time in and near Heidelberg, and you can still see the sources of much of his writing, especially “A Tramp Abroad,” in the university pubs and dueling fraternities and along the Four Castle Route of the Neckar Valley. Some scholars will even tell you that Twain got the idea for “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” while rafting down the Neckar, an experience he described (but perhaps never actually experienced, other scholars say) in “A Tramp Abroad.”
 
Heidelberg is renowned for its romantic ambiance. Joseph von Eichendorff, who studied in Heidelberg in 1807, could be speaking today: “Heidelberg itself is a magnificent romantic city; there the spring entwines the houses and courtyards and everything ordinary with vines and flowers, and castles and forests tell a wonderful fairytale of times past.”

Take in the magic of the Castle, the Old Bridge and the Old Town panorama; wander through the picturesque side streets full of enticing opportunities to look, poke around and shop; enjoy the varied year-round program of cultural activities and the flair of historic student pubs.

Heidelberg is an endlessly walkable little city. Stroll the Old Town for traditional markets on the squares and cosmopolitan shopping on the bustling Hauptstrasse. The restaurant selection is plentiful, and some of the best people-watching is to be done from outdoor dining on this main pedestrian way.

The ruins of the Heidelberg Castle are a steep but short hike, or one stop up on the funicular rail, from the Old Town. Majestically perched high above the narrow lanes and picturesque roofs of town, the magnificent red sandstone structure crowns the city. For five centuries it was the glamorous residence of the Electors Palatine.

As Germany’s oldest university town, Heidelberg flaunts her distinguished history while retaining a youthful atmosphere. One in five residents is a student, and the many bistros, bars, boutiques, music and dance clubs, coffeehouses and theaters catering to this group are to be enjoyed by the visitor as well. And be sure to treat yourself to a “Student’s Kiss,” Heidelberg’s mouth-wateringly sweet specialty, before moving on to the final leg of your tour of southern Germany.