Heidelberg

Travel times from Mainz:
Train –.55 mins.
Car – 50 mins.

Heidelberg is renowned for its romantic ambiance. Joseph von Eichendorff, the German Romantic poet 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.”  Never does this “fairytale of times past” come more alive than when the magic of Christmas illuminates the Old Town of Heidelberg.

The Christmas market is composed of more than 140 stalls spread across six different squares. In addition to handcrafted gifts and tasty treats, other Old Town attractions in the Old Town. The market is inaugurated annually at city hall with a program of traditional European Christmas music to match the festive cheer. Classical and carol concerts enliven the central churches throughout advent time. Heidelberg’s essential winter experience, “Christmas on Ice,” offers the opportunity to skate in an open-air rink at the very foot of the world-famous castle. While the rink remains the focus for skaters and spectators, other attractions await like the petting zoo with live donkeys, goats and rabbits on the adjacent Kornmarkt square. To make sure none of the Christmas card cosiness escapes your notice, guides even offer a Christmas market walking tour.

Be sure to visit the Market Square, where a village of wooden huts gathered around the Hercules fountain includes the Heidelberg Christmas Pyramid, the new symbol of the Heidelberg Christmas market. It has a diameter and height of more than nine meters, with sculpted figures from Heidelberg’s history rotating inside the tower. In the Santa Claus House, the merry gent will be looking forward to greeting his little visitors and having his picture taken with them.

Luckily for visitors seeking to traverse all six squares of the Christmas Market, Heidelberg is an endlessly walkable little city. Stroll the Old Town to catch the holiday events, or find more cosmopolitan shopping on the bustling Main Street. The restaurant selection is plentiful, and some of the best people-watching is to be done from window-side 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.