This should be a handy guide if you intend to visit Heidelberg, so you might want to print it out.

I lived in the area for over a year and went out in Heidelberg at least once a week. I have gained a pretty good insight into what there is to do in this very busy town – and also what should be avoided.

What are the sights worth seeing?

What is there to do as a tourist?

If you fancy something slightly more active (but only slightly), the canoe club will hire you out a pedalo that you can use on the river for half an hour or more. This is quite popular in nice weather but is great relaxing fun. A half hour trip costs just 10DM for two to three people – bargain!

As already touched upon, a trip around the castle is a must. The cost to walk around the grounds is 4DM per adult and the tape recorded guided tour (where you wander around the grounds listening to an automatic contraption that looks a bit like a telephone with a battery power pack – very amusing sight for those not participating) is about 6DM (two quid approx.). I haven’t been on this guided tour as I feel you can see enough of the castle by yourself (and have no patience with poorly translated history bumph), but if you want to learn more about the history and see more of the building, it might be worth it. There is also an apothecary museum on the castle site (with lots of old-fashioned medicines in it) which is worth seeing if the weather isn’t so good. And don’t forget to visit the “Großer Faß” (big barrel) – this is a gigantic beer barrel and is one of the big tourist attractions of the castle. If you can bear to squeeze past the hordes of Japanese and American tourists, it’s quite impressive (despite having been almost completely covered in graffiti) although I don’t think it is something you’d want to see more than once.

I actually intend writing a separate op on restaurants in Heidelberg as there are far too many to cover in this overview. Suffice to say that there is a vast choice of local and international specialities alike. My favourites are Le Coq, Cafe Journal (although this is, to be fair, one of a chain of cafes found all over Germany), Der Bierkrug, The Indian Palace, and the Dimitrius Greek restaurant (information on locations and prices will shortly be found in the aforementioned review).

There are a plethora of bars here that again suit a variety of tastes. If you like cocktails you should try Havana’s, Ziegler’s, Merlin’s, or Hemmingway’s. Havana’s and Hemmingway’s are both located on the road running alongside the river (the town centre side) and they are both very popular. What they have to offer is a great atmosphere (especially Havana’s with its up-beat Latino vibes) and great drinks, although because of this, service is very slow, especially if you order food – I waited over an hour once for nothing more than a filled tortilla. Merlin’s and Ziegler’s are set slightly away from the others, although still well within walking distance of Bismarckplatz, so you don’t have to wait quite as long.

Unfortunately Heidelberg (like a great many towns in Germany) is not ideal for clubbers. There are only two worth mentioning; Nachtschicht and Schwimmbad, and neither are much to write home about. Nachtschicht is very close to the train station (next to the Lidl supermarket) and is not much more than a large warehouse. Music varies depending on the night between R&B, special event nights and general pop. Schwimmbad has three floors that on a Friday or Saturday night each play varying music types. I went one night and there was a floor playing Trance, a floor playing Reggae and a floor playing more general house.

Germany is becoming increasingly like the U.K. in that there are a few standard chain stores which pop up in every town. Heidelberg is no exception and has the usual two H&M stores, a C&A, two Kaufhofs (large Germany-wide department stores), two Douglas perfumery stores, a Body Shop, a Benetton etc etc. It does however also have a selection of more unusual individual stores. The street called Plöck, for example, (which is a long narrow street running parallel to the Hauptstraße) has a variety of smaller independent stores, including great bookstores and shoe shops.

Heidelberg, especially in high season, is always chock-a-bloc with tourists – I have never seen the castle without first having to fight my way through hordes of Japanese and American tourists. Because of the tourists, this also puts the prices up in the touristy cafes and bars – another good reason to try places that are a little off the beaten track.

I would recommend spending about a week in the area, in order to spend a few days in Heidelberg, and then a few days in surrounding towns such as Schwetzingen (for the stately mansion), Weinheim (for the quaint streets, breath-taking park, and courtyard of picturesque restaurants), and Speyer (for the cathedral).