Activities & Sightseeing

Organized Activities


Tuesday afternoon program:
Guided City Tour	A guided city tour through the old town of Heidelberg visiting the most famous sights. The tour will take about three hours and will be available in German and English. (Fee: 10€)
	Meeting point: Universitätsplatz
Boat Tour	The “Burgenfahrt” by the Weisse Flotte company. A boat trip along the Neckar river to Neckarsteinach and back. Along the way, one passes the old town of Heidelberg as well as several castles. The ride takes about three hours. (Fee: 19€)
	Meeting point: Neckarstaden 25
Hiking	An individual hike along the famous Philosopher’s way above the city and through the old town. Suggested path see map above. The hike takes about two hours. (For free)
	Meeting point: Bismarckplatz

Sightseeing in Heidelberg

A. Old Town

The Old Town of Heidelberg forms a district on the southern bank of the Neckar River. It stretches between the river and the slope of the Königstuhl below Heidelberg Castle. Founded in the 13th century and expanded at the end of the 14th century, today’s Old Town remained synonymous with the city of Heidelberg until well into the 19th century. The Old Town owes its face as a baroque city on a medieval ground plan to the reconstruction of Heidelberg after its destruction in 1693 in the War of the Palatinate Succession. (wikipedia.org)


A1. Heidelberg Castle	“Heidelberg Castle (German: Heidelberger Schloss) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries.” (wikipedia.org)
A2. Old Bridge/Karl-Theodor Bridge	“The Karl Theodor Bridge (German: Karl-Theodor-Brücke), commonly known as the Old Bridge (Alte Brücke), is an arch bridge in Heidelberg that crosses the Neckar river. It connects the Old City with the eastern part of the Neuenheim district of the city on the opposite bank.” (wikipedia.org)
A3. Old University Campus	“The so-called New University is regarded as the center of the Old Town Campus. It is situated at the Universitätsplatz (University Square) in the pedestrian zone, in direct vicinity to the University Library and to the main administration buildings. The New University was officially opened in 1931."(wikipedia.org)
A4. Old University Library	“The University Library Heidelberg (German: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg) is the central library of the University of Heidelberg. It constitutes together with the 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes the University Library System, which is headed by the director of the University Library.” (wikipedia.org)
A5. Church of the Holy Spirit	“The Church of the Holy Spirit (German: Heiliggeistkirche) is the largest church in Heidelberg, Germany. The church, located in the marketplace in the old town center, was constructed between 1398 and 1515 in the Romanesque and Gothic styles. It annually receives 1–3 million guests a year, making it among the most visited churches in Germany.” (wikipedia.org)

B. Neuenheimer Feld

The Neuenheimer Feld is an area in the west of the Heidelberg district Neuenheim, which mainly (but not exclusively) houses the natural science faculties as well as parts of the University Hospital of Heidelberg University. (wikipedia.org)


B1. Heidelberg Zoo	Heidelberg Zoo was founded in 1933 and officially opened on November 20, 1934. The facility covers 10.2 hectares and counted nearly 500,000 visitors in 2015. The animal population includes about 2478 animals in 155 species. (zoo-heidelberg.de)
B2. Botanical Garden	Founded in 1593, the Heidelberg Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical gardens in existence. Significant scientific work by Heidelberg botanists is inextricably linked to it, and its research and conservation collections are world-famous. In addition, there is a herbarium with about 350,000 specimens. (link)

Sightseeing Around Heidelberg

C. Königstuhl

“The Königstuhl is a 567.8 metres (1,863 ft) high hill in the Odenwald Mountains and in the city of Heidelberg, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The Königstuhl summit allows visitors views of the city of Heidelberg and the Neckar river.” (wikipedia.org)

D. Heiligenberg

“The Heiligenberg is a large wooded hill overlooking the town of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It rises to around 440 metres NHN (short for normalhöhennull or “standard elevation zero,” the equivalent of sea level in Germany). It has been the site of many historic and pre-historic constructions, including a Celtic hilltop fortification, a Roman sacred precinct, several medieval monasteries, modern lookout towers and the Heidelberg Thingstätte, built by the Nazis in the 1930s.” (wikipedia.org)


D1. Philosophenweg/Philosopher’s Way	The Philosopher’s Way is a ca. 2 km long path up the Heiligenberg, which provides a incredible view over the Heidelberg Old Town district and the Königstuhl.
D2. Thingstätte	“During the Third Reich, the Heidelberg Thingstätte open-air theatre was constructed in 1934/5 on the ridge between the Heiligenberg and the Michaelsberg as part of the Thingspiel movement. It is once more in use as a venue for open-air events.” (wikipedia.org)
D3. Monastery Ruins	Two ruins remain on the Heiligenberg, the ruin of the basilica church of the St. Michael (built in 1023) monastery and the ruin of the St. Stephen (built in the 11th century) monastery. Within the nave of St. Michael are traces of the Roman temple of Mercury.

Near Locations

E. Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen is a town in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, about 10 kilometers west of Heidelberg and 15 kilometers southeast of Mannheim. Remarkable is its largely preserved baroque castle complex with park, part of the Burgenstraße, a vacation route from Mannheim to Prague founded in 1954. (wikipedia.org)

F. Speyer

“Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lies 25 km (16 miles) south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, and 21 km (13 miles) south-west of Heidelberg. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany’s oldest cities. Speyer Cathedral, a number of other churches, and the Altpörtel (old gate) dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman Emperors and German kings. " (wikipedia.org)