Things to Do in Heidelberg for a Great Day Trip
Things to Do in Heidelberg for a Great Day Trip – This university town offers monkeys, funiculars and a castle. Here are the highlights.
Old Bridge / Monkey Statue / Funiculars / Marktplatz / Love Lock Stone / Castle / Food & Drink / Shopping / Philosopher’s Way / Zoo
Make for the Old Bridge – Things to Do in Heidelberg
FREE – The Old Bridge dates back to the 18th century and crosses the River Neckar, and it’s more intriguing than a simple river crossing. Firstly, find the monkey!
Spot the Bronze Monkey & Mouse
FREE – There’s been a ‘Brückenaffe’ or Bridge Monkey statue in Heidelberg since the 15th century, but the current creation dates to 1979. Find it on the southern side of the bridge near the Tower. The monkey was meant as a symobol of mockery, with the mirror inviting self-reflection and humility. The myth goes that if you touch its fingers you’ll return to Heidelberg. If a visitor touches the mirror, they will become wealthy, and if they touch the mice next to the monkey, they will have lots of rugrats. I think we touched all of them!
Cross the Bridge Looking Back to Bridge Tower and Castle
FREE From the Old Bridge you get imposing views of the Bridge Tower, a former guardhouse and jail, plus you can get good shots uphill towards the castle.
Find the Love Lock Stone – Things to Do in Heidelberg
FREE On the northern side of the bridge find the Love Stone on Nepomuk Terrace. Made of sandstone, lovers are encouraged to attach padlocks to it. While it’s curiously photogenic in its own right, some people miss the fact that the wee cut-out hole perfectly frames the castle in the background.
Hang out at Marktplatz – Things to Do in Heidelberg
In the Marktplatz look out for the Hercules Fountain, built 1706-1709 to commemorate the rebuilding of the city after the Thirty Years’ War. The Marktplatz is also home to Heidelberg’s Christmas Market. Ample food and drink opportunities here as well if you fancy a meal and some people watching.
Funiculars & a Castle
Why run one funicular when you can operate two?! The first funicular, from ground level to the castle, is a modern affair. The second, more characterful old funicular, runs from the castle to the Königstuhl summit. There are several ticket options, but we opted to ride both funiculars on a single ticket, meaning we walked downhill. When we visited in high season (July), the funiculars ran regularly and queues were minimal.
Explore the Summit & Walk Down to the Castle
FREE At the top of Königstuhl you get great views down over Heidelberg. We arrived to a blustery scene but the sun soon came out. There were also some walking trails to follow and art installations to admire, so you could spend some time up top. Due to the weather we only spent 20 minutes at the top before walking down towards the castle. The route is very clear, expect large rocky steps (as pictured) under a canopy of trees, which gives some shelter from wind, rain and sun! It was about a half hour walk downhill from the summit to the castle.
Discover the Castle – Things to Do in Heidelberg
Heidelberg Castle is a must-see. Towering over the Neckar Valley it’s the powerhouse of the lively Palatine Counts and Electors from the House of Wittelsbach. As each prince added his own architectural stamp to the castle, expect to find a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles, plus the world’s biggest wine barrels to celebrate.
Take in the Views & Find the Wine Barrels
From the castle terrace and viewing towers you get great vistas over Heidelberg. You can spend ages here just sitting in the sun. Another quirky attraction is finding the world’s largest wine barrel, which I thought I’d found in my snapshot above. In a Crocodile Dundee moment I realised I was wrong, when my son found an even larger barrel (he looks tiny standing on top of it, yes there are steps to the top). At the time I had no idea why I was looking at big barrels, apparently the Prince Electors held very lively parties and constructed a wine barrel that held 130,000 litres of wine. Party on! When this was damaged in war, the small barrel on display was built for 200,000l, and the bigger one holds 220,000!
Food & Drink
For traditional German food or beer consider Kulturbrauerei Heidelberg (Culture Brewery) or Vetter’s Alt Heidelberger Brauhaus. We’d eaten German food for days, so opted for a change, dining at Phuket Thai restaurant next to the Old Bridge. Due to its location, we worried Phuket could be a bit of a tourist trap, but we ate so much fantastic duck, and the couple who served us were lovely. Recommend! Follow up with ice cream from That’s Gelato, and perhaps a cheeky vino at Wine’s Bar and Bistro.
There is also a bar dedicated to the monkey’s arse, Zum Brueckenaff – unmissable! 🙂
Shopping on Hauptstraße Street
Stroll along Hauptstraße, one of the longest car-free streets in Germany. Ample coffee shops allow for pitstops. Shops vary between high street favourites and independent sellers.
Things We Didn’t Fit In – Things to Do in Heidelberg
Hike Philosophers Way
This scenic walk is on the southern side of the river, it’s steep and quite long, so it didn’t fit our itinerary, but if we’d stayed longer it would have been top of our list.
Heidelberg Zoo
Over 150 different types of animals, ranging from red pandas to tigers.
Enjoy Heidelberg!
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