Heidelberg
Germany
A ruined red castle above a river, Germany’s oldest university below it, and a Christmas market strung along a street that was not bombed
Photo by Jahanzeb Ahsan on Unsplash
Photos by María López Jorge, Ruben Hanssen, Brina Blum and Khaled Ali on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Germany
Late November to late December for the markets, and May to September for everything else — the markets are busiest at weekends and in the last fortnight before the holiday
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Jun
Where it is
49.41°N, 8.69°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk the Philosophenweg for the view of the castle
- Go up to the castle by funicular and walk down
- Find the student prison and read the walls
- See the market along the Hauptstraße after dark
- Rub the monkey on the old bridge, as everyone does
Heidelberg travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Germany
Mid-rangeEuro, and cards work almost everywhere — but the Christmas market stalls are the exception, and a good many of them still want cash for a mug of Glühwein. Carry notes for the market and nothing else. Never change money at a station booth.
ATMs & cards
Use a bank’s own machine — Sparkasse, Volksbank, ING, BNP — rather than the Euronet ones near the markets and stations, which charge and push their own conversion. Always decline the conversion.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- the machines beside the Christmas markets
Use these instead
- Sparkasse
- Volksbank
- Deutsche Bank
- Commerzbank
Decline the conversion. Draw before the market rather than at it: the independent machines cluster where the stalls are, and a good many stalls still want cash.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Germany
Very safeVery comfortable, and busy with students. The Hauptstraße is packed solid during the market and in high summer. The castle path and the Philosophenweg are steep and the latter is unlit at the top, which catches people out coming down at dusk.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (4 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the top of the Philosophenweg at dusk — steep, unlit and easy to start down later than intended
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Germany visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Germany
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for the south (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg) if walking in forests
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodKurpfälzer cooking: Saumagen, which is a stuffed stomach and better than it sounds; Handkäs mit Musik; and the market’s Glühwein. The Hauptstraße restaurants are priced for the view; the streets north of it are not.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- FREE NOWWorks here
Uber brokers licensed hire cars rather than its own drivers
- Against a taxi
- Roughly level with the meter, and Germany is one of the few places where a taxi is sometimes cheaper.
The Rückkehrpflicht — hire cars must return to base between jobs — is why a car can be ten minutes away in a small city.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Berlin — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Getting online
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Germany, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
German
- HelloGuten TagGOO-ten tahk
- PleaseBitteBI-tuh
- Thank youDankeDAN-kuh
- Yes / NoJa / Neinya / nine
4 more phrases
- Excuse meEntschuldigungent-SHOOL-di-gung
- How much is it?Was kostet das?vas KOS-tet das
- The bill, pleaseDie Rechnung, bittedee REKH-nung
- Cheers!Prost!prohst
Religion
Split Catholic and Protestant, and largely secular
The south is Catholic, the north Protestant, and a growing share is neither. Church tax is a real thing residents pay.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Be punctual — arriving late without warning is genuinely rude
- Separate your rubbish; recycling rules are taken seriously
- Make eye contact when toasting, and say prost
- Carry cash; plenty of bars and restaurants still refuse cards
Don't
- Do not jaywalk, especially with children present — people will tell you off
- Do not make Nazi references or salutes, even as a joke; several are criminal offences
- Do not walk in the red-paved bike lanes
- Do not expect small talk from strangers; directness is not coldness
Where to stay in Heidelberg
No Holistay rentals in Heidelberg yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Heidelberg on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Frankfurt FRA
1hfrom the airport· 85 km as the crow flies
1h by direct coach, or train via Mannheim.
Also worth pricing: Stuttgart STR — an hour and a half by train.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
