After arriving in Frankfurt from California on September 13, we plan to stop in Heidelberg for 1 full day and 2 nights before setting out to explore the Rhine River Valley by car.
Does anyone have recommendations for hotels that have parking facilities and that are easily accessible to the old town. I am a Marriott member and looked into the Heidelberg Marriott, but the reviews were so-so.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Elly Cohen
I would suggest just taking the train to Heidelberg to avoid any problems caused by jet lag, and picking up your car when you leave the city. Heidelberg is easy to get around on public transportation, and you won't need to restrict your accommodation search to only those with parking.
I think CJean's right about avoiding the jet-lagged / drowsy drive to Heidelberg. Chances are quite good that you will not be in optimal driving condition after that very long overnight flight.
I also think you might be wise to avoid the Marriott - not that it's a bad hotel, but it does lie a fair distance from the old-town zone, which is probably a more desirable location for most visitors.
Another thought... After arrival, just head to the hotel of your choice near the airport for a two-night stay - either by hotel shuttle or by train/bus - which should take no more than a few minutes. You can then play things by ear depending on how you feel at that point. Drop your bags and head into Frankfurt or Mainz (by train, 10-20 minutes) for some sightseeing? Check in early and get freshened up, have a meal? With a 2-night stay, you could then pick up the car in the morning after you've rested, drive to Heidelberg for the day, then back to your airport-area hotel in the evening. Besides avoiding jet-lag and saving you a day of car rental, this strategy puts you much closer to the scenic part of the Middle Rhine Valley (which begins in Rüdesheim or in Bingen on the opposite riverbank) on the morning of Day #3.
I would recommend a stop on the way to Heidelberg in one of the very attractive old-world wine towns on the "Mountain Road" (Bergstraße Route.) Heppenheim is a very good choice.
https://diebergstrasse.de/storage/2025/04/Holiday-Route-2024.pdf
It's a one hour (ICE) to two hour (Regional) train ride from FRA to Heidelberg. Don't drive. There's no need for a car inside the city and parking is expensive when you can find it. I'd look for a place in the Altstadt or around Bismarkplatz, both of which are stops on the train line. Bismarkplatz is also a major transportation hub with busses, and trams as well as the Sbahn. It's about 10 minutes ride from the main trainstation (Hauptbahnhof). There are a number of places available, most under $150/night. A place along the river will give you a good view.
You can get a car in Heidelberg, and that's a good option, as it would allow you to drive up to the Rhine along either Route 5 (the castle road), or 271 (the wine road). In September I'd choose the wine road as the crush will be going on and the whole valley will smell like crushed grapes. Plus I think the towns are prettier. But it will be slower, as the tractors also use that road.
You could also just take the train up to Mainz and get a car there and just head downstream along the Rhine. If you really want to treat yourselves stay at the Schonburg in Oberwesel. https://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/
Thank you all for your helpful advice. We agree with the suggestion to take the train to Heidelberg for our 2-night stay and rent a car from there. Does anybody have a favorite hotel in Heidelberg to suggest?
Elly
Hotel Anlage. We've not been there for years, but a good location and they have a few parking places you can pay extra for. Apparently breakfast is no longer included in the room rate, but from what I remember you are not missing anything. Better to try one of the many Café nearby. PBW Parkhaus P9 Am Theater is near too.
Just a quick question
Can you share your goals for the Heidelberg part of the trip? You'll have seen that Heidelberg gets - unfairly in my opinion - little love from our host Rick Steves.
I've been a few times but tend to visit in passing, no longer stay there (because it is no longer new to me).
It is unusual for folks here on the Forum to start there, and especially if the goal is the middle Rhine valley - you go south and then north, not an insignificant distance.
I'm there or thereabouts most years. In fact I was in Mannheim just 2 days ago.
There is a lot to do in the Pfalz and northern B-W.
Just curious.
Also, jumping to conclusions here from your name, are you familiar with the SHuM cities (Speyer, Worms and Mainz) right around? There are several folks here with lots of knowledge about them including Jo from Frankfurt.
Thank you for recommending Hotel Anlage...but unfortunately it does not work for us because my tall 6'5" husband and can't sleep in beds that have footboards, which are depicted on the hotel website. We can now expand our choices as we don't need a hotel with parking.
Elly
As suggested above, take the train . I wouldn't bother with driving, unnecessary for your destination.
Upon arrival at FRA from SFO, (the 11 hour flight) I've taken the ICE within two or three hours to other cities in Germany to spend the first few nights, such as Düsseldorf, Berlin
Nigel, Thank you for your response. You have correctly concluded from our name that we are Jewish. While we make it a point of visiting Jewish Heritage sites on our trips, I have never heard of the SHuM cities before your post. I will definitely look into them in the next day or two. Our attraction to Heidelberg is its small town charm (as opposed to Frankfurt) for a 1-day restful layover before our road trip to explore other historic cities and castles. From Heidelberg we are driving to Rothenberg and then to Sankt Goar, our hub for the Rhine Valley and then back to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt, we are flying to Cairo for a Nile River Cruise (via Ama Waterways) and then back to San Francisco via Frankfurt. And yes, I did notice the lack of Heidelberg in any of Rick Steve's videos or books.
Best
Hi EllyJan
Just so you know, Heidelberg isn't a small sleepy town. It has a big university and by mid September the students will be all over the city. The main shopping area is fairly compact so can feel a bit congested.
There is good local transit from the Hbf into the Altstadt, and good trains and buses to Worms, Mannheim and Speyer, but it doesn't sound like you'll have a lot of spare time.
Good views in good weather from the castle at the top of the funicular.
Rothenberg is not worth the 8+ hours of driving you'll do based on that plan. Not even a little. You want to see a 1250 year old town with a medieval wall? Two excellent examples lie between Heidelberg and St Goar. (Actually there are more, but these are really nice.) Freinsheim does get some tourists, mostly German, and has a nice signed self paced tour around the inside of the walls. Takes about an hour. No Kathy Wolfhart's, but no crowds either, except Saturday morning for the market. Meisenheim is most of the way up to the Rhein, and this is a romantic hideaway town for couples. It's one of my favorite places to go for a really good meal and a beautiful old shopping center along the river. I used to live 15 minutes from RodT and I'd take either of these places over that.
Our attraction to Heidelberg is its small town charm (as opposed to
Frankfurt) for a 1-day restful layover before our road trip to explore
other historic cities and castles. From Heidelberg we are driving to
Rothenberg and then to Sankt Goar, our hub for the Rhine Valley and
then back to Frankfurt.
I think the comments by Nigel and KGC should be under your careful consideration.
Heidelberg (roughly 160,000 population!) might be a worthwhile place to visit - but it is not at all a small town, and as has been pointed out, it will actually be a detour of some distance - It would make more sense to me if you picked a town that better fits your criteria and that's actually on your route to your next destination.
St. Goar is a good base town for you on the Rhine. It's not clear how many days you have here, but in St Goar, you are actually surrounded by cool old-world towns. I hope you have 3 days or so for exploring, visiting Marksburg Castle, cruising, and scoping out some of these smaller towns...
Braubach (scroll 3 pages of photos)
Oberwesel - walk the remaining elements of the old town wall and check out its 18 towers.
Bacharach (see Rick Steves)
Rüdesheim (touristy, but there's some history there and you may enjoy the gondola ride there and the views from up top.)
Eltville - very pretty old town on the waterfront just upstream from Rüdesheim
The Middle Rhine Valley is definitely not the one-night stop sort of place that Rick Steves sometimes makes it out to be.
My first thought is that you might substitute ELTVILLE for Heidelberg. It meets your criteria well and is only one hour by train from FRA airport... and it's right on your drive to Rüdesheim and St Goar (use the car ferry in St Goarshausen.)
My second thought: On the morning of Day 2, you could catch a train to Wiesbaden (14 minutes away) to pick up your car.
I guess if you have time for Rothenburg after all this, then sure, it's a small old-world town, and you could perhaps make the long drive there, but since you're returning to FRA airport at the end, I'd look into the Mosel Valley towns instead. Cochem? Traben-Trarbach? Beilstein?
https://www.mosel-inside.de/en/travel-guide/mosel-villages.html
The map below shows how close these Rhine and Mosel towns put you to FRA. It's a train map, but still makes the point.
https://www.seat61.com/images/rhine-train-map-detail.jpg
Hi Elly, we plan on spending 3 night there (out of 30) - about 2.5 days. We hope see the castle, old bridge and walk around old town. Then we plan on a day trip to one of a number small towns (15-60mins by regional trains). We are currently choosing between the following 3 hotels: Atlantic hotel, BS Boutique and Bergheim 41. I’m 6’2” so I can understand the bed issue. I’m invariably sleeping diagonally.
Hi there, I was back in Heidelberg last spring after 45 years and really enjoyed it. While it's a large city, it doesn't FEEL like it's that large in the center of town. Nothing was crowded on the week days. We were there when the university students were in session, before May 1st. Stayed at the adorable Hachteufel Hotel near the Old Bridge, very pleasant staff, smallish single rooms for each of us, can't recall headboards. The food at this hotel is excellent, and many who don't stay at the hotel make reservations to have a traditional German meal here. Here's my Trip Report - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/6-nights-in-germany-mainz-heidelberg-heidelberg-was-gorgeous.
If you have a chance, stop over in Mainz to see the Chagall stained glass windows! (easy subway ride from FRA.) I was mesmerized. Details in Trip Report above.
Thank you all for your helpful comments. Since we won't have a car in Heidelberg, we have decided to stay at the ArtHotel Heidelberg in the Altstadt (the Hachteufel Hotel was booked for our dates). I'm looking into some of the towns mentioned around the Rhine that we might visit when we are staying at Sankt Goar. Although we are intrigued by the ShUM cities, they will have to wait for another trip.
Elly
