Is Heidelberg the Bologna of Germany?

I grew up in Germany and was very reluctant to visit Heidelberg because I always thought it would be too touristy and filled with Americans ;-) And was pleasantly surprised when I finally made the trip. Very pretty town and not at all crowded.

Rothenburg might be very touristy but still is worth a visit. Though I cannot understand what would make Ruedesheim so appealing for Rick as touristy as it is with not much that would set it apart from other quieter towns on the Rhine.

Andreas made some very good points here! I agree with all of his suggestions - especially Muenster, my personal favourite.

Yes it is worth stopping in for a few hours. I did this with friends in 2008 who hadn't been there before and they loved the castle. Like you I had fond memories from the previous times I had been there and I was not disappointed. It helped that we were there in March and not July. :-) No crowds.

I would go there too. It is so pretty.

Rick sometimes makes no sense at all. Thinks Heidelberg is too touristy, but what about Rothenberg? Says Mainz and Wiesbaden are too big and nothing much there to see. Guess he forgot about the Mainz cathedral that is 1000 years old or the church with the Chagall windows. Both towns have lovely architecture and plenty of Roman ruins.

Just got the 2010 book and hoped to see some Northern Germany in there and some more of the East. Nope, same old towns. Would be nice if Rick brought some fresh material in. There are new UNESCO sites that he has left out too, all the Roman Limes in the Rhein Main region, Luebeck, Quedlinberg, and then the whole North Sea area, the Harz Mountain area, and nothing about the Fairy Tale road either. I am disappointed that he has not branched out.

Had my fingers crossed that he would include the 3 beautiful medieval churches in Frankfurt, but he has you walk right past them and doesn't even name them, no mention of our 500 year old frescos in the Karmeliter Kloister, or the neighborhood of Hoechst with the Justinus church built in 850 (one of Germanys oldest), and narrow cobblestoned streets lined with half-timbered houses, plus 2 palaces. These are the things that make Frankfurt worth while to visit, but because they aren't in the tour book, folks think there is nothing much here to see.

Wish I could show Rick around some day so he could see what he has been missing.

I think Rick focuses on highlights for people who have limited vacation time. Usually he has a pretty good eye for what most Americans will enjoy.

Unfortunately, after you get past the highlights, Rick skips a lot of worthy sites that many might find even better than his choices.

It's best not to limit yourself to a strictly RS itinerary. If you think you will like a place, go see for yourself.

Noooooooo!! You have to skip Heidelberg and go to Colmar and Gimmelwald. That's the rules.

And, in France, neither Carnac nor Peche Merle exist; maybe they're too new for him to have discovered yet. Oh, well.

This is why I buy another guidebook to go along with Rick's. His is good for paring down the sights and towns and giving you the highlights. My first trip to Europe was to Paris, and I got overwhelmed by the guidebooks because there's just so much to see in Paris. Rick just hits the high points and has good practical information on how to get around.

I usually get a Let's Go book to go along with Rick's (sorry, Rick, hope I don't get shot by the webmaster). They have EVERYTHING in there. We've found lots of little towns that have been some of our favorites, those ones that hardly ever see Americans but the "locals" seem to know well.

Heidelberg is a beautiful town with a great castle and funicular. We realized this year that our kids haven't gone there yet, so it's on the list for the next trip! I'm thinking a picnic by the river is in order, too.

Why Rick discourages people from visiting Heidelberg while writing up places like Reutte and pretending Gimmelwald is a unique hidden getaway (it's neither unique nor hidden, as most of the people you will see there are Rickniks), I couldn't begin to speculate... So yes, go to Heidelberg. I wouldn't spend more than a day there, but it's such a pretty town, it definitely is worth at least a quick visit.

First of all Heidelberg still is the city of the oldest university of Europe! Another university town equally as pretty and at least almost as important historically is Marburg, home of the first ever protestant (i.e. non-catholic, non-pope-ruled) university in the world! One is about an hour South of Frankfurt, the other is about an hour North of Frankfurt. Two other "Bolognas" of Germany I'd like to add on here: Münster in Westfalia and Freiburg in Breisgau (on the foothills of the Black Forrest). If you love towns that are literally run by students go and visit them as well. If you want to, do a Google or Bing picture search on Münster, Freiburg i. Brsg., Marburg, Heidelberg...

On my first trip to Germany (20 years ago), I spent 2 very pleasant days in Heidelburg. I think even back then RS was advising against it.

Andreas's recomendation of Freiburg im Breisgau brought back fond memories. I also went to Freiburg im Breisgau on that trip; it was almost by accident. A friend and I wanted to go the Black Forest and someone told us to go to Titisee. We looked on the rail map and Freiburg was easy to get to so we spent the night there. I wasn't so fond of Titisee (it was a little touristy although the walk around the lake was nice) but thought Freiburg was an absolute gem. I liked it so much that I went back the following year.

I remember either reading (or maybe it was hearing in an interview) that RS designed his guides to be what he considered to be the "best" 30 days (or something like that). If it didn't make the 30 day cut, he left it out ... And it was his opinion and he recognized that not everyone would agree with him; I know that I certainly don't always agree with his choices.

Wayne---Since you visited Heidelberg in the 1970s and came away with fond memories of the place, my suggestion is to leave it and go some other town/city if you are looking for an university town.

I've visited Heidelberg twice, separated by several years, and I would not go back; both times it was in the summer and it is very touristy filled with Americans. Depends on your interest there.

I agree with Andreas' choice of Marburg an der Lahn as an university town, which I've been to a number of times over the years, the last time in 2007. It's simply a very beautiful town, especially see the Elisabethskirche. Another university town is Bonn, which is famous historically (I'm not talking about Bonn as the capital of West Germany).

Cannot say anything about Freiburg im Breisgau since I never visited that university, but there are others not yet mentioned that are worth seeing in Germany.

Rick has never recommended Frankfurt, though he doesn't cut it down quite so much as he used to. The troops left Frankfurt in 1995 anyway, that was 15 years ago!

Now if we could get Rick to stop writing about the red light district here, I would be very happy. The sex trade is a cruel, degrading business and why he includes it in a guide book for the general public is beyond me. Guess he hasn't researched where all that flesh comes from and how it got here.

"Do you know what there is a lot of in places like Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Stuttgart? A huge American military community. Think about it." If that's true, I'm guessing Burg Nanstein in Landstuhl will never be featured in one of his books either.

However, I can understand the omission of Stuttgart. A pleasant city, without a doubt, but Rick tends to focus more on old, cute and cuddly Europe, not a hyper-modern city like Stuttgart.

If American military presence were a determining factor, Rick would never have recommended Frankfurt, which had a huge U.S. presence when he started writing about Germany. Munich also had a very visible American military presence back then. Heidelberg has been overrun by American tourists since the time of Mark Twain; that does not bother some people, but it obviously bothers Rick.

Featured in this months Travel News and Events, "Frankfurt-No Longer Bankfurt" Rick finally has some kind words for Frankfurt...given how much he actually covers in all of his books, I will refrain from saying "it's about time" because that could be said about all of the places he has missed in all of his books...but if you embrace his philosphy of ETBD, you will accept that it is our responsibility to seek out and find the great travel experiences throughout Europe, including those that he has not covered...

To continue with the discussion of this thread, I especially liked what Andreas had to say...and I have many fond memories of Marburg, having enjoyed the student culture and social scene there (including some great underground clubs) back in the 60's.

I don't want to bash Rick (maybe tweak). For the first time through an area or country you can't go wrong with him. I think he really does promote a "find your own backdoor or highlight mentality" I also know when I'm traveling without a RS guide I feel i'm missing something.

For Andreas, just by chance I'm picking up my rental car in Freiburg Im B. I'll look forward to checking out the town.

For Jo, thanks for all your posts on Frankfurt. We are looking forward to spending our final night of the trip there. This is a city that im sure has changed alot over the years.

Morning folks, just wanted to apologize for my rants yesterday. Will step down off my soapbox and go out and enjoy the beautiful snow we are having. They have named this snow storm "Daisy" of all things. Hope it doesn't impede anyones' travels, with airports and trains. It certainly is not driving weather.

No need to apologize, Jo. I think your comments were right on.

I never heard of giving snow storms a nickname. Is that a German or European custom? I guess if you can name hurricanes, you can name snow storms, but it does seem odd.

We spent our first night of our Christmas 08 trip in Heidelberg. We went down to the Christmast market in the evening, and I don't think we saw another tourist (although our bus was filled with students!) It was magic being in old town with the castle lit up above us.

When young, I did visit with my parents on a weekend in the summer when you could barely move for all the tourists, but a lot of popular sights are like that in Europe.

Go to Heidelberg! It is a beautiful town-just pick your time wisely! Don't go the middle of a Saturday afternoon in July, if you don't like crowds. There is nothing about the town NOT worth seeing, though.

Definitely stop in Heidelberg! I had the opportunity to live there for a year and truly adore it! The city is just beautiful and easy to navigate through. If you have time, I would make a quick trip to Schwetzigen. Its about a 10 minute drive from Heidelberg, probably 20 minutes by bus or train. It has a great downtown and beautiful palace gardens!

I always interpret Rick's selection of books and destinations as one of selecting a handful sites and places that represent a country, but not by any means complete and definitive. The Germany book certainly reflects this, a number of can't miss places, a cross-section of different experiences, but in the end, a book is limited to so many pages to stay in a price target, not to mention the research time needed. Heidelberg is certainly a wonderful town, but other towns listed in the book offer the same or more, so it doesn't make the cut. Ironically, to add more cities and sites would likely mean reducing information about the towns covered, eliminating what most profess to like about the books. I use Lonely Planet for many trips as well, but really do not expect more than an encyclopedic rendering of towns, hotels, restaurants, and transportation info from them, certainly none of the banter or folksy info about the place. Basically, to choose a RS book is to accept an abridged view of a country, not a bad thing, but one with some obvious faults.

To gather information for a trip, I do the following:

1) Go to the bookstore and look at all books that have information regarding my itinerary. If the RS one covers it, then I will get it.

2) Check out the tourism websites for the countries, cities or towns I'll be visiting as their information is up to date.

3) Check with my local library to see if they have any copies of the guidebooks that cover my itinerary. (With libraries online, I can do this from the comfort of my home, and if a book is available at a far away branch, have it sent to my local one for free. Easier to pick up.)

4) Go back to the bookstore with notebook in hand, gather up the guidebooks I have not yet checked, get a cup of coffee, and start taking notes.

5) Go online for any other information I might need/want. (This step can and is usually done earlier in the process>0

With this, I've covered everything and I'm prepared for my trip.

I've found that some things Rick says are a don't miss, I want to miss. As an example, he's religious and loves churches and cathedrals. I've seen the major ones and don't plan to visit any more. A guidebook's author's suggestions are just that, suggestions not gospel. (Well to most, some here I think have a shrine to RS in their homes. :) )

As usual, Jo is exactly right about Frankfurt. I have the opportunity to travel relatively frequently to Frankfurt and have come to believe it is a greatly under-rated city. I hope Rick takes up Jo's kind offer of a guided tour through Frankfurt.

Yup, if invited I'd accompany Jo showing Rick around the real Frankfurt (which I bet he hasn't seen yet).

Any time you guys want to see Frankfurt, just let me know. Just not Sundays, it is too hard to get into the churches and the Klein Markt Halle is closed then.

Tried to get Lee to come through town, but he doesn't like big cities. James and his family have been here, as has Tony and Bill. I want to be the official Rick Steves greeter for Frankfurt. Just give me a cup of coffee and I am ready to go!

I'm guessing it makes a huge difference as to when you visit these cities. My visit to Germany & Switzerland was in 2008 in mid December for a couple of weeks. My visit included Heidelberg as well as popular destinations such as Rothenburg & Fussen and at that time of the year there were no crowds. Cold and some snow but very pleasant and relaxing. Trains were not crowded (except going to Zermatt).
Based on some photos from travel shows during the summer tourist season my views may have been very different. One reason while I avoid those crowded times. Fortunately my schedule is flexible.
I'm hoping to return in 2010 and spend time in Munich, Bern, Viena and Salzburg. Hopefully using the cities as bases for 3+ nights and explore from them.

Ich Habe Mein Herz in Heidelberg Verloren...a very long time ago. I can't resist going there each time I return to Europe.

I tend to scan Rick's book, and then choose to visit what I think interest me most.

James,

I wish you hadn't said that about Jo. I've always looked forward to reading her posts because of her knowledge and insight...now I won't be able to read her posts without imagining just how "hot" she is! Think I'll go outside and cool down.

I had my wife talked into a meeting with Jo to have her show us around. Now with what James has said It's a no go.

You guys stop it! What will my husband say? Speaking of which, Tony from Tenn. met him and also Nancy and her hubby in Wiesbaden. Now, be nice or I won't take you to Tea in Austria with Corinna.

You guys stop it! What will my husband say?

Speaking of which, Tony from Tenn. got to meet him and also Nancy and her hubby in Wiesbaden. Now, be nice or I won't take you to Tea in Austria with Corinna.