Germany's Internationally Renowned College Town Is A Cute And Enchanting Gem Overlooked By Tourists

At the foothills of the Odenwald forest, the sweet cherry trees and blackthorn thickets that coat Germany's green southwest come to a halt before they hit the Neckar River. Peering imperiously over the canopy, the towering walls of Heidelberg Castle stop the forest's flow into the charming city below. Built along the banks of the woodland river in the Middle Ages, the small city of Heidelberg is crisscrossed by cobblestones and lined with medieval-style homes. Harkening back to the days of its inception, and the height of its glory when the country's first university was constructed in town, the architecture alone seems to transport travelers back in time. Enlivened by its youthful student population, rich with history, and blessed by its proximity to Germany's abundant wine country, Heidelberg is an excellent add-on for travelers headed to the country's southwest.

With more than 25 U.S. airports offering direct flights to Frankfurt, accessing neighboring Heidelberg is very straightforward. Germany has a comprehensive rail system, and it's easy to connect from Frankfurt to the smaller cities on its peripheries. The non-stop train takes just under an hour to Heidelberg from Frankfurt's main station. If you prefer to drive, you should incorporate a trip to Heidelberg into a small-town tour itinerary in the Frankfurt region, which is better connected by road than by more rural rail. Heidelberg is just an hour's drive from Michelstadt, a picturesque medieval town steeped in culture and charm, and an hour and a half from the underrated town of Limburg an der Lahn.

Spared of the wartime decimation that changed the faces of many German cities, the old streets of Heidelberg still bear the signs of centuries of architectural trends. See the historic heart of the city on an early walk through the old town, or Altstadt. Before the day starts in earnest, the coffee shop chairs wobble on the cobblestones, the flurry of morning commerce flits behind casement windows stacked higgledy-piggledy up the pastel buildings, and no tour groups have yet arrived.

Follow in the wake of the students strolling to class, looking out for the carved ochre pediments of the old university library. This is the institution that put Heidelberg on the map. Germany's first university, and one of the oldest institutes of higher learning in the world, it was inaugurated in the 14th century. Its Art Nouveau library is younger, but you can enter as a visitor to peruse its collection of some 7,000,000 tomes.

It's not the only highlight for traveling bookworms. Heidelberg is a designated UNESCO City of Literature, a former haunt of writers like Mark Twain and Charles Bukowski, and a city with one of the highest concentrations of bookshops and vintage booksellers in the country. You can dip in and out of the stores to browse for classic novels or seek out niche literary gems while working your way up to Heidelberg Castle. The 17th-century Renaissance monolith actually traces its first construction to 1214 A.D., when the fortified foundations were laid for the romantic ruin that peers over the city today. Finish up your walk on the castle battlements, overseeing the slanting red roofs of the city below.

On sunny days, you should make the most of the mild Heidelberg climate and immerse yourself in the city's natural surrounds. Accompany local walkers and runners on the city's popular walkway, the Philosopher's Walk. Running a little under 2 miles long, this looping trail passes lookouts peering 2,000 feet over the picturesque city, its old bridge, and its crowning castle. Though the easy route typically takes less than an hour to complete, it's worth adopting a leisurely pace under the cypresses and cherry trees. If that's not enough of an inner-city hike for you, divert off onto the Schlangenweg, a pathway of snaking switchbacks with old city viewpoints between the Old Bridge and the Philosopher's Walk path.

On the other side of the storied castle, active travelers can access another angle over the city skyline. Climb to the Königstuhl (King's Throne) summit, up the precipitous "Sky Ladder" ascending from the castle. After braving the steep steps, you'll be rewarded with a panoramic view over the Neckar Valley and Rhine Plain, or with access to the scenic forest trails that start from the summit.

Positioned at the threshold of the Baden wine region, its also easy to while away a day roaming through vineyards and sipping on sample tastings in the nearby wineries. The under-the-radar wine region deserves the same hype as Napa, segmented into nine distinct subregions spanning 250 miles of fertile fields. Join a guided day-long tour departing from Heidelberg to taste Germany's best vinifera varietals and enjoy the vine-corrugated hills that roll through the southerly valleys.