How to spend 2 days in Heidelberg Germany

Located in the Rhine River Valley, Heidelberg is a peaceful, beautiful and historic town in Germany. If you’re looking to have a break from city-life on your European vacation, Heidelberg should be on your list. First and foremost, Heidelberg is a college town. Their University is located throughout the city and it’s influences are everywhere. Whether it’s the philosophers walk, where you can walk in the footsteps of its esteemed alumni or being able to watch the rowing team practice down the Neckar River. It’s also famous for its Romantic-era Castle that looms over the town, giving this town a historic-feel. We went in mid-September, the weather was beautiful and the leaves were just starting to change. 

Day 1: Afternoon 

We took a train from Lucerne Switzerland and arrived in Heidelberg in the early afternoon. After getting settled into our cute hotel with a view of the river, we took a stroll through the old town to get adjusted to our surroundings. We stopped in different stores that lined the cobblestone streets while scouting out restaurants to get a drink at later. 

Day 1: Evening 

After exploring the Old Town, we stopped to get authentic German food at Weinstube, which is a historic Brauhaus. We were very excited to try German food for the first time, and this place did not disappoint! We shared schnitzel and bratwurst with real German brewed beer. After dinner, we stopped for a drink at Hemingway’s, a bar that Ernest Hemingway would frequent while in Heidelberg. We were able to sit outside on the patio while watching the sunset over the river - the perfect night. 

Day 2: Morning 

We started off the morning strong by walking a few blocks to a coffee shop in the center of town, Coffee Nerd. If you are really into coffee, this is the perfect place for you - they have specialty beans from across the world. We decided to get our coffee to-go so we could take it on Philosopher's Walk with us. The Philosopher’s Walk is a must-do when visiting Heidelberg - you get to experience some of the best views of both the castle and the town. You could spend an entire morning exploring the vastness of the Philosophers Walk. Warning before you go- there are a lot of stairs to reach the top so definitely wear your sneakers. 

Day 2: Afternoon 

After the Philosophers Walk, we slowly made our way down the hill and explored a bit of the other side of the river, casually making our way to the base of the castle. We got the Heidelberg Visitor’s pass which gave us some discounts on our trip up to the castle. If you are in Heidelberg, you should definitely go walk the castle grounds. In my travels, I haven’t seen very many castles, so we decided to do a ~30 minute tour of the castle. This was worth it in my opinion because it gave us a better understanding of what the castle would have looked like in its prime and we also got to learn the history surrounding both the castle and the town of Heidelberg. After our tour ended, we made our way back to the city and got lunch/dinner at Brauhaus Vetter, another traditional german restaurant. 

Day 2: Evening 

Our next stop was a sunset boat cruise on the Neckar river. It was about 45-60 minutes in total and they provided a free drink. The scenery was gorgeous and the timing was perfect during  prime golden hour. We then wanted to experience a bit of the city nightlife so we went to to a few different restaurants. We first went to Wine’S, which had really good wine from different neighboring countries and then went to Palmbrau Gasse for more of a Brauhaus feel. Then we went home to rest up for our travel day to Cologne.