Planning Your Time

To fully appreciate Heidelberg, try to be up and about before the tour buses arrive. After the day-trippers have gone and many shops have closed, the good restaurants and the nightspots open up. Visit the castles on the Burgenstrasse at your leisure, perhaps even staying overnight. Leaving the valley toward the south, you'll drive into wine country. Even if you are not a car enthusiast, the museums of Mercedes and Porsche in Stuttgart are well worth a visit. Try to get to Tübingen during the week to avoid the crowds of Swabians coming in for their Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake). During the week, try to get a room and spend a leisurely evening in this charming half-timber university town.