One of your best activities while visiting Heidelberg Germany is taking a stroll on the
famous Philosophers Walk.
It’s up on the hill and gives you a grand view looking down at Heidelberg.
You can do this anytime of day but in the afternoon you will get the best lighting,
shining down on the red tile rooftops of the city.
It is a green and pleasant path that will bring you to an observation terrace with one
of the world’s most beautiful views: the fairy-tale old city on a river with its brooding
castle above, tinted in earthy hues, with clay tile roofs and rosy-colored stone walls,
especially vivid late in the day.
This is one of the two greatest vistas that Heidelberg has to offer.
The other one is looking down from the castle at the town and across to here at the Philosophers
Walk.
No visit to Heidelberg can really be complete without seeing both of these grand vistas.
As you'll soon see it does require a little bit of effort to walk up here, but it's well
worth it.
To get here you cross the river on the landmark Old Bridge.
The bridge is very easy to walk along with the smooth cobble paving and just takes a
few minutes to cross over to the other side.
It's a pedestrian bridge and a scenic landmark in its own right, although in the evening
there are some local cars and delivery vehicles that’ll drive across it, but not during
the day.
The bridge is very easy to find because it's one of the most popular gathering spots in
town.
It's just a block away from the central market square.
You can see on the map the easy routing for getting up there -- just walk over the bridge
across to the other side of the river and then walk up the hill.
And as soon as you get across the bridge you can stop over there and look back at the bridge,
with the town and castle behind it for another postcard view.
Now this is just a little foretaste of the major panorama that you're about to experience
once you get up to the top.
Now that you are on the other side of the river, cross the street and then you go straight
ahead into a little driveway area following the sign that points to the Philosophenweg.
The entrance to the path is not all that obvious and you'll be standing in a small parking
lot for a couple of cars, but just keep going and you will soon find that narrow path that
leads up the hill.
Well this climb takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on your conditioning, or it might
take you 1/2 hour if you need to stop frequently and rest and along the way.
That's okay.
You don't want to be in a rush in a situation like this.
Maybe hang onto the wall once in a while for a little bit of support as you go.
And it's something like walking up 25 story building so it's not for the fainthearted,
but it's well worth the effort.
And this would be a good time to remind yourself that walking is very good exercise.
It's healthy.
This is another example of why you want to be in good shape before you take any kind
of a trip.
It pays to do your practice walking at home before you go, at least 1/2 an hour every
day for several months prior to the trip so that you can handle anything on the road.
You don’t have to be a superstar athlete to make this walk up the hill.
Almost anybody in normal condition can do it easily, especially resting along the way.
But if you’ve done some physical conditioning you’ll be that much more comfortable.
When you see others running up you know it can't be that bad, even if they are kids.
On your way up this steep hill, by all means stop a few times catch your breath.
Rest a little bit.
There is no great hurry to get up there.
You'll find some places you can take a break on the way up with some benches and a little
lookout.
The views from the midpoint are also very nice so be sure to stop and have a look there.
Bring your own snacks and water because there is nothing available for sale along the way.
And it looks like you're making very good progress from here – you're way up, the
top cannot be too much further.
It's just around the bend and around a couple more bends -- soon enough you'll find your
way.
And notice the pretty gardens along both sides of this path.
While going up you'll have some views across the terraced vineyards and other lush greenery
which some have compared to a Tuscan hillside.
You’ll also see a variety of subtropical plants and trees such as palm, almond, fig
and lemon -- the climate here in southern Germany is relatively mild.
The path itself is quite well designed and constructed because it's a fairly gradual
incline, mostly it's a ramp going up and there are a few steps here and there and short staircases.
Stone paving underneath and the stone walls alongside of you really make interesting scenario
as you walk along, and remember when you come down it'll be a lot easier.
You can't say I didn't warn you.
That was quite a hike, but perseverance will finally get you there.
When you do reach the philosophers way the path levels off, so now it's really quite
easy, it's a normal horizontal pedestrian lane.
As promised, it delivers that spectacular view.
It's the scene that you'll find on every postcard rack back in Heidelberg town, but why not
get up here and see it for yourself in reality, in person.
Better than even this video can show you, it's the real thing.
You'll want to spend at least 10 minutes up here and by now you are ready for a rest.
You’ll find benches and a railing, and different perspectives to enjoy the view down below.
You can walk along the upper path for a while and make like a poet or philosopher as you
absorb the visual treat below, being sure to get your tourist snapshots.
They say professors from the University used to come up here in the old days to get away
from the noise and enjoy some quiet contemplation and philosophical conversations and thoughts
as they strolled along, leading to the name of it as the Philosophenweg which translates
from German as Philosophers’ Way although commonly is referred to as the Philosophers’
Walk.
If you still have some energy and are feeling ambitious you could continue walking about
a mile to the western end of the foot path and then crossing over the Neckar on the modern
Theodor-Heuss Bridge, and from there walk back into the Old Town back on the main street.
That end of the path has a more gradual slope to walk down, which is how people on their
bicycles are able to peddle up onto the Philosophers’ Path.
However, most folks are happy just get to the first or second viewpoint up on the hill,
rest on a bench, enjoy the view and then return back down the same way you came up, into the
Old Town.
A more strenuous alternative is to keep walking further uphill.
There is a path that goes up, you'll reach a memorial to Bismarck, the first Chancellor
of Germany, and then you could continue even higher to the ruins of an 11th century monastery.
You’ll find the path is much easier going down, especially motivated by prospects of
a tall beer and perhaps a nice dinner.
You could probably walk down in about 10 minutes.
Don't forget to enjoy some of the views on the way down even though you might be saturated
with the vistas you've already been absorbing.
You could do this entire walking round trip in about 45 minutes 20 minutes going up 10
minutes of the top and 10 or 15 minutes going down.
It's so easy.
You don't want to miss out.
It looks like a lot of work to go up and down and it is, there some work involved, but 30
minutes of effort is really worth your time.
Of course, you might want to spend a little bit longer up at the top and take it a little
more easy on the way up and down.
So you could easily stretch this into one-hour experience.
To give you an idea of how lovely and popular this walk is, it's listed on Trip Advisor
as the number one thing to do in Heidelberg, and they have nearly 1500 comments about it
on their website.
Nearly every one of them calling the activity excellent or very good.
For example one of them said “please do not miss this walk of visiting Heidelberg
– pleasant walk, breathtaking views of the city with the castle especially in the afternoon
when the sunlight is just right.”
Another said “a bit of a steep climb but well worth the views at the top.
I definitely recommend it.
And here's one more comment from Trip Advisor: “The Philosophenweg offers the best aerial
views of Heidelberg.
At the top it's surreal to gaze down at the old town and Neckar River – absolutely worth
the effort to climb up.”
When you reach the bottom of the hill be careful when you’re crossing this busy street.
You don’t want to jaywalk here, there's too many cars coming by, so wait for the green
and then hustle across.
Finally, take a moment to enjoy another vista from street level looking across the river
back to the Old Town.
There are steps leading down to the river's edge and a waterfront path.
It goes for a couple of miles.
The bridge gets a fiery color in the late afternoon.
And no doubt you'll see some scullers on the river.
Many university students enjoy rowing for exercise and they also have some competitive
teams.
And that wraps up our visit to the Philosophers Walk.
We have many other movies about Heidelberg that you can find in our collection.