Hotels near Castle Heidelberg, Heidelberg

As we approached a fountain, an elderly couple stopped us and asked my son to take their photo. They gently held onto each other and struck a playful pose—balancing on one leg, just like a flamingo. After the photo, the husband asked with a smile, “Did you lift your leg?” The wife replied, “Yes, I did it!” They told us they were visiting from Melbourne. This was their fifth time in Heidelberg—and also their last. Every time they came here, they would take a photo in the same spot, in the same pose. “No matter where we are,” they said, “we always take a happy photo together.” The gentleman said he would turn 79 this October; his wife is 78. I told them they looked great and could surely come back again. But he smiled and said, “No, we can’t. We can’t carry our luggage anymore.” At that moment, as they stood there holding on to each other, smiling through the years they’ve shared, I felt I had witnessed the greatest kind of romance this world can offer. Heidelberg—this city of love—needed no grand gestures to live up to its name. That one moment was enough.

We stayed at the Berggasthof Konigstuhl Hotel, which was situated on the hill overlooking the Castle. The hotel was absolutely stunning and there was a fenicular which took us directly from our hotel to the Castle in just a few minutes.

Worth going inside the inner courtyard to see the historic facades and the huge wine barrel- you can walk over it! Sadly the interior of the buildings could not be visited when we were there but they may be open at other times. If you don’t fancy the steep walk up to the castle from the old town, take the funicular- if you intend the go into the inner courtyard ( the outer parts are free) then the cost is the same whether you walk or take the funicular. You can also pay a bit more to go up the Königstuhl on the furnicular- there’s one stop after the castle stop where you change to the older historic funicular - dates back to 1907. On a clear day the views at the very top are amazing.