Our current location in the Middle East makes Frankfurt one of the main travel hubs we have access to. And while Frankfurt is wonderful on its own, and has lots to offer, we thought we’d offer a day trip alternative if you want to see what else is around Frankfurt for a day trip, or want to step into a town straight out of a storybook.
That town is Heppenheim. A straight shot south of Frankfurt, you can be in Heppenheim in under an hour, whether you drive or take the train. Or, you can stay for a night or two on your way to Frankfurt, like we did. We admit, we booked a night in Heppenheim on a whim, and we’re glad we did.
Here are some of the highlights of the town and why we believe it’s worth a visit:
The medieval-style architecture:
From the classic, gingerbread-house-looking, half-timbered houses and buildings in the Marketplatz and beyond, Heppenheim looks straight out of a fairytale. Many of the Markenplatz buildings are now hotels and restaurants, but the Rathaus (town hall) still operates in one of these picturesque houses.
Easy-to-navigate streets:
Finding your way around the center of town is not terribly difficult. As you move away from the Markenplatz, buildings start to take a more modern character (but not too modern). If you want some practice in situating yourself before taking off, there is a model to scale of the town right outside the Cathedral of the Bergstraße.
- Side note: when visiting this church, we discovered that Heppenheim is the birthplace of Saint Marianne Cope, which served in the leper colonies in Moloka’i, Hawaii. Marianne Cope is deeply respected in the Hawaiian islands, our former home, and is even interred in the Cathedral Basilica Our Lady of Peace in Waikiki. So finding out we were visiting her birthplace after living in the islands where she served the sick for most of her life was a pretty magical, full-circle moment for us.
Access to nature and other activities:
The region where Heppenheim is located is well known for producing Riesling grapes, and with it, Riesling wine. You can visit the vineyards adjacent to town during the summer months and enjoy the town’s wine festival in late June and the theater festival in early July.
The entire town is a storybook thanks to its streetlights
As we were walking around Heppenheim, we noticed some of the streetlights had figures on them. They may be a lone character, or a scene from a story. Many of the stories are similar to the fairy tales we grew up listening to or reading; think Grimm’s tales, or folktales with some of the myths that prevailed in Europe during medieval times.
It took us a while to realize what the streetlights was about…but once we started finding the stories, we couldn’t stop! We spent a good two hours after coffee and pastries just walking around town, going from streetlight to streetlight, reading these little stories. Some are endearing, some are scary, some are just traditions of the area. But all are fun to read and give this town part of its unique character.
Final thoughts
We admit that we were not able to have an optimal visit to Heppenheim due to the rain (it rained so much during our time in Europe this past summer! It was kind of shocking!), but we did enjoy walking around town (and catching some live music, even!) and admiring the half-timber houses and creating our own streetlight story scavenger hunt. We highly recommend Heppenheim for a day trip from Frankfurt, or as a stop in your wine tasting itinerary.
What other storybook towns in Germany would you recommend us to visit? Let us know in the comments!