Tübingen Travel Guide

Tübingen, Neckarfront
[ source: Flickr]

Tübingen Overview

Tübingen's scenic location between the forests, the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) and the river Neckar make it a beautiful stop in south-west Germany. Its flair is comparable to cities like Heidelberg (Heidelberg vacation rentals | Heidelberg travel guide) or Freiburg, although Tübingen is smaller than those cities. The primary attraction is the unspoiled Altstadt (city centre) and the lively student population.

Tübingen is a small university town, located near the geographic center of Baden-Württemberg, roughly 30km southwest of Stuttgart (Stuttgart vacation rentals | Stuttgart travel guide).

Tübingen's population of about 85,000 people is a mixture of students, researchers and academics, medical specialists and "Gogen" (the people whose families have been there since forever). The university and its network of hospitals are its economic lifeblood (and the biggest employer in southern Württemberg); Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet, founded in 1477, is reputed to be one of the top 5 German universities for studies in German, medicine and law, and Tübingen serves as a regional medical service hub (they even have a malaria clinic).

About 20,000 students fill Tübingen's pubs, cafe patios and university lecture halls during lecture time (mid of October until mid of February and mid of April until mid of July). Meanwhile, the high concentration of educated folks with lots of free time means that there are plenty of things to do for the size of the town - 16 choirs; 3 theatres; a fine little art gallery; special lecture series at the university; and, of course, constant parties hosted by the student associations of the various departments (it's almost a competition to see whether the chemists or the anthropologists do it better). The town does get quiet, though, in the breaks between semesters (Feb 15 - Apr 15, Jul 15 - Oct 15).

The city dates back to 1078 A.D. and is remarkably well-preserved; only one bomb fell in Word War II - on the house where Goethe lived (or was it Schiller?). The "old town", which lies along the Neckar river, looks much as it would have in the 1600s - its crooked, cobblestoned streets will have you walking in circles, when you're not climbing up and down the stairs built into the sidewalks! The Arts campus of the university lies nearby, while more modern science faculties and student residences perch on the large hills that surround the center of town. Everywhere you go, there are signs of those who went before, sometimes literally (Dr. Alzheimer worked in this building), sometimes less so - you can find Tübingen's traces in the writings of Hesse and Holderlin...

Tübingen has fairly good weather compared to the rest of Germany (slightly worse than Freiburg, though). Sudden changes in the weather can make your ears pop heading up into the hills by bus, or just sitting in the marketplace in the centre of town! The medieval architecture, the students' joie de vivre, the 40% of residents who vote for the Green Party, the absurd charm of the constant festivals that wind through the streets...it's a unique little spot.

Things to See in Tübingen

Tübingen's scenic location between the forests, the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) and the river Neckar make it a beautiful stop in south-west Germany. Its flair is comparable to cities like Heidelberg (Heidelberg vacation rentals | Heidelberg travel guide) or Freiburg, although Tübingen is smaller. The primary attraction is the unspoiled Altstadt (city centre) and the lively student population.

• The city center is full of crooked half-timbered houses, small alleys, cobblestone roadworks and some nice old churches.
• The river Neckar is next to the city center, on which the students go punting (similar to what they do in Oxford or Cambridge) in summer time, occasionally with a barbecue and a crate of beer on board.
• In June, there is a famous punt boat race (Stocherkahnrennen) in which more than 40 punting boats race along the river, trying not to come in last, as each crew member of the last boat has to drink half a litre of cod-liver oil. Traditionally, most of Tübingen's student fraternities participate in the race, but also private crews are allowed.
• About 6 km north of Tübingen, right in the Schönbuch (Schönbuch vacation rentals | Schönbuch travel guide) forest reservation, is the old cistercian monastery (founded 1187 A.D.) of Bebenhausen (http://www.bebenhausen.de/) with a small village next to it, especially nice to visit at night when part of the monastery is illuminated.
• The Schloss, or castle, can be a fun place to wander around. Look at the intricately carved gate at the entrance. Skip most of the center courtyard and head up the stairs on the back side of the courtyard. This leads to a beautiful garden/courtyard, with some beautiful views from atop the wall to the left. Alternatively, go through the tunnel on the backside of the main courtyard that will take you through the backside of the castle, a much more medieval and beautiful part of the Schloss. From back here there is a path that will take you along the wall of the castle and through the woods, ending up on Haagasse very near the Marktplatz.
• It's an easy day trip to see the Burg Hohenzollern, a fairytale castle dramatically set on top of a conical hill.

Things to Do in Tübingen

• Tübingen is situated at the southern rim of the Schönbuch, a large forest reservation area which offers some beautiful scenery for hiking, cycling, etc.
• If you arrive in Tübingen in summer, make sure you take some time to stroll along the Neckar river, maybe get some ice cream and sit on the old city wall above the water.
• If you are more adventurous, you might give punting a try: push a large wooden boat with up to 14 passengers along the river using a long wooden pole. It's not as easy as some of the professional punters make it look.

Getting there

By Air

Stuttgart Echterdingen is the closest airport. From there, the easiest way into Tübingen is the 828 Sprinter bus, which runs hourly and takes approx. 48 minutes to about an hour. For bus schedules, go to www.naldo.de. At the bottom left of the page under Mini-Fahrpläne, type in 828 and choose the one with the RBS company.

Alternatively, take the train to Herrenberg (Herrenberg vacation rentals | Herrenberg travel guide), and then the S-Bahn train from there to the airport.

If coming from Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide), it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours with at least a change in Stuttgart (Stuttgart vacation rentals | Stuttgart travel guide) and sometimes in Mannheim (Mannheim vacation rentals | Mannheim travel guide) as well. See www.bahn.de and click on the 'international' tab for English pages.

By Train

The train from Stuttgart takes about 45min by IRE train or around 1hr by normal train. If you arrive at the main station of Tübingen, don't let the ugly and uninviting surroundings of the train station put you off. Just leave the station behind and keep going (north) and after 10min. walking you'll be right in the old town center.

By car

With Tübingen's terrible traffic system, lots of one-way streets and some eager ticket officers, it is best to park your car as soon as possible and then explore the city on foot or bicycle.

[ source: Wikitravel ]