Transport

When booking your travel, please bear in mind the start and end times of your course. To ensure you benefit from the course in its entirety, travel should be booked so that you are not late to the course and do not need to leave early.

Please be aware if you intend to use Deutsche Bahn (German trains) to get to and from Heidelberg that there is major construction work planned in Southern Germany in 2024*. 

 Air Travel

  • Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) is the closest (about 80 km) to Heidelberg.
  • We are unable to organise an airport shuttle service. Participants have to make their own way to the venue.
    It is recommended not to take a normal taxi directly from the airport as this costs over €100.

Alternative airports:

  • Stuttgart Airport (STR) - located 13 km south of Stuttgart city centre and about an hour and a half south of Heidelberg. There are regular trains to Heidelberg from Stuttgart main station.
  • Karlsruhe Baden Airport (FKB) - a small airport near Baden-Baden, about one hour south of Heidelberg. There are shuttle buses running to and from Baden-Baden train station, but it must be noted that connection times to and from Heidelberg can be restrictive.
  • Frankfurt Hahn Airport (HHN) - a budget airline hub west of Frankfurt. There are shuttle buses to Frankfurt available, Hahn stopped direct buses to Heidelberg some time ago.

 Trains

There are two railway stations at Frankfurt Airport with routes to Heidelberg.

  • The fastest trains leave from the 'Fernbahnhof' (you normally have to change in Mannheim) - but due to construction work, there will be restrictions in 2024 (website info only available in German here*). Direct replacement bus services will be provided to and from Frankfurt Airport and Mannheim. 
  • The regional trains leave from the 'Regionalbahnhof' and are cheaper but slower (you normally have to change at Frankfurt main station).

Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof (Heidelberg main train station) is located near the city centre. There are good connections.

Mannheim Hauptbahnhof is a main hub for Germany with several international routes (including Paris, Amsterdam, Basel and Zürich) and it is only 20 minutes from Heidelberg. 

Train schedules and tickets here. Please note: you cannot purchase tickets on the trains. This must be done prior to travelling online, via the app or from the ticket machines at the station.

Bus services
An alternative to the train is FLIXBUS – a direct coach service between Frankfurt Airport and Heidelberg which can be cheaper – more details here.

There is also a Lufthansa shuttle bus service between Frankfurt Airport and Heidelberg - more details here (German only). 

COVID-19: the obligation to wear masks on all forms of public transport ended in February 2023. Some people do continue to wear masks though, especially if the carriages are busy.

 Once in Heidelberg

The Hotel Villa Toskana is located in Leimen, which is close to Heidelberg. From the main railway station (Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof) take tram number 24 to "Rohrbach Süd" and then change to tram number 23 (direction "Leimen") and get off the stop "Johannes-Reidel-Strasse". From there it is about 5 minute walk to the hotel. You cannot buy tickets from the driver, please use the ticket machines at the tram stop and station. The local transport company is the RNV.

If you are coming from the town centre (Bismarckplatz), take the tram number 23 (direction "Leimen") and get off the stop "Johannes-Reidel-Strasse". From there it is a 10 minute walk to the hotel.

Get off the tram and head south on Rohrbacher Strasse towards Johannes-Reidel-Strasse for 20m, then turn right onto Johannes-Reidel-Strasse for 170m, then turn right onto In der Warthütte for 85m then turn left onto Hamburger Strasse. The hotel will be on the right.

Local Heidelberg Transport Company Website

Taxi

Another way to reach the hotel from the town centre or from the main train station is by taxi. The main taxi switchboard number is: +49 6221 302030.

Car

If you are driving in your own car, more details can be found here