Heidelberg is compact, so the main decision is not which neighbourhood is best but how much you value being inside the pedestrian Old Town against parking, space and price. All of the areas below are connected by tram and bus, and the sights are close enough that you will cross the city several times anyway. Here is how the choices break down.
The Old Town
Staying in the Altstadt means stepping out of the door into the Hauptstraße, the Marktplatz and the lanes, with the funicular, the castle path and the Old Bridge on foot. The trade-offs are cobbles, stairs in old buildings, evening noise in lively lanes and no easy parking. Two of our picks are here. Goldener Falke stands on the Hauptstraße near the Kornmarkt, with castle and church views, a buffet breakfast and a public garage two minutes away. Hotel Hackteufel is on the Steingasse between the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Old Bridge, with only twelve individually furnished rooms and a restaurant downstairs. Both are small, so book early for Advent and summer.
The Old Town edge
For comfort without the lanes, the Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage ring road beside the Old Town is a good compromise. The Hotel Europäischer Hof Heidelberg stands here with a five-star Superior classification, family management, a spa with an indoor pool and sauna, fine dining and an underground garage with about two hundred spaces. It is the splurge pick and the easiest for drivers. The pedestrian streets are within walking distance, and trams and buses stop on the ring road.
The Neckar riverbank
The Heidelberg Marriott Hotel sits on the river on Vangerowstraße, a little outside the Old Town. You get 248 rooms, an indoor pool, sauna, fitness room and a steakhouse, with a riverside walk, bus or tram to the Old Town and, in summer, a small shuttle boat to the Old Town. It suits families and business travellers who value facilities and predictable service, and breakfast and parking are extra, so compare the total price.
The suburbs
If budget and parking matter most, Hotel Heidelberg in Kirchheim is the choice. It is a country-style, non-smoking hotel with a buffet breakfast, on-site parking and a tram stop about fifty metres away, with a ride of roughly fifteen minutes to the Old Town. You trade atmosphere for value, and late dinners in the Old Town mean checking the last tram.
Which should you pick?
For a first visit, book in the Old Town or at the edge, because walking out in the morning and the evening is half the pleasure. Couples wanting character should look at the Hackteufel or the Goldener Falke, those wanting a spa and service should choose the Europäischer Hof, families who need space and a pool should look at the Marriott, and drivers on a budget will like Hotel Heidelberg.
Good to know
Heidelberg charges a city tax per person per night, usually collected at the hotel. Christmas market weekends from late November to just before Christmas sell out early, so book ahead, and If you need step-free access, ask each hotel before you book, because many Old Town buildings are old and have stairs.
