Schwetzingen

The town is sandwiched between the A5 and the A6 just north of the A61 Hockenheim.
About 10 minutes by regional train from Mannheim or Heidelberg or 60 minutes from Frankfurt.

As a tourist, walking is your best bet. The town is small and the 10-minute walk from the train station to the gardens is along one of the main roads, and on some days includes a market.

By bus

Thompkins Barracks is sort of within walking distance of downtown Schwetzingen. The walk is easy, but can take quite a bit of time. For those who would rather not walk, you can take bus 710 from one of the bridges adjacent to Thompkins Barracks. The ride will cost roughly 50 cents.

• Schwetzinger Schloss

  phone: +49 6221 658880
  address: Schloß Mittelbau
  gardens are phenomenal, with everything from fake Roman ruins to a French garden to hedge rows.

• Schlossplatzthe main place in front of the Schloss with a lot of pubs and restaurants.

• hunting lodgeoffers tours, but is not worth the time if the weather's nice.

Visit the pubs around Schlossplatz (the place in front of the castle).
If you like dancing, see the Cubar where you can dance salsa.

In May and June, you will get Spargel (Asparagus). Schwetzingen is famous for its awesome Spargel.

• Cantina Mexicana

  phone: +49 6202 13616
  address: Schlossplatz 8a
  A centrally located Mexican restaurant only several meters from the castle. The food is decent and the service is effective. A cheap happy hour is a major selling point for this bar with cocktails going for as little as 4 Euro a pop. But don't expect much of a Margarita. The decor elicits of the stereotypical Mexican restaurant with bricked walls and bright neons that advertise beer.

• Da Dona

  address: Marstallstraße 18
  A small, but good Italian restaurant, family owned, quaint/elegant atmosphere, food is great, service is very kind and professional.

• Kaffeehaus Schwetzingen

  address: am Schlossplatz

• Schwetzinger Brauhaus zum Ritter

  phone: +49 6202 924950
  address: Schlossplatz 1

• Zähringer Hof

  phone: +49 6202 9284555
  address: Carl-Theodor-Straße 13

• Blaues Loch

  phone: +49 6202 21360
  address: Zeyherstraße 3

If you like beer, try a Welde Pils with its award winning bottle design.

• Adler Post

  phone: +49 6202 27770
  address: Schlossstraße 3

• Hotel zum Erbprinzen

  phone: +49 6202 93270
  address: Karlsruher Str. 1

• Hotel Altavilla garni

  phone: +49 6202 204 89 00
  address: Dreikönigstraße 8

• Villa Benz

  phone: +49 6202 936090
  address: Zähringer Straße 51

• Achat-Hotel Schwetzingen

  phone: +49 6202 206 0
  address: Schälzigweg 1-3

• Heidelberg
• Speyer
• Bertha Benz Memorial Route - Follow the tracks of the world's first automobile journey (Mannheim - Pforzheim/Black Forest - Schwetzingen - Mannheim) back in 1888