Frankfurt Airport to Heidelberg and Schwetzingen: Day trip

Main attractions

• Heidelberg Castle: the most visited castle ruin in Germany — red sandstone towers above the Neckar with views across the baroque town; home to the world's largest wine barrel (221,726 litres) • The Altstadt (old town) is Germany's Romantic movement made architectural — Karl-Theodor bridge, Hauptstrasse and Marktplatz all reward slow exploration • Heidelberg University, founded 1386, Germany's oldest — the old university buildings and student jail (Studentenkarzer) are open to visitors

What to eat

• Schnitzel or Maultaschen (Swabian pasta parcels) at one of the old-town Wirtschaften; Zum Roten Ochsen has been serving Heidelberg students since 1703

Main attractions

• The summer residence of the Electors Palatine features formal French parterres giving way to an English landscape garden with extraordinary follies • The Mosque of Schwetzingen (1779–1795) — a fully realised rococo interpretation of Islamic architecture, complete with minarets, used as a romantic garden pavilion • The Temple of Mercury, Bath House and Apollo Temple complete one of the most theatrically imagined garden circuits in Germany