Visa & Flight Information

You may need to apply for a visa to enter Germany. For information by country, see this overview of visa requirements.

We recommend that you fly into Frankfurt Airport (FRA), as this is the nearest international airport to Heidelberg. The following directions to Heidelberg assume that you are starting from Frankfurt.

Getting to Heidelberg

Train

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has connections from Frankfurt Airport (station: Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof) to various train stations around Heidelberg (likely either Hauptbanhof or Altstadt, depending on where your hotel is). Typically you will take a train to Mannheim and then change platforms there to the S-bahn to Heidelberg. The total travel time is of order one hour. Tickets cost about 25 € each way. The time table is available here. You can buy a ticket in advance, but we don't recommend the cheaper "saver" tickets, as these are tied to a particular train, so won't be valid if your flight is delayed.

Bus

A cheaper but slower alternative is the "Flixbus" from the airport to Heidelberg. Prices range from 5-15 € each way, but depending on the time of day the trip could take up to three hours due to stops and traffic. To investigate time tables and book tickets, you can check out the Flixbus website or app.

Shuttle

The two best shuttle options are Transfer & Limousine Service (TLS) (40 € each way) and Lufthansa Express Shuttle (25 € each way).

Driving directions

If you decide to rent a car and drive, you can follow these directions (to MPIA).

Getting to HdA

There will be a shuttle to transport participants from the town centre up the hill to MPIA/HdA every morning. It will leave at or near the Lufthansa bus stop on the west side of the Crowne Plaza Hotel (check this map) on Bahnhofstrasse at 08:15 (bus/company name "discipulus"). It will then stop briefly to pick up at Peterskirche (the stop on the south side of road, i.e. the one closest to the hill) at 08:20 (the bus might only arrive five minutes later here, but be there no later than 08:20 as the bus cannot wait). A local participant will be at each of the pick up points and will travel with the bus. A bus will bring participants back into town (the same two stops) after the workshop each day (except Tuesday, when we have the dinner).

At other times of the day you can take Bus 30 - the "Science Bus" - up to MPIA (the bus will drop you off right outside HdA) or back down the hill (you probably want to get off at Peterskirche). A map of the entire bus/tram network is here (the MPIA is slightly below and right of the centre). You can buy tickets online or at ticket machines or (if that fails) from the driver on the bus (the cost is approximately 2.50 € each way). Note that where the Science Bus departs - Universitätsplatz - to go up to MPIA is not far from Peterskirche. There is a also a taxi stand near there if all else fails.

Exploring Heidelberg

The easiest way to explore Heidelberg is by foot. Public transportation in Heidelberg is provided by the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) in the form of buses and trams; these can take you more or less anywhere you want to go within the city. The timetables can be found online; you can also download various apps to help you plan, e.g. the official RNV app (in german) or the VRN Ticket app (in english).