Discover the Bergstraße: Wine, Hiking and Culture
Accommodation in Bergstraße
In the Bergstraße district, gentle vineyards meet the Odenwald. There are also hiking trails, regional wines and cultural sites, each with its own story. If you’re looking for a holiday apartment, you can start by considering whether hiking, wine and regional culture should be the focus of your holiday—the specific places and experiences provide a helpful guide.
Bergstraße
Photo: Karin Höll
Hiking trails of different lengths
The “Wine & Stone” Discovery Trail in Heppenheim is about 6.9 kilometres long and has around 70 information stations. So if you’re interested in the trail, you’ll find not only a stated distance but also plenty of stops along the route. The Burgensteig Bergstraße offers a different scale: this hiking trail is 120 kilometres long and comprises nine stages.
The route of the Nibelungensteig also offers its own point of reference: it leads from Zwingenberg via the Felsenmeer and Grasellenbach through the Odenwald to Freudenberg am Main. For cycling, the Bergstraße-Odenwald Geo-Nature Park has more than 30 signposted mountain-bike circular routes in an interconnected trail system. The Bergstraße-Odenwald Network also arranges guided hikes and cycling tours; rangers from the Geo-Nature Park can be booked as tour guides.
In Lautertal, the Felsenmeer Information Centre offers Felsenmeer discovery trails. Felsenmeer guides can be booked there in person. If you’d like to include a guided tour or discovery trail in your plans, check the current booking options before your visit.
Wine and regional specialities
The Bergstraße has a distinctive profile when it comes to wine, too: Riesling is considered its signature white grape, while Pinot Noir dominates among red wines. You can sample Red Riesling and other Bergstraße specialities directly from producers, in wine taverns or at wine festivals. These different opportunities are a good fit for anyone who wants to include regional produce in their holiday plans.
An annual event for hiking and wine enthusiasts is the autumn hike on Heppenheim’s “Wine & Stone” Discovery Trail. It takes place on 3 October from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Along the trail, hikers can enjoy wine and food at five stations in the vineyards. Check the event details before your trip if you’d like to plan around this date.
Cultural sites and family experiences
The Bergstraße district’s cultural offerings combine half-timbered towns with modern cultural attractions. Lorsch Abbey is home to one of the best-preserved Carolingian buildings north of the Alps; the abbey was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991. Public guided tours are available for groups of two or more. As dates and prices may change, it’s worth checking the latest information if you’re planning a tour.
Families can explore the Lauresham Open-Air Laboratory independently with a discovery kit. The kit contains activities, puzzles and experiments. Visiting hours and conditions apply, so check the details in advance. In Heppenheim, Starkenburg Castle stands above the town on the 295-metre-high Schlossberg. It offers views over the Rhine Plain and the Odenwald. The castle was built in 1065 to protect Lorsch Abbey—a historical connection between the two sites.
Fürstenlager State Park is another destination with both natural and cultural appeal: this approximately 46-hectare park is home to exotic trees and plants. Visitors can also explore nature in the Bergstraße-Odenwald UNESCO Geo-Nature Park; the Tourist Information Centre in the Old Town Hall in Lorsch can advise on leisure activities.
Choose the right base
When choosing a location for your holiday apartment, you can start with the experiences that interest you most. With the “Wine & Stone” trail and Starkenburg Castle, Heppenheim offers two different starting points for active days and cultural outings. In Lautertal, the focus is on activities around the Felsenmeer; Lorsch combines abbey history with public guided tours and the Tourist Information Centre. Lorsch can be reached by local public transport and by car. Check the latest timetables before travelling. This lets you base your accommodation search on the activities you have planned, without assuming specific distances or a particular route.
Discover more destinations: Lindenfels, Wald-Michelbach, Viernheim, Lampertheim, Heppenheim, Bürstadt, Bensheim, Grasellenbach, Abtsteinach, Rimbach, Neckarsteinach, Mörlenbach, Lautertal, Lorsch, Biblis, Groß-Rohrheim, Einhausen, Zwingenberg, Birkenau, Fürth, Gorxheimertal, Hirschhorn am Neckar.
Back to the main travel overview: Hesse.
