Heidelberg, Germany Guide To Bars – All The Best Places To Go
About this section
There are a huge selection of coffee bars and bars in Heidelberg. This has probably got something to do with the large number of students that live here and the number of visitors we get.
We decided to split this section into two parts, the first part for the coffee bars and the second for the bars. A number of the establishments that appeared in the dining section of this site will also appear here. We couldn’t possibly cover all the bars that there are in Heidelberg in this section, so we’ve decided to share with you a few of our favorites – hope you enjoy them! We’ll be adding a review facility to this section shortly, so make sure you come back and tell us about your experiences in Heidelberg bars.
Tip: Unterestrasse, which runs parallel to the Haupstrasse, is a narrow little road with lots and lots of bars. In the summer the street completely fills up with people enjoying themselves. Make sure you visit some of the bars here.
Coffee bars
Max-Bar
Location: Marktplatz 5, right in the heart of the old town
Telephone: 24419
Cool coffee bar, serving great coffee. Tables outside in the summer. You can also get alcoholic drinks here. Great central location – great service.
If you’re tired of walking around Heidelberg, this is the perfect place to take a load off, have a coffee or a beer and perhaps write a postcard or two. It can get a little smoky inside the bar. Max Bar is popular with locals and visitors alike.
Max-Bar
Casa del Caffe
Location: Steingasse 8, almost opposite the Vetters bar
Telephone: 29969
Small coffee shop with cool interior. Standing room only, except in the summer when there are a couple of tables out front. Good for a quick espresso.
Serves very good, freshly made coffee. If you just want a quick coffee to jump start your day and don’t want to hang around, this is the place for you.
Ellin
Location: Marktplatz 7, across the Marktplatz from Max Bar
Telephone: 183085
Across the marketplace from the Max-bar, another cool coffee bar with a great interior. Modern metal tables and chairs outside in the summer (remember if you’re wearing shorts that metal gets hot in the sun!!). Also serves alcohol.
Another good place to rest your weary, visitor feet – particularly if you’ve just visited the Castle on foot – and write some postcards or just watch the world go by while enjoying a drink.
Ellin
Star Coffee
Location: Sofienstrasse 23, just off Bismarckplatz
Telephone: 619171
Newish, American style coffee bar, serving good coffee variants and filled bagels, located almost opposite the post office behind Kaufhof department store on Bismarckplatz. Extra seating upstairs. € 1.5 to € 2.5 for a regular or large coffee. Special offers for students. Star coffee have another branch at Haupstrasse 129.
Cafebar d’Aix en provence
Location: Bergstr. 1, across the river in Neuenheim
Telephone: 419895
French café in Neuenheim, across the road from O’Reillys. Turns into a late night bar (and we mean late, ’til 3am some mornings). Popular with an older crowd. Snacks available.
The staff are often French in Bar D’Aix, so if you’ve to Germany for a French experience, check it out. The fact that it is often open late may also come in handy if you’ve decided to live it up a little during your stay.
Cafebar d'Aix en provence
Cafe Journal
Location: Hauptstr. 162, right in the centre of the old town.
Telephone: 161712
One of the best cafes in Heidelberg. Pretty big, french(ish) interior and great coffee. Also serves food and alcoholic drinks.
This is a pretty large cafe, with seating for more than 50. The interior is very nicely done, with framed magazine covers hanging on the walls. It’s very easy to while away an afternoon and evening here.
Cafe Journal
Bars
Vetter
Location: Steingasse 9, just by the old bridge
Telephone: 165850
Very popular with visitors, but the locals still visit because of the great tasting, in house brewed beer. Sit at one of the long wooden tables and enjoy the ‘German’ atmosphere (and the beer of course). Located close to the old bridge.
If you visit Heidelberg at Christmas, then ask for the special Christmas beer – it’s stronger than normal beer, so be careful – and has a very special taste.
Vetter
sLager
Location: Untere Str. 35,
Telephone: 166339
A little tricky to find, you have to walk into a back courtyard as the entrance isn’t directly off Untere Strasse (in the old town). Quite a big bar with lots of seating, although by around 10 pm all the seating will be taken and by 10.30pm the place will be so packed with people you can’t move! Popular with the 20 to 30 crowd. Check out the great wall paintings while you’re here.
Napper Tandys
Location: Haspelgasse 4, just around the corner from Vetters and in the shadow of the old bridge.
Telephone: 25979
One of the many Irish pubs in Heidelberg. Located in the old town near to the river. Serves Guinness and local German beers. Good pub food menu. Gets busy after 10pm. Also runs the occasional pub quiz – these are great fun, although we have to say that the advent of the mobile phone will probably kill off the whole pub quiz thing soon.
I-Punkt
Location: Untere Str. 30, across the road from sLager
Telephone: 602441
Pretty small bar on the popular Untere Strasse. Good atmosphere and good service make this a popular haunt for a cross section of locals and visitors to Heidelberg. The seating inside is of the high stool variety – so if you’re looking for a comfy chair this isn’t the place for you.
During the summer they put a couple of tables outside – good for watching the world go by.
I-Punkt
Hemingways
Location: Fahrtgasse 1, down by the river, close to the new bridge.
Telephone: 165033
Down by the river in the old town, with a popular beer garden to the front. Serves good German beer. Also a good menu.
Hemingways is quite famous for its Flammkuchen – this is a speciality from the Alsace region. They also serve a good rauchbier (or smoky beer) that is served in a clay mug – well worth having a taste.
Hemingways
Pepper Bar
Location: Heugasse 1, on a street running off the Hauptstrasse, close to Universitätsplatz
Telephone: 168617
Popular bar with a trendy crowd, just off the Hauptstrasse. Open until late at the weekends. Tends to get busy after around 10.30pm. A few tables outside during the summer. Funnily enough serves Guinness.
Also serves some pretty tasty snacks to keep you going on a long night. Has a great big picture of J Edgar Hoover’s head hanging from one wall for some reason!
Pepper Bar
Marktstuebel
Location: Ladenburger Str. 18, across the river from the old town on Neuenheimer Marktplatz
Telephone: 436602
This is a real summer bar. The bar is on Neuenheim Marktplatz and puts out chairs and tables onto the square during the summer months. You can sit outside until 11pm. Very good wheat (Weisse) beer served here.
If you want to get a table outside on a nice summer’s evening then try and get there before 20.00, otherwise you’ll find yourself waiting around hoping for someone to leave and free up a a table.
O’Reillys Irish pub
Location: Opposite Bar D’Aix in Neuenheim
Telephone: 410140
Popular with the expatriate crowd. Often live music in the back bar – keep an eye on the events section for upcoming live music. Serves Guinness of course. Tables outside in the summer. Open until 1am.
This is the closest you’ll get to an Irish pub atmosphere in Heidelberg – lively, noisy, busy and lots of people having a lot of fun.
O'Reillys Irish pub
Gilberts
Location: Handschuhsheimer Landstr. 96
Telephone: 413888
Slightly off the beaten track in Handschuhsheim, you’ll need a map to find it. Lovely beer garden to the rear, worth the visit for this alone in the summer. Popular with the locals and food is also available.
Handschuhsheim, as mentioned elsewhere on this web site, is one of the more desirable residential areas in Heidelberg. So if you visit Gilberts, you might also want to take the opportunity to have a look around at some of the other bars, restaurants and so on that are found here.
Gilberts