www.hessen.travel Experiences to remember in the towns & cities of Hessen. CITY BREAKS in Wiesbaden, Rüsselsheim, Darmstadt, Frankfurt am Main, Seligenstadt, Heppenheim, Bensheim, Michelstadt, Offenbach, Wetzlar, Hanau, Giessen, Marburg, Fulda, Kassel, Bad Hersfeld Hessen_ENG_A4-16S_2015.indd 1 05.01.16 15:11 Destination Hessen: the biggest and best towns and cities with their wealth of culture © Jahreszeitenverlag – G. Hänel Market square in Heppenheim © Jahreszeitenverlag – Dorothea Schmid Discus thrower at the Liebieghaus museum © Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main Kornmarkt square in Wetzlar in Frankfurt Do you have a passion for art and culture? of Wetzlar, where the great German poet Do you enjoy the theatre or visiting the Goethe once lived, or the regional capital latest exhibitions? Are you a fan of historical Kassel Wiesbaden with its packed programme of architecture and buzzing international events and fantastic shopping. Wander the cities? Is shopping your thing and do you lanes of the old towns in Seligenstadt, enjoy eating out? Do you like discovering Bensheim and Heppenheim, see the © Stephan Richter quaint pubs and watching the world go by Bad Hersfeld world-renowned town hall in Michelstadt from a pavement café, or would you prefer and enjoy the famous festival of music and to be strolling around palaces and parks? Marburg theatre in Bad Hersfeld. Then pay a trip to Hessen! Diversity and On the following pages we will introduce Gießen contrasts are the hallmarks of our region’s Wetzlar you to a small selection of the many exciting fabulous towns and cities. And there are so discoveries that await in towns and cities in Fulda many exciting destinations to choose from. Hessen – from picture-book medieval archi- Frankfurt has its urban buzz and its stretch tecture to UNESCO World Heritage sites. of museums along the banks of the river We look forward to seeing you soon! Frankfurt am Main Main, Giessen is one of many univer- Wiesbaden sity towns in the region and Darmstadt Hanau Information Oenbach www.hessen.travel is the city of science, or there is baroque Rüsselsheim Seligenstadt Fulda with its summer season of musicals. Darmstadt Immerse yourself in the fascinating history Bensheim Michelstadt of the Brothers Grimm in the towns of Heppenheim Hanau, Marburg and Kassel, and explore unusual art and culture in Offenbach and Rüsselsheim. Visit the grand old optics town Co-financed by: PRODUCTION CREDITS Published by: HA Hessen Agentur GmbH, Wiesbaden, www.hessen.travel, on behalf of the Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development for the State of Hessen as well as the partners involved. Concept development: HA. Copy: HA and towns and cities. Cover photo: Hauptwache square in Frankfurt, © Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main. All images, unless otherwise indicated: HA, towns and cities and tourist information offices. Production & design: S.I.M. Zeitschriftenverlagsges. m.b.H., Vienna. Printed by: A & M Service GmbH, 65604 Elz. Explicit written approval must be obtained from the publisher before reproducing parts or all of this brochure or using sections of it for commercial purposes. The source must be cited. December 2015 2 | The towns and cities of Hessen Hessen_ENG_A4-16S_2015.indd 2 05.01.16 15:11 Wiesbaden – for the finer things in life City of hot springs, the Nice of the north, gateway to the Rheingau – Wiesbaden, the regional capital of Hessen, goes by many names. Its beautiful architecture, sweeping parks, many restaurants and cafés and proud history as a 19th century spa town make Wiesbaden an ideal destination for those who enjoy the finer things in life. Exquisite and exclusive are the best words to describe the shopping experience on offer in Wilhelmstrasse and Taunusstrasse and in the spa district. You’ll find everything from high- end boutiques and home furnishings stores to antique dealers and delicatessens, a won- derful mix of retail gems that also includes prestigious jewellers, goldsmiths and fashion designers. Dotted between the shops are a variety of places to enjoy Italian and other international cuisine and discover local food © Stephan Richter Rheingau Wine Festival © Fouad Vollmer/Werbeagentur für den Hessischen Heilbäderverband e.V. The town hall and market church and drink, including wines from the nearby airport. It also gives you various discounts, Rheingau vineyards. A gentle stroll around such as at the Wiesbaden Museum. For more Wiesbaden is an experience in itself. The information, visit the website: beautiful architecture and the many neo- www.wiesbaden.de/touristcard classical buildings are a sight to behold and it’s often worth casting your eyes all the way Wiesbaden basic package along the facades and up to the rooftops. • One night with breakfast in a mid-range hotel Wiesbaden is a friendly and welcoming city • Wiesbaden Tourist Card at any time of year, but even more so when • One surprise gift Wiesbaden market one of its many festivals is on. Among the © Wiesbaden Marketing GmbH • One Wiesbaden information pack highlights are the Wilhelmstrassenfest and Arrival: throughout the year; daily Stadtfest street festival, the Rheingau Wine Wiesbaden Marketing offers various package Please book at least three days in advance; subject to availability Festival and the Sternschnuppen Christmas deals for travellers visiting the regional capi- From €60.50 p.p. sharing a double room Market. Cultural events such as the Rhein- tal of Hessen. The Experience Wiesbaden gau Music Festival and the International package, for instance, can be used as a start- Information and bookings May Festival at the Hessian State Theatre ing point for customising a city break or Wiesbaden Marketing GmbH also mean that there’s plenty on offer for business trip. The full range of packages can Tel: +49 (0)611 1729 777 music lovers. be found at the following web address: [email protected] www.wiesbaden.eu The Wiesbaden Museum enjoys international www.wiesbaden.de/individualangebote renown for its outstanding collection of Expressionist paintings. It boasts the foremost Our tip collection in Europe – comprising over 100 The Wiesbaden Tourist Card entitles you to pieces – of the art of Alexej von Jawlensky, the free and unlimited use of the city’s public celebrated Russian Expressionist who lived transport services on two consecutive days, and worked in Wiesbaden for a long period. including for travel to and from Frankfurt 3 | The towns and cities of Hessen Hessen_ENG_A4-16S_2015.indd 3 05.01.16 15:11 Art and culture in Rüsselsheim Opelvillen arts centre Rüsselsheim Fortress Situated in the very heart of the Rhine-Main Park, which is absolutely ideal for a leisurely a tour themed on the famous industrialists region, Rüsselsheim offers all kinds of stroll. And on the other side of this is the Sophie and Adam Opel, and a tour of the options for a varied tourism itinerary. Its Opelvillen museum of modern art. Opened Opel car plant. 600-year-old fortress is a big draw for visi- more than a decade ago, this nationally tors from near and far. The sheer size of the famous gallery mounts exhibitions of world- Information complex and its imposing historical walls are acclaimed artists that change on a half-yearly Rüsselsheim town council Tel: +49 (0)6142 832 347 impres sive enough but there is also an unex- basis. Visitors to the Opelvillen can look for- [email protected] pected surprise for visitors in the form of an ward not only to wonderful works of art www.ruesselsheim.de/en award- winning museum. The Rüsselsheim from the classical modern to the contempo- Museum will take you on a journey of dis- rary period but also to an exclusive historical covery in which you explore the history of setting. The best way to see Rüsselsheim is © Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main industry and the town. Right by the museum on one of the many guided tours. You can go on one side is the late-Romanesque Verna on a tour of the fortress by torchlight, Art nouveau and science in Darmstadt City of science or centre of culture? Darmstadt is both. It brings together the intellectual and the academic with the artistic and innovative in a way few other cities can match. Darmstadt still has the air of a ducal seat, but is very much a city of the 21st century. © Darmstadt Marketing, Agnes Allig It is a place of cultural experimenta- tion amid a landscape of research. The city’s artistic awakening began with © Darmstadt Marketing, Rüdiger Dunker, ESA, Rosetta the establishment of the artists’ colony on Mathildenhöhe hill. The colony’s Darmstadt Art Nouveau Festival Market square and Residenz palace in Darmstadt exhibitions are famous around the world and the remarkable art nouveau buildings there are used to display contem- At ESOC, the European Space Agency’s sat- • Darmstadt Card: two days’ unlimited porary art. Science and culture form a power- ellite control centre, scientists study how the use of public transport in Darmstadt and the surrounding region ful duo in Darmstadt. The Residenz palace is universe came into being. Cultural institutes • Money off at sights and attractions currently used by the city’s technical univer- and research facilities work closely together From €85.00 p.p. sharing a double room sity for research and teaching activities. in order to continue the city’s rich heritage of Right next door, the recently refurbished combining tradition with innovation. Information Landesmuseum displays art from antiquity Darmstadt Marketing GmbH to the present day, natural history collections, Travel package Tel: +49 (0)6151 134 513 zoological dioramas from 1906, geological Darmstadt at a glance [email protected] • One night sharing a double room incl. www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en exhibits and fossils. As the hub of the Euro- breakfast pean space programme, Darmstadt is a place • ‘Darmstadt at a glance’ guided walk of dynamism, inventiveness and innovation.