Tübingen Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Tübingen

Tübingen is a historic university city located in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 30 kilometers south of Stuttgart. Situated along the Neckar and Ammer rivers, the city occupies a hilly landscape bordered by the densely wooded Schönbuch nature park to the north and the Swabian Alb mountains to the southeast. With students comprising roughly one-third of its 90,000 residents, Tübingen features one of the youngest average populations in Germany.

The city's history includes human settlement dating back thousands of years and early Roman fortifications along the Neckar. In 1477, Count Eberhard V founded the Eberhard Karl University, which developed into a major center of learning and remains the city's largest source of income. Remarkably, Tübingen survived the Second World War with its medieval core nearly fully intact. Subsequent growth led to the construction of northern university facilities, as well as the post-Cold War redevelopment of former military bases into mixed-use districts such as the French Quarter.

Visitors come to explore the preserved historic Altstadt, characterized by narrow cobblestone lanes, canals, and traditional half-timbered houses. Dominating the historic core are Schloss Hohentübingen, a fortress now utilized by the university, and the 15th-century St. George's Collegiate Church, which provides broad views from its clock tower. Below the central Marktplatz and its historic Rathaus lies the Judengasse, a quiet residential street that served as the heart of the local Jewish community until the late 15th century.

Where the Neckar River flows past the historic center, it forms the Neckarinsel, a narrow island featuring the Platanenallee tree promenade. The island offers views of the riverfront buildings, including the Hölderlinturm tower house where poet Friedrich Hölderlin resided later in life. In the summer, the river becomes a focal point for leisure, offering beer gardens and trips on slim, flat-bottomed punts known as Stocherkähne. These boats seat up to 20 passengers and compete in an annual race held every June.

Tübingen features regular outdoor markets at the Marktplatz and Holzmarkt, along with open-air cinema events, seasonal autumn and Christmas markets, and a December chocolate festival. On the northern edge of the city, the district of Bebenhausen hosts a historical Cistercian abbey and castle complex that marks a starting point for regional pilgrimage routes through the surrounding forest.