Exploring Southern Germany’s Bad Wimpfen

If you want to see a gorgeously typical southern German town, without all the foreign tourists, then I recommend the village of Bad Wimpfen. Apart from having a cute name, it is a historic town with old Fachwerk buildings, great views over the Neckar River and German-style restaurants and bars for a meal or a beer.

Bad Wimpfen dates back to the middle ages and gets the "Bad" in its name ("bath", in German) as it's originally a spa town, located about an hour north of Stuttgart. A big part of the appeal is its situation on top of a hill above the river, so when you visit some of the Old Town buildings, the views down the valley are incredible. You can also take a river cruise to Bad Wimpfen (for example, from Heilbronn or from Heidelberg) which is a great way to approach the town - although it means you're in for a steep climb to get into the town center.

The most notable feature of Bad Wimpfen is the Blauer Turm, or Blue Tower. It's a real fairytale style tower, with blue-looking tiles at the top, giving it the name. Incredibly, somebody actually lives in this tower, and they're responsible for taking your entrance fee when you reach the top. (I always think about how fit this person must be, when they have to climb all those stairs everytime they want to go out!). From the top of the tower, you have a fantastic view over the river and the red roofs of the village, and as you can see in the photo, this view is even prettier on a snow-dusted winter day.

But if you're not feeling up to climbing the tower, simply strolling through Bad Wimpfen will provide plenty of great photo opportunities, as nearly every street of the town center is full of old Fachwerk style houses, some of them leaning at almost frightening angles, and all painted and kept carefully to keep in line with the heritage protection regulations. There are plenty of restaurants serving traditional Swabian foods like Maultaschen or Spätzle (both similar to kinds of pasta, and both delicious!).

For me, by far the best time of year to visit Bad Wimpfen is in late November and early December, when three weekends come alive with the Old German Christmas Markets. Along the narrow streets and in the town square, stalls spring up selling all kinds of traditional Christmas treats, including gingerbread, mulled wine and wooden Christmas decorations. Germans visit from all around the area as it's well known as one of the most authentic Christmas markets.