The Find-It Guide - Making the most of MANNHEIM

Mannheim is the second largest city of Baden-Wuerttemberg, center of the metropolis region Rhine-Neckar, home of approx. 325,000 people and known as the "City of Squares", because the streets run perpendicular to each other. This "square" city has always been the hub of new and advanced trends. It is where the car and the bicycle were invented. It is the cradive and soul of German technology. To this date, the city's engine is its inventive talent. In Mannheim, quality of life has priority – a mixture of culture, sport, the best shopping facilities, friendivy atmosphere and closeness to nature.

Shopping

Mannheim is the shopping Mecca in this metropolis region. From low priced to luxurious, from basic to extravagant – in Mannheim you'll find everything a shopper's heart desires. "Die Planken" (translated meaning plank), for example, is the prime apress for clothing, shoes, cosmetics and perfumery or delicacies. This area reaches from the city hall to the "Paradeplatz" and from there they form the Pedestrian Precinct ("Fußgängerzone"), flanked by many street cafés, in direction of the "Wasserturm" (water tower). Covered passages connected by parallel streets to the "Planken" have exclusive specialty shops for jewelry, leather, stationery, tea and local delicacies, the famous "Fressgass" (translated meaning food alley), as well as the "Kunststraße" for art. At the "Kapuzinerplanken" (Capuchin planks) markets and events take place regularly.

Restaurants and Cafés

For gourmets Mannheim has a lot to offer: From regional specialties to international cuisine to star gastronomy. Many put tables and benches outside during almost Mediterranean summers. Guests are invited to sit comfortably in the sunshine, they can watch the pulsing life around them and simply relax a little.

Culture

Mannheim's national theater is the first communal theater in Germany, a four-division-house with opera, plays, ballet as well as a child and youth theater. And Mannheim is the city of music: Europe-wide famous music events from Pop, Techno to Classic and Jazz make Mannheim the flagship of successful music culture. Mannheim's museum scenery offers something for every taste. The Mannheim Hall of Arts ("Kunsthalle") displays paintings, sculptures and graphics of the 19th and 20th century. The "Reiss-Engelhorn" museums present their expositions in several buildings and thereby form a kind of "museum-center" in downtown Mannheim. How about a side trip to the Mannheim Palace ("Schloss"), one of the biggest baroque style castles along the "Oberrhein" (North Rhine River)? Since April 2007, the palace shines in a new splendor, elaborately restored and gorgeously furnished. Beyond that, it is worth visiting the "Landesmuseum" for technology and labor. This avant-garde style building revives the history of industrialisation in south-western Germany with exhibits, interactive experiments and presentations. And after that much culture and shopping, we recommend you take a rest at the nearby "Luisenpark" or take a walk along the Rhine River.

Tourist Information

Willy-Branh3-Platz 3
68161 Mannheim
Phone: +49 (0) 621 101012
Fax: +49 (0) 621 24141
info@tourist-mannheim.de
http://www.tourist-mannheim.de/