Understand
The center of Mannheim is laid out like a chess board, with no real street names. Addresses in the Quadrat take the form of a grid reference, such as Q3, 12 designating a block.
Mannheim was a small fishing village before it became a city at the beginning of the 17th century. It was constructed on the site of a fortress guarding the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Neckar. Even nowadays, a few remnants of the fortification can be seen, and the peculiar street layout owes to that part of its history. For 58 years, it served as a royal residence and gave Schiller, Lessing, Goethe and Mozart a home for some time. Before World War II it used to be a beautiful city, but was flattened in bomb raids due to its industrial significance. When it was time to rebuild the city, Mannheim, as many other german cities, opted for an all out modern approach to urban development. Thus, most of the old quarters were replaced by typical fifties buildings. If you are not an adept to architecture, their appeal might not be easy to grasp. As a result, the impression is more of an industrial city with a few spots of beauty.
Modern Mannheim is the second biggest city in Baden-Württemberg and one of the hotspots of immigration. Because of that you'll encounter a lively and colorful mixture of nationalities and cultures in the city. The Mannheim/Heidelberg area hosts the largest concentration of US military personnel in Germany, and barracks are found in many of the suburbs.
Get in
By plane
If you arrive at Frankfurt airport, and want to go to Mannheim or Ludwigshafen, you can either take the ICE high speed train (takes 30 minutes) from the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof, or the Lufthansa Airport Shuttle bus (60 minutes travel time). It's slightly cheaper than the ICE train (35€ for a roundtrip, compared to about 40€ with the train), but takes twice the time. More importantly, if you fly with Lufthansa, Condor, SAS or South African Airways you can have your luggage checked in directly to your final destination.
The Airport Shuttle arrives at and departs at the front of Hotel Dorint near the Wasserturm. The old departure near the central station no longer exists.
By train
ICE, IC and regional trains all stop in Mannheim. Most street car lines also stop at the main station, so getting around is not a problem.
By bus
There's a bus connection from Frankfurt to Mannheim (see the "By plane" section).
Get around
The public transportation system in most large cities in Germany is quite extensive. Bus routes cover Mannheim, and the street car system connects Mannheim to Ludwigshafen across the river, Heidelberg a few minutes away, and Weinheim, in addition to major routes across and through the city.
See
