German writers and thinkers such as Goethe, Hoelderlin, Heine and Hegel were all Heidelberg enthusiasts in their day. These days, the city on the River Neckar attracts some 3.5 million tourists each year.

Despite its popularity with visitors, Heidelberg has maintained its original charm. Its main street - one of Europe's longest promenades - is perfect an afternoon of shopping.

Heidelberg also has a long tradition as a city of scholars and students. It is home to Germany's oldest university, which celebrates its 625th anniversary in 2011. To mark the occasion, the original manuscript of the famed "Codex Manesse," a comprehensive collection of Minnesinger song texts from the Middle Ages, is being put on display.

Heidelberg is a city that has been immortalized in poems and songs, as well as on the stage and in musicals and films. Click on the video below to join Joachim Buerkert, head of the Heidelberg student theater "IDeFix," on a tour of his favorite places in the city. You'll visit Goethe's bench in the Palace Garden; Steingasse, a charming street in the old town, and the Karlstorbahnhof Cultural Center.

Text: DW-TV

Editor: Kate Bowen