The castle view
From the middle of the bridge: the castle on its hill with the old town below. The image you know of Heidelberg.
BishkekRocks — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Flocci Nivis — CC BY 4.0 · Tilman2007 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tilman2007 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Twenty minutes to half an hour for the bridge and photographs. If you cross and climb the Philosophers' Walk, add another hour and a half — the climb is a little tiring but the view earns it.
The present statue is modern, placed in 1979. But the idea of a monkey at the bridge is old, meaning that visitor and resident are equals and neither should look down on the other. Touching the mirror is a modern tourist habit, not an old custom.
For castle and bridge together, cross to the north bank and stand on the riverside path. From the middle of the bridge you get the castle alone, more clearly. Try both — they are minutes apart.
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The Old Bridge crosses the Neckar and links the old town with the far bank. Its formal name is the Karl Theodor Bridge, and it was built in sandstone in 1788. Before it there were many wooden bridges here, and floods or ice carried all of them away. The bridge is free, always open, and for people on foot only. At the town end stands a white gate with two cone-topped towers, a surviving piece of the old city wall. On the bridge there is a bronze monkey holding a mirror; people touch the mirror and photograph themselves with it, though this is a tourist habit rather than an old tradition. The real reason to come is the view. From the middle you see the castle on its hill, the old town roofs below it, and the river in between. This is the most famous picture of Heidelberg. Early morning or just before sunset are the best times.
From the middle of the bridge: the castle on its hill with the old town below. The image you know of Heidelberg.
A white gate with two cone-topped towers at the entrance, left from the old city wall.
A bronze monkey holding a mirror. Everyone photographs themselves with it — the city's best-known small detail.
Alte Brücke, 69117 Heidelberg