Europe >> Central Europe >> Germany >> Hesse

Hesse (German: Hessen [1]) is one of the states of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Regions

North Hessen or Kur-Hessen.

Cities

Villages

Other destinations

  • Grosser Feldberg. The highest mountain in Taunus (881 metres). On its summit, there is a 40 metre tall observation tower. A much more remarkable tower on its summit is the telecommunication tower, which cannot normally be visited.

Culture and History

Talk

Natives of Hesse have a strong dialect of German, that can even be confusing to other Germans. They will understand and speak high ("standard") German as well. Since many also speak at least rudimentary English you shouldn't have any problems communicating with them.

Travel to Hesse - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Hesse

International visitors will arrive mostly at Frankfurt Airport, the second largest airport in Europe and a major hub for the German carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurt's central station is less than 15 minutes away by subway.

Hahn, somewhat misleadingly officially called "Frankfurt Hahn" even though the city is over 100 km away, is a former military airfield being used by "no frills" low budget airlines. Getting from Hahn to Frankfurt takes about 90 minutes.

By train

Regular and high-speed Intercity trains connect Hesse to the rest of the nation as well as to various international destinations.

Tours and Getting around Hesse

There are large regional networks of public transport:

  • Nordhessischer VerkehrsVerbund (NVV)
  • Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV)
  • German National Railways offer the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket for day-long unlimited travel on local trains nationwide.

Hesse tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Frankfurt's skyline of highrises clustered in the downtown city is a rare sight in Europe.
  • Not necessarily touristy Rüdesheim, but the valley of the river Rhine with its castles and vineyards
  • Eberbach Abbey[2], a cistercian monastery where 'The Name of the Rose' was shot
  • Hessenpark[3], an open-air museum showcasing half-timbered buildings from the land of Hesse

Hesse city tours

  • Shopping, museums, opera, theater and ballet options abound in Frankfurt.
  • Take a boat trip on the rivers Main and Rhine.
  • Go canoeing on the Lahn river.
  • Do some hiking up the Feldberg/Taunus or in the Spessart woods.

Hesse Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

  • A vegetarian option for the daring is Handkäs mit Musik, literally: hand cheese with music, a traditional dish where dry, round, low-fat cheese is marinated in oil with caraway and raw onions (hence the "music").
  • Another Hesse specialty is Rippchen mit Kraut, cooked pork chops with loads of Sauerkraut.
  • Not to mention the original Frankfurter Wuerstchen, which are essentially the same as Wiener.
  • For pastries, try the Frankfurter Kranz (Frankfurt Wreath).

Hesse nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Local specialties include wine from grapes, especially white grapes, and from apples (a kind of cider). This apple wine (ebbelwei) may be enjoyed straight (pur) or mixed (gespritzt). The latter versions distinguish between "sweet" and "sour", i.e. mixed with either some citrus soda (Süßgesprizter) or sparkling mineral water (Sauerngesprizter).

Hesse cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Across the state and the country is a dense network of Youth Hostels (membership required).

Get out

Destinations in Hesse:

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, David, Nick Roux, Todd VerBeek and Stacy Hall, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Ypsilon, 3wisemen, Rhetth and Episteme, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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