Around Karlsruhe in 48 hours
With a little more time on your hands you can be a bit more laid back, very much like the way of life here in Baden. Many sights are centrally located in Karlsruhe, just take a little more time and take a leisurely stroll through the city centre. An exciting evening programme will truly round off your stay.
Day 1
Your morning in Karlsruhe
Start your day with a relaxing wander along Kaiserstraße. It is still pleasantly empty here in the morning. In addition to the numerous shopping options, you will also find nice cafés in the small fan-like streets hidden from the shopping mile. Following one of the fan beams to the north will take you directly to the castle, where the Baden State Museum is housed. You gain free entry into the collection exhibition of the Baden State Museum and the popular castle tower with the Karlsruhe Card. You should definitely not miss the ascent to the 42-meter high castle tower: there are awesome views overlooking the fan layout of the city from up here.
Day 2
You can take things a little easier on the second day with a stroll through the Zoological Gardens in the morning. You also have free entry here with the Karlsruhe Card and get a discount on a small gondoletta boat ride over the City Gardens' Lake.
Be sure to take the tram to Karlsruhe Durlach – the "mother" of Karlsruhe – in the afternoon. Quaint timber-framed alleys and parts of the preserved city wall await you here. Be enchanted by the historical charm of this city district. The Karlsruhe Card also gives you free travel to Durlach with the tramway.
You will pass the site of the old slaughterhouse on your way to Karlsruhe Durlach. Break your journey here and explore the area and its history. Music clubs, a business incubator and restaurants can be found here now where a large stable, fat rendering plant and a cattle market once stood.
In the afternoon
Be sure to stop by the Botanical Gardens before leaving the castle for lunch. Here you will find a place of tranquillity nestled within the city.
Freshly rejuvenated after a relaxing lunch in one of the numerous restaurants in the city centre, it is now time to visit the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe "ZKM". The ZKM is a cultural facility like no other worldwide, featuring a wide variety of capabilities for developing interdisciplinary projects and international collaborations, with the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Media Museum and several institutes. The Karlsruhe Card grants you free entry here.
To finish off the day
Visit a cultural highlight in the evening: from top-class shows in the Baden State Theatre, live music in the Tollhaus Cultural Centre, or an upscale performance in the chamber theatre, Karlsruhe has a wide range of stage options to choose from. There are almost daily performances in the many little theatres in the city centre, from cabaret to puppet theatre.
If you don’t want to draw your trip out with a cultural event, then you can call into the restaurants, bars and bistros around Ludwigsplatz. There is always something going on there, especially in the summer: bands play or after work parties get into swing. People come and go and to see and be seen.
