Ludwigshafen travel guide
A Miró wall on the Rhine, BASF's home town and the tram to the Palatinate wine villages
An industrial city on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite Mannheim and home to BASF, with a modern art museum, a riverside park beach and fast access to the Palatinate wine country. The Parkinsel and the film festival make summer the best time. Allow half a day for the city itself, more for the wine country. Costs are high.
Ludwigshafen faces Mannheim across the Rhine, and the two cities work as one urban area even though a state border runs down the middle of the river. Founded in the 19th century as a Bavarian port and named after King Ludwig I, it grew up around BASF, whose chemical works stretch for kilometres along the northern riverbank and still employ tens of thousands of people. Wartime bombing and post-war planning left a centre of concrete, elevated roads and shopping streets.
Nobody comes for postcard views. The reasons to stop are more specific: the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum with its huge ceramic wall by Joan Miró, a summer film festival under the trees of the Parkinsel, and the Palatinate on the doorstep, where a tram runs through vineyards to Bad Dürkheim. This is also the home town of Helmut Kohl, who served the famous Palatinate stuffed pig's stomach to visiting heads of state. Use it as a half-day stop from Mannheim, or as a cheap base for the wine villages and Heidelberg.
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Top things to do in Ludwigshafen
A short visit covers the Miró-fronted art museum, the Rhine promenade and the Parkinsel, with the Palatinate vineyards and Speyer within easy reach.
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Best time to visit Ludwigshafen
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
The Parkinsel beach and riverside paths are at their best, and the Festival des deutschen Films sets up its tents on the island in late summer.
Palatinate villages hold their harvest festivals, including the giant Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim in September, a tram ride away.
The Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in September, despite the name a huge wine festival, fills the trams from Ludwigshafen; go early in the day or on a weekday.
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Getting there
Through Mannheim Hbf and over the Rhine to Ludwigshafen Mitte
There is no airport and almost no long-distance train service, so nearly everyone comes via Mannheim. Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has its own ICE station, and the high-speed train to Mannheim Hauptbahnhof takes about 30 minutes; from there, S-Bahn RheinNeckar trains cross the river to Ludwigshafen Mitte in a few minutes, or a tram from the forecourt of Mannheim Hbf runs over the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke into the centre. Mannheim is one of Germany's busiest rail junctions, with direct ICEs from Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Basel and Paris, so connections are easy. Get off at Ludwigshafen Mitte, not the Hauptbahnhof: Mitte is under the Berliner Platz, the hub for trams, buses and taxis, while the main station sits on the edge of the centre with fewer onward links. By car, the A6, A61 and A650 serve the city; the elevated roads through the centre are being rebuilt and diversions are common.
- Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- About 30 minutes by ICE to Mannheim, then a few minutes by S-Bahn
- Mannheim Hbf
- S-Bahn or tram across the Rhine to Ludwigshafen in under 10 minutes
- Ludwigshafen Mitte
- Station under the Berliner Platz, the main transport hub
- Taxis wait at Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof and the Berliner Platz; at Mannheim Hbf, the S-Bahn is quicker than a cab across the bridges.
Where to stay
Berliner Platz, Mannheim's Quadrate or a Weinstraße village
Stay at the Berliner Platz for walking access to the Rhine promenade and the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, or across the river in Mannheim, 10 minutes by tram, for far more hotels and restaurants. Hotel choice in Ludwigshafen is thin and business-oriented, which keeps prices down, and winery guesthouses in Bad Dürkheim suit a wine trip.
- Centre and Berliner Platz
- Walk to the Rhein-Galerie, the riverfront and the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum; a few business hotels, quiet at night
- Mannheim city centre
- The grid of lettered blocks across the river has far more hotels, restaurants and nightlife; 10 minutes by tram
- Bad Dürkheim and the Weinstraße
- Winery guesthouses among the vineyards about 40 minutes away by tram; best for a wine-focused stay
- Oggersheim
- Residential district with Kohl's former home and a pilgrimage church; few hotels, tram links to the centre
- When BASF or Mannheim host large conferences, business hotels fill on weekdays and empty at weekends; weekend rates are often lower.
Getting around
RNV trams from the Berliner Platz to Bad Dürkheim
Trams and buses are run by RNV (Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr), which serves Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg as one network under the VRN fare system, so a single ticket works on both sides of the Rhine. The Berliner Platz is the hub, with tram stops, buses, taxis and the underground Ludwigshafen Mitte S-Bahn station. Trams 4 and 10 stop at Pfalzbau/Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, and line 4 crosses to Mannheim in one direction and in the other runs out as the Rhein-Haardtbahn through Oggersheim and the vineyards to Bad Dürkheim, a ride of about 40 minutes; on Sundays line 9 covers the Bad Dürkheim run. Before boarding, buy a ticket from a machine or the VRN and RNV apps, and check whether your ticket zone covers the trip to Bad Dürkheim. The S-Bahn RheinNeckar links Ludwigshafen with Heidelberg, Speyer and Neustadt an der Weinstraße. VRNnextbike rental bikes are dotted around both cities, and the Rhine promenade and Parkinsel are best explored on foot or by bike.
- Tram 4 or 10
- To the Pfalzbau/Wilhelm-Hack-Museum stop; line 4 continues to Mannheim
- Rhein-Haardtbahn
- Line 4 (line 9 on Sundays) through the vineyards to Bad Dürkheim in about 40 minutes
- S-Bahn RheinNeckar
- To Heidelberg, Speyer and Neustadt an der Weinstraße
- The elevated roads through the centre are being demolished and rebuilt; walking routes around them can change at short notice.
Know before you go
Ludwigshafen is BASF's town and a door to the Palatinate wine route.
Why travelers love it
- The Miró wall on the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, more than 50 metres of glazed ceramic tiles in Joan Miró's bright colours facing the street.
- A summer evening on the Parkinsel, watching the Rhine barges from the little riverside beach with the Mannheim skyline opposite.
- Riding the Rhein-Haardtbahn out of the industrial city and into the vineyards of the Weinstraße.
Good to know
- BASF dominates the north of the city; the plant itself is closed to casual visitors, and the company's visitor centre, when open, is the place to learn about it.
- Ludwigshafen Mitte, not the Hauptbahnhof, is the station for the centre and onward trams.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Ludwigshafen, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Ludwigshafen are being researched.
Miró wall, Parkinsel beach and a tram ride to the Bad Dürkheim vineyards
Half a day covers Ludwigshafen, and a full day adds the wine country. Start at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum behind its Miró wall, walk the Rhine promenade to the Parkinsel beach, then ride the Rhein-Haardtbahn tram about 40 minutes through Oggersheim to Bad Dürkheim for the vineyards and the giant wine barrel.
Morning. Ride tram 4 to Pfalzbau/Wilhelm-Hack-Museum and start at the museum, whose street front is the enormous ceramic Miró wall. Inside are strong collections of constructivist and concrete art, Expressionists and post-war abstraction, plus the early medieval Gondorf grave finds, which go on show only from time to time. Next door, the Theater im Pfalzbau is where the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz performs.
Late morning. Walk down to the river and the Rhein-Galerie, a shopping centre with a long terrace on the water, then follow the promenade south to the Parkinsel, a leafy island park with a small sandy beach facing Mannheim. In August and September it hosts the open-air Festival des deutschen Films.
Afternoon. Head back to the centre and catch the Rhein-Haardtbahn west. On the way it passes Oggersheim, where Helmut Kohl lived for decades and where the baroque pilgrimage church draws visitors. Ride on to Bad Dürkheim, about 40 minutes from the city, for a walk through the spa gardens and up into the vineyards, and see the Dürkheimer Riesenfass, a giant wine barrel that houses a restaurant.
Evening. Have a Weinschorle in a wine tavern in Bad Dürkheim before the tram back, or cross to Mannheim for dinner.
With a second day, take the S-Bahn to Speyer for its Romanesque cathedral, a UNESCO site where Kohl is buried nearby, or to Heidelberg for the castle and old town.
Saumagen, Leberknödel and the Dubbeglas Weinschorle
Ludwigshafen eats Palatinate food. The signature dish is Pfälzer Saumagen, stuffed pig's stomach that Helmut Kohl served to world leaders, often with Leberknödel and Bratwurst on a Schlachtplatte. Drink Weinschorle by the half litre from a dimpled Dubbeglas, and for the proper setting go to the wine taverns of Bad Dürkheim.
Ludwigshafen belongs to the Palatinate, a region that eats generously and drinks wine before beer. Its best-known dish is Pfälzer Saumagen: a pig's stomach stuffed with pork, potato and carrot, seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, boiled, then sliced and browned in a pan and served with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Helmut Kohl famously served it to guests including Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton, and it has been a point of local pride ever since.
Its partners on any Palatinate menu are Leberknödel, large liver dumplings, and Pfälzer Bratwurst, often served together as a Schlachtplatte with sauerkraut. Lighter choices include Dampfnudeln, steamed yeast dumplings with a crisp salty base, eaten with wine sauce or vanilla custard.
To drink, order a Weinschorle, white wine topped up with sparkling water, served by the half litre in the dimpled Dubbeglas. Locals argue about the right ratio; the Palatinate rule is more wine than water.
In the city, the riverside around the Rhein-Galerie has terraces for a casual meal, and the Hemshof, the old working-class district north of the centre, is full of Turkish and Italian family restaurants. For Palatinate food in its proper setting, go to the wine taverns of Bad Dürkheim or the Weinstraße villages, where seasonal Straußwirtschaften open in winemakers' courtyards. Mannheim, across the bridge, adds a far bigger restaurant scene for an evening out.
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How we research our Ludwigshafen travel guide
Ludwigshafen is mid-rebuild in the centre, so ludwigshafen.de is checked for road changes and film festival dates. Trains via Mannheim come from Deutsche Bahn, and RNV tram line 4 to Bad Dürkheim is checked with the operator; the German National Tourist Board adds background.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of LudwigshafenGerman National Tourist BoardDeutsche Bahn
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Ludwigshafen answers, from the wine country tram to the film festival.
Getting there
ICE and IC trains stop across the river at Mannheim Hauptbahnhof, one of Germany's major junctions. From there the S-Bahn or a tram reaches Ludwigshafen in a few minutes.
General
Ludwigshafen Mitte, under the Berliner Platz, where trams, buses and taxis meet. The Hauptbahnhof is on the edge of the centre.
A huge ceramic mural designed by Joan Miró that covers the museum's street façade, made of thousands of glazed tiles. The museum inside focuses on 20th-century and contemporary art.
A Palatinate dish of pig's stomach stuffed with pork, potato and carrots, simmered, sliced and pan-fried. Helmut Kohl made it famous by serving it to world leaders.
Take RNV line 4 (line 9 on Sundays), the Rhein-Haardtbahn, which runs from the city through Oggersheim and the vineyards in about 40 minutes.
In a house in the Oggersheim district, his home for decades until his death in 2017. It is a private residence and not open to visitors.
There is a small sandy riverside beach on the Parkinsel, good for watching barges and sunsets. Swimming in the Rhine is dangerous because of currents and shipping.
The production site is not open to casual visitors, but BASF has run a visitor centre in the city that explains the company and its chemistry. Check whether it is open, and on which days, before you go.
Yes. The S-Bahn reaches Speyer in about 20 to 30 minutes, and its Romanesque cathedral is one of the great UNESCO-listed churches of Germany.
Trams and buses are run by RNV (Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr), which serves Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg as one network under the VRN fare system, so a single ticket works on both sides of the Rhine. The Berliner Platz is the hub, with tram stops, buses, taxis and the underground Ludwigshafen Mitte S-Bahn station. Trams 4 and 10 stop at Pfalzbau/Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, and line 4 crosses to Mannheim in one direction and in the other runs out as the Rhein-Haardtbahn through Oggersheim and the vineyards to Bad Dürkheim, a ride of about 40 minutes; on Sundays line 9 covers the Bad Dürkheim run.
Timing & weather
It runs for several weeks in late summer, usually from August into September, with screenings in tents and open-air cinemas under the trees on the island.
The best time to visit Ludwigshafen is May to Sep. Warm evenings on the Rhine at the Parkinsel, the film festival and the wine festivals of the Palatinate.
- Rhine summer: May - September (The Parkinsel beach and riverside paths are at their best, and the Festival des deutschen Films sets up its tents on the island in late summer)
- Wine-festival autumn: September - October (Palatinate villages hold their harvest festivals, including the giant Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim in September, a tram ride away)
Booking
Allow half a day for the city itself, more for the wine country.
Visa & documents
As a Schengen member, Germany shares one set of entry rules with most of the EU. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing at large stations, Christmas markets and on big-city public transport is the main risk in a very safe country. Carry ID and validate paper tickets where required. Call 110 for police and 112 for fire or ambulance.
