Germany Guide
Hesse
For many visitors – and particularly those stepping off an intercontinental flight at Frankfurt airport – Hesse is their first taste of Germany. It can be a disconcerting experience, for at first sight there's little about Frankfurt's steel-and-glass modernity or its easy internationalism to summon up half-remembered childhood notions of a Hansel-and-Gretel Germany.
For much of its history Frankfurt was a free imperial city, proudly independent of the competing micro-states that characterized the rest of the region. The modern Land of Hesse was created by the occupying Americans after World War II, who joined the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau to the former Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Confusing? Perhaps. But the complexity of its history helps explain the richness and diversity of Hesse's attractions. If it's big-city buzz that you crave, then Frankfurt – Germany's fifth largest city and the financial capital of the Eurozone – has much to offer, including a heavyweight selection of museums and evocative monuments to its literary, imperial and Jewish pasts. Along the Rhine, you can unwind in the Rheingau's wine country or embrace the day-tripper brashness of Rüdesheim. To the south, laid-back Darmstadt is unmissable for fans of Jugendstil. The genteel spa-towns of Land capital Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg make the perfect antidote to Frankfurt's urban stress. Away from the Rhine-Main region, Hesse is archetypal Germany, with a rolling and often forested landscape that reaches near-mountainous heights in the Taunus and Rhön. In the north, Kassel lures visitors for the documenta contemporary art fair, but then surprises with its exceptional Baroque gardens and excellent museums.
Getting into and around Hesse is easy. Frankfurt's airport has more intercontinental connections than any other in Germany, with high-speed ICE trains linking the airport direct to many cities. Public transport in the main Rhine-Main conurbation is integrated, making ticketing and information easy; elsewhere, you can explore the Lahn Valley with ease by car, bike or train, while outlying Fulda has fast trains to Frankfurt, and Fritzlar is easily reached by rail or bus from Kassel.
Highlights
1 Apfelwein Frankfurt‘s cider is best enjoyed alfresco on summer nights in old Sachsenhausen.
2 Mathildenhöhe The spirit of Jugendstil lingers on at Darmstadt‘s remarkable artists' colony.
3 Hessisches Staatstheater Grand opera at not-so-grand prices at Wiesbaden's beautiful theatre.
4 Cycling the Lahn Valley Gentle inclines, cyclist-friendly hotels and beautiful towns and countryside make the Lahn Valley a cyclist's joy.
5 Rhön Biosphere Reserve Hike, paraglide or simply enjoy the spectacular views in this pristine upland landscape.
6 Wilhelmshöhe Old masters and eighteenth-century water tricks in a remarkable garden landscape.