Tübingen

The university was founded in 1477 and the town has been shaped by it since; roughly a quarter of residents are students. The Neckar front, a row of tall houses above a narrow island planted with plane trees, is the standard image, and flat-bottomed punts called Stocherkähne are poled along the river by student groups, with an annual race in June. Friedrich Hölderlin, the poet, lived from 1807 until his death in 1843 in a tower on the riverbank, cared for by a carpenter's family after his mental collapse; the Hölderlinturm is now a museum. Hegel and Schelling shared rooms in the seminary here as students.

What you actually see

• The Neckar front - tall houses above a plane-planted river island.
• The Hölderlinturm - the tower where the poet spent his last 36 years.
• The punts - Stocherkähne poled by students, with a June race.
• The old town - steep lanes and a market square below the castle.

When to go

April to October; the punt race is in June and the town is liveliest in term time. It is noticeably quieter in the university holidays.

Honest expectations

Punt trips are mostly private student affairs; public rides are limited. The old town is steep. Museums close Mondays.

Nearby

Bebenhausen lies north; the Swabian Jura rises south.