SouthWest Germany: High Tech Tourism

How does it work? How do they do that? How does science affect me in my everyday life? Nowhere makes leading edge science more accessible than SouthWest Germany, where visitors can tour, learn and ask questions about their future – and the future of the world.

Is it a train? Or a tram/streetcar? In Karlsruhe, they are one and the same. Step on board downtown; step off deep in the beautiful Black Forest. Ride the rails to Heidelberg or Baden-Baden.

Close to the French border, Karlsruhe was the first European city to implement track-sharing for light and heavy rail vehicles. Now city planners from around the world come to see the “Karlsruhe Model”, the “TramTrain System” in which city streetcar tracks and normal railroad are shared.Forget the complexities of switching from train to bus and back again when traveling between rural and urban areas.

In Karlsruhe, the system is totally integrated. Not only is it easy for office workers, school children and shoppers, but the system also reduces car journeys and pollution, so improves the quality of life.

When it comes to dealing with cancer and the treatment of tumors, doctors at the University of Heidelberg lead the world, thanks to their innovative research combining medicine, biology, and biochemistry. To learn more about their life-changing projects, take a Segway Tour of the campus, the Heidelberg Technology Park at Neuenheimer Feld, which is across the Neckar River from the romantic old city.

With an expert guide, learn about the Rhein-Neckar Biotechnology Cluster and then visit one of the famous institutions, such as the German Cancer Research Center, the unique Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center or the National Center for Tumor Diseases. Travelling by Segway, visitors pack in a lot of information during the 2-hour tours.

Information and Booking: guide@heidelberg-marketing.de or via phone: +49 6221 5840225.For more information on specialized programmes, please click here.

Does solar energy work? What are renewable resources? What is alternative energy all about? In Freiburg, the sunniest city in Germany, all these questions are answered. In what is, perhaps, the world’s greenest city, you can stay in the world’s most environmentally friendly hotel – where rooftop solar panels power the lights in your bedroom.

There are neighbourhoods with zero-energy homes; there is the world’s first energy self-sustaining solar building; and, even the soccer stadium has a roof covered in solar panels – the world’s first stadium with its own solar plant.In this shining example of sustainability, the sides of office blocks, the roofs of schools and of churches all gleam with panels that capture the sun’s energy.

© Fraunhofer ISE

To learn more, eco-visitors can take a guided tour to see Freiburg’s “sustainability hotspots,” with talks and walks, technical site visits, and meetings with experts in the field.For more information, have a look at the “Green City” website. Just click here.

© TMBW

© Stuttgart Airport

We have a huge variety of free, high-quality, professional photographs available in the Press/Media section on the SouthWest Germany website.Find images of our many attractive cities, leisure acitivties or festivities as well as special interest images outlining the magnificent natural beauty and famous attractions of SouthWest Germany.

These are quick and easy to download. All you have to do is register for instant access here.

Stuttgart Airport (STR) welcomes direct flights from countries around the world including a daily non-stop flight from Atlanta to Stuttgart with Delta Airlines as well as a non-stop servicebetween New York/Newark Airport and Stuttgart Airport, operated by Continental Airlines.The airport is only 8 miles (13 km) from the city center and just off the A8 Karlsruhe-Munich motorway. The S2 and S3 urban train lines provide a fast, direct connection to the main railway station in only 27 minutes. 
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