Weimar, Germany: Things to Do

After a crazy last several days in Germany, I’m finally home in California and spending the rest of this week recovering from the past month. I loved living in the town of Weimar, so I’d like to share with you some ideas of things to do should you ever make it there.

Weimar is about a three-hour train ride from either Frankfurt or Berlin. I chose to fly in and out of Frankfurt because the train goes right to the airport. It was very easy to get there, which was really important to me since I was traveling alone and speak very little German.

The main thing Weimar is known for is being the hometown of Goethe, the 18th- and 19th-century poet and writer. It was also home to Friedrich Schiller, a slightly lesser-known but still famous poet/philosopher. Goethe and Schiller memorabilia is everywhere… you can tour both of their houses as well as find numerous places throughout the city that are named after one or the other of them. For example, there’s a department store called “Schiller Kaufhaus,” and the plaza that housed our theatre is called “Goetheplatz.”

The statue of Goethe and Schiller outside the Deutsche National Theatre. Photo credit: Peter Hamon.

Speaking of the Deutsche National Theatre, this is one of the major attractions in the city. The theatre houses both opera and straight theatre, and though my program ended right before the start of the DNT’s season, their full calendar seems to indicate that the theatre is thriving and that it is a huge part of Weimar’s cultural scene.

The DNT in the daylight. It was on our route to our (smaller) theatre every day.

The theatre lit up at night as part of a multimedia presentation that was projected across the Platz onto the facade.

Another major attraction in Weimar is the castle, which I didn’t actually try to tour because I didn’t have enough free time. However, it’s really pretty on the outside, and I’m sure the inside is fascinating as well.

Right next to the castle is Goethe-park, deep within which is Goethe’s Gartenhaus. The park is absolutely beautiful and has lots of paths for jogging, walking, or just general exploring, the latter two of which I actually participated in.

The river running through the park is really lovely too.

Lots of open space!

Exploring with friends.

Goethe’s Gartenhaus.

There are lots of good places to eat… I’ll do another post on food sometime. Weimar is also full of shops, though not a lot of them are clothing stores for our generation, as my friends and I discovered. There’s at least something for everyone though, and of course, there is Müller, a giant department store that puts Target to shame.

Four stories of German department store goodness? Yes please!

I wish I had more to share, but we didn’t have very much free time during the program to explore the city or be tourists. I would love to return one day and make sure to complete my experience!